The Shakespearean Marriage: Merry Wives and Heavy Husbands

230 Pages·1998·9.409 MB·English

by  Lisa Hopkins

The Shakespearean
Marriage
Merry Wives and Heavy Husbands
Lisa Hopkins
THE SHAKESPEAREAN MARRIAGE
Also by Lisa Hopkins
ELIZABETH I AND HER COURT
JOHN FORD'S POLITICAL THEATRE
WOMEN WHO WOULD BE KINGS: Female Rulers of the
Sixteenth Century
The Shakespearean
Marriage
Merry Wives and Heavy Husbands
Lisa Hopkins
Senior Lecturer
Sheffield Hallam University
First published in Great Britain 1998 by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London
Companies and representatives throughout the world
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 0-333-64732-7
First published in the United States of America 1998 by
ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC.,
Scholarly and Reference Division,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010
ISBN 0-312-17748-8
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hopkins, Lisa, 1962-
The Shakespearean marriage: merry wives and heavy husbands / Lisa
Hopkins.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-312-17748-8 (cloth)
I. Shakespeare, William, I 564-1616-Knowledge-Manners and
customs. 2. Marriage in literature. 3. Shakespeare, William,
1564-1616-Political and social views. 4. Literature and society
-England-History-16th century. 5. Literature and society-
-England-History-17th century. 6. Man-women relationships in
literature. 7. Married women in literature. 8. Husbands in
literature. I. Title.
PR3069.M32H66 1997
822.3'3--{!c21 97-23091
CIP
© Lisa Hopkins 1998
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made
without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with
written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by
the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road. London WI P 9HE.
Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to
criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 198\l.
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and
sustained forest sources.
10 9 8 7 6 5
07 06 05 04 03 02
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire
For Chris and Sam
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Contents
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction: Shakespeare and Contemporary
Marriage 1
1 Marriage as Comic Closure 16
2 Marriage in the Middle 34
3 What Makes a Marriage? 66
4 The Fate of the Nation: Marriage in the History
Plays 85
5 Roman Marriage 109
6 Tragic Marriage 133
7 The Wedding of the Daughter: Marriage in the
Last Plays 161
Conclusion 188
Notes 192
Index 215
vii
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Acknowledgements
Many debts have been incurred during the writing of this book.
The Cultural Research Institute at Sheffield Hallam University gave
me study leave to work on it; the staff at the Mary Badland Library,
Sheffield Hallam University assisted with enquiries and with inter
library loans. Two final year students, Nicola Connolly and Marcia
Layne, helped me track down references and commented interest
ingly on critical trends. In a small, close department, I have
received a great deal of support from several colleagues, but most
of all special thanks are due to Ian Baker for the extraordinary
generosity of his unfailing assistance, stimulating conversation
and willingness to lighten my workload. The members of the
Northern Renaissance Seminar have been a very congenial stimu
lus, as have those of the electronic discussion group Shaksper, and
my friend Mike Davis. Charmian Hearne provided the original
backing for the project and, as its editor, has been consistently
helpful throughout; I was also greatly benefited by the comments
of the anonymous reader. My husband Chris has, as always, been
invaluable, not least in looking after our son Sam, and for the same
reason I would also like to thank our childminder, Josie Edwards,
for the work that has made this book possible. Its faults are, of
course, entirely my own.
ix