"The Tragedy of Mariam"

An analysis of issues of female authorship and how this is reflected in the protagonist's position in the play "The Tragedy of Mariam" by Elizabeth Cary.

2,853 words () | 8 sources | MLA | 2005 United Kingdom

Paper Summary:

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. This paper examines Cary's exploration of gender, language and silence in "The Tragedy of Mariam". It looks at how 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, it attempts to determine the effect that crossing patriarchal boundaries had on women in early modern England.

From the Paper:

"The Tragedy of Mariam is often categorized as a Senecan closet drama; Cary, it seems, had no intention of taking the play to the public stage. This allowed Cary to distance herself from the popular theatres associated with lower social classes and associate herself with elite, aristocratic groups of writers. Prior to 1660, women had no role in public theatre; even the simple act of writing pushed the boundaries of acceptable female behaviour. By creating a closet drama, Cary becomes a perfect example of how early women dramatists created acceptable spaces for their dramatic voice, using theatrical settings, which helped them to justify female self-expression."