WHORES AND SAINTS

In the plays under study, and from the male characters' point of view, two main categories to describe the female characters stand out from the usual definitions of women in society. Terms such as "whores" and "saints" are commonly used in literature to

203 F. LAROQUE, op. cit., p.78.

distinguish two types of women: those who behave in a reprehensible way, through their manners, morals or even sexuality, and those who act in a way that society considers as good.

3.2.1. LUSTY AND SHAMELESS WOMEN

Male characters deal with women in a negative way, considering them as lusty and shameless. Female characters are de facto considered as whores or witches when they differ from the roles that are given to them. This vision brings problems of stereotypes, which can be considered as an anachronistic notion, but in theatre the stereotypes are important, especially in a time that is close to the Moralities with their dichotomy between good and evil and the personifications of moral attitudes. Some male characters, such as Ferdinand, Angelo, Soranzo or even Escalus, seem to have the same dichotomy in their view towards women. They introduce female stereotypes in their lines, as references to witches and whores: "FERDINAND – The witchcraft lies in her rank blood". These references to witches and whores "may be viewed as traditional early modern labels for a widow's sexual excesses"²⁰⁴. The term "lusty widow" is used by Ferdinand in The Duchess of Malfi (1.1.118), he tries to make the Duchess feels bad because she's a widow, she should mourn over her dead husband. But she is lust as well and it shows that she is not afraid of having sexual intercourses. To Ferdinand, her attitude is reprehensible because she dishonours the memory of her husband.

In Tis Pity she's a whore, when Putana refers to Hippolita as "the lusty widow"

(1.2.173). It is also a stereotype that comes with the idea of the unquestionable female sexuality. Soranzo "fits women into a number of extreme sexual stereotypes- the lustful temptress, the pure virgin, and the adulterous whore"²⁰⁵, Annabella goes through all these categories through the eyes of Soranzo while Hippolita is still the adulterous whore he has an affair with. Though, in Measure for Measure, women go through different stages, Isabella is a virgin that may become a married woman, as well as a "lustful temptress" to Angelo.

Mariana is "neither maid, widow, nor wife" (5.1.212), Elbow's wife becomes, for a moment, a whore: "ELBOW – I say, sir, I will detest myself also, as well as she, that this house, if it be not a bawd's house, it is pity of her life, for it is a naughty house" (2.1.113). Thus, Mistress

204 T.A JANKOWSKI, op. cit., p.229.

205 M. LOMAX, "Introduction" in John Ford, Tis Pity she's a whore and Other Plays, OUP Oxford, 2008, p.20.

Overdone seems to be the only female character with no double sexual identity as she has been widowed nine times²⁰⁶.

However, one can wonder if the male negative point of view towards women are justified. Are the lusty and shameless female characters only presented negatively? It is sure that the three plays scramble the distinction between vice and virtue²⁰⁷. But their fierce yearning of discrediting the female characters on their life choices makes the male characters odious. For instance, in The Duchess of Malfi, Ferdinand brings from the common hospital

"all the mad-folks" (4.1.166) to torment his sister, yet, he is the one that ends with madness:

"FERDINAND – And I am grown mad with't" (2.5.137). Most probably because the expected effect does not work as the Duchess is not affected by madmen.

Moreover, Christy Desmet states that for male characters, because women are

"naturally shameless, [they] also neglect their reputation; and weak in both mind and will, they succumb easily to amorous advances and smooth tales of courtship"²⁰⁸.

Women are unashamed of their sexuality when it comes directly to it, they "explore ideas of female sexuality that contrast to popular ideas of Early modern period"²⁰⁹. They unashamedly express and take control over their own bodies and sexuality²¹⁰.

3.2.2. HOLD WOMEN DOWN

This freedom of thought is not well accepted by the male community, that is why marriage is important to them, because the control that they have over wives is superior to the control over maiden or widows. "In the relevant period of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century, restrictions were specifically tightened concerning widows and unmarried women"²¹¹. To standardise women is also one of the means that allow male characters to hold women down, as it becomes very hard for women to depart from those stereotypes.

206 F. FOUASSIER, op. cit., p.362.

207 Ibid, p.95-96.

208 C. DESMET, op. cit., p.79.

209 Team 18, LL516-Editorial. ‘How Was Female Sexuality Presented in Seventeenth Century Drama?’, Folio, updated 29 May 2015, https://folio.brighton.ac.uk/group/ll516-editorial-team-18/untitled. Accessed 30 Jan. 2019.

210 Ibid, p.1.

211 S.M. STAHL, op. cit., p.4.

Moreover, male characters also manage women physically, for instance when the female characters are arrested or murdered, particularly in The Duchess of Malfi:

"[Enter Executioners with] a coffin, cords and a bell." (4.2.171)

"[Executioners seize Cariola]" (4.2.172),

"[Executioners force Cariola off]" (4.2.172),

"Kneels" (4.2.173),

"They strangle her" (4.2.173).

