Gender, Language and Silence in "The Tragedy of Mariam"

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`Plays and Poetry by early modern women are primarily concerned with negotiating a position from which women could speak. A concern for ideas of gender, language and silence is, therefore, central, though its expression is sometimes open, sometimes covert.' Discuss with reference to Aemilia Lanyer and / or Elizabeth Cary. The Tragedy of Mariam focuses on Elizabeth's Cary's desire to develop a platform from which women can speak, thereby offering a fuller understanding of women as individuals. By examining issues of public and private language, Cary shows her interest in female voices. As an early-17th-century female playwright, Cary was described by the Earl of Clarendon as `a lady of a most masculine understanding, allayed with the passions and infirmities of her own sex'. This description could be interpreted as a complement to Cary, although the Earl adheres to the patriarchal boundaries placed upon both men and women. The connection that he makes between Cary and masculinity reinforces the stereotype of male authority. This essay will examine Cary's exploration of gender, language and silence in The Tragedy of Mariam. The play's expression of these themes is sometimes open, and at other times covert. By concentrating on the issues of public and private speech, this essay will determine the effects that crossing patriarchal boundaries had on women in early modern England. The title page offers an immediate insight into the patriarchal constraints placed on women in early modern England. Although The Tragedy of Mariam is the first known English play to be authored by a woman, the fact that Cary is unable to give her full name is indicative of the limitations on women writers of the period. This semi-anonymous authorship... ... middle of paper ... ...riam and Salome transgress the patriarchal boundaries that demand purity and silence, but only Mariam is punished. Salome goes unpunished, although her triumph depends on the actions of men. The only character that adheres fully to the patriarchal demands of being chaste, silent and obedient is problematic because of her economic status, which leaves her entirely submissive to a male authority figure. However, Cary uses Mariam's death to question the patriarchal idea that having a public voice indicates sexual transgression. Mariam's death dissociates the female public voice from the conventional connotations of sexual impurity. In death, Mariam is finally accepted, and her pure and innocent image dominates the final scenes of the play. By removing Herod's rhetorical power, Cary offers a searing critique of the tragic effects of an oppressive patriarchal society.

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