This dissertation provides a chronological account of the representation of the melancholic-hypochondriac in Carlo Goldoni's comedic works up to his definitive departure for France in 1762 with an emphasis on the status of the figure as a patient. By gradually integrating diverse etiologies of the disease into the backstories of his characters, Goldoni transforms the traditional figure from a static character-type deserving of derision into an individual worthy of empathy and social reintegration. As the etiologies evolve, so too do the therapeutic responses warranted. In Goldoni’s hands, the delusions from which the hypochondriac suffers become fertile ground for a reflection on the therapeutic or “corrective” value of theater, in which the distinction between “honest” and “dishonest” simulation is explored, as doctors and patients become actors, and invalids learn to heal themselves through the mirror of theatrical performances. Attention is paid to points of contact between Goldoni's representations and selected medical texts of the period, primarily from the Italian tradition. Starting with Bartoli, who employs theatrical terms to describe the malady, Chapter 1 considers the figure of the imaginary invalid and hypochondriac within the context of understudied early intermezzi and drammi giocosi, genres that formed an Italian theatrical background out of which the invalid emerged in later Goldonian comedies. Chapter 2 examines first the earliest example of hypochondria in Goldoni's corpus, his intermezzo, L'ippocondriaco (1735), after which the figure temporarily disappears and is replaced with melancholics in the following comedies: La vedova scaltra (1748), La Pamela fanciulla (1750), L'erede fortunata (1750) and Il padre di famiglia (1751). These works illustrate the diverse collection of etiologies of melancholy used by Goldoni. Lastly, the chapter attends to performative aspects of the representation of the malady seen in La finta ammalata (1751) where the question of feigned illness reemerges in conjunction with the notion of “honest” simulation. Chapter 3 focuses on two distinct versions of the melancholic genius in works devoted to literary figures: Il Molière (1751) and Torquato Tasso (1755). Along with Il vecchio bizzarro (1754) these plays present a rehabilitated melancholic-hypochondriac worthy of sympathy and admiration. Chapter 4 features Goldoni's final comedies before his departure to Paris, in which one finds the last fully developed examples of melancholy and hypochondria in his Italian works. In Il medico olandese (1756), the reintegration of the patient is feasible through companionship and a kind of self-reflexive talk therapy. Goldoni explores the melancholic mania that arises from an obsession with fashion among the Venetian bourgeoisie in the Trilogia della villeggiatura (1761). With Una delle ultime sere di carnovale (1762) Goldoni bids farewell to Venice and returns to an example of the female hypochondriac who closely resembles the early imaginary invalids from musical theater.