These stage directions are violent towards women. The surveillance they are victim of is also a means to control them. The Duchess is spied on by Bosola who works for Ferdinand, or Giovanni spying on his sister while she speaks to Soranzo, are good examples of voyeurism that corrupts society. By spying on women, men can scrutinise what women say and then try to dominate them. Women are said to be too emotional sometimes, however, in Tis Pity she's a whore, it is Giovanni who watches his sister, to hear how she behaves with Soranzo and to ensure that she loves him. This can be perceived as an egoistical behaviour from Giovanni.

The religious distrust in the theatrical art as well as the rediscovering of Greco-Roman Antiquity in the Renaissance period could also have been an inspiration regarding women's representation. Through the images of whores and saints we might observe a parallel with the female biblical characters such as Eve and Lilith, the two women and wives of Adam. Eve can be a parallel with the saint woman and good wife who obeys men whereas Lilith is the whore, the she-devil, who has disobeyed men, and is considered as a sexual sinner. The religious institutions were important in the Early Modern period and the reference to biblical characters were common.

Furthermore, "Jacqueline Rose [argues] in Sexuality in the Readings of Shakespeare:

Hamlet and Measure for Measure that the 'problems' in those plays relate to the sexual anxieties of male critics and their determination to hold female desire responsible for any breakdown in moral or aesthetic order"²¹².

3.2.3. THE LIMITATIONS OF THEIR SEX

The female gender was an obstacle for education, religion or even social status.

Regarding Renaissance upper-class women, they had public roles to handle that came with their social status. Somer Marie Stahl even states that "from the very beginning, the Duchess

212 A. THOMPSON, op. cit., p.4.

is well aware of her own social status and the limitations that exist because of it"²¹³ :

"DUCHESS - The misery of us hat are born great:/We are forced to woo, because none dare woo us" (1.1.122), in this scene, the Duchess confesses to Antonio that because of her social status she cannot find somebody who can truly love her, either men are afraid of their status or they want to take advantage of it. Being a woman imposed some physical restrictions about sexuality.

We could deal with the double standard concerning sexual behaviour that prevailed at that time²¹⁴. This convention of a double standardisation of sexuality allowed husband to enjoy full monopoly rights over the sexuality of his wife, while she was expected to be a virgin on her wedding night²¹⁵. This is what happens in Tis Pity She's a Whore during Annabella's wedding night with Soranzo: "SORANZO – In thy corrupted bastard-bearing womb!" (4.3.217), as he expects her to be a virgin, his anger comes because of Hippolita's announcement:

"HIPPOLITA - Take here my curse amongst you: may thy bed Of marriage be a rack unto thy heart;

Burn, blood, and boil in vengeance. O my heart, My flame's intelorable! Mayst thou live

To father bastards, may her womb bring forth" (4.1.215)

Hippolita takes her revenge by dishonour Soranzo. She is seen as a devil because she curses him to "father bastards", and this curse relate to Soranzo's virility.

Annabella's true desire cannot be spoken as her future is controlled by her father's manoeuvres to find her a husband:

"'FLORIO - Tis a fair proffer, sir; meantime your nephew Shall have free passage to commence his suit:

If he can thrive, he shall have my consent.

So for this time I'll leave you, signior." (1.3.179)

A similar problem which affects Isabella at the end of Measure for Measure, as the Duke proposes to her:

"DUKE – Dear Isabel,

I have a motion much imports your good, Whereto if you'll a willing ear incline,

What's mine is yours, and what is yours is mine.

So bring us to our palace, where we'll show

213 S.M, STAHL, op. cit., p.34.

214 L.STONE, op. cit., p.315.

215 Ibid. p.315.

What's yet behind, that's meet you all should know." (5.1.229)

According to the Duchess, her own marriage has to remain a secret from her brothers' sights and ears, however, Ferdinand uses his position of the male kin to threaten her with a possible suitor:

"FERDINAND – I am to bespeak/ A husband for you.

DUCHESS – For me, sir! Pray who is't?

FERDINAND – The great Count Malateste" (3.1.141)

This is made both to expose her marriage with Antonio as well as to humiliate her by offering her an arranged marriage with a man who is not of her rank and whom she seems to find detestable:

"DUCHESS – Fie upon him,

A count! He's a mere stick of sugar-candy, You may look quite thorough him. When I choose A husband, I will marry for your honour." (3.1.141)

Even if the Duchess "reveals a woman who, despite her attempts at transcendence, is ultimately encumbered by the female stereotypes of her time"²¹⁶, she stands as a strong character until the very end.