The Female Hero in English Renaissance Tragedy

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-vii

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Lisa Hopkins

   Pages 1-10

3. Women’s Bodies: The Changeling and Women Beware Women

   • Lisa Hopkins

   Pages 11-42

4. Women as Emblem: The Maid’s Tragedy and The Lady’s Tragedy

   • Lisa Hopkins

   Pages 43-86

5. Women and the Law: The White Devil and The Witch of Edmonton

   • Lisa Hopkins

   Pages 87-117

6. Women’s Souls: The Duchess of Malfi and ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore

   • Lisa Hopkins

   Pages 118-147

7. Women and History: The Tragedy of Mariam, The Broken Heart and The Concealed Fancies

   • Lisa Hopkins

   Pages 148-193

8. Back Matter

   Pages 194-229

   PDF

This book focuses on female tragic heroes in England from c.1610 to c.1645. Their sudden appearance can be linked to changing ideas about the relationships between bodies and souls; men's bodies and women's; marriage and mothering; the law; and religion. Though the vast majority of these characters are closer to villainesses than heroines, these plays, by showing how misogyny affected the lives of their central characters, did not merely reflect their culture, but also changed it.

• marriage
• misogyny
• Renaissance
• women

'Hopkins's careful and acute interpretations of many canonical and less familiar plays are...impressive for their lucidity and ease.' - Emma Smith, Times Literary Supplement

'As always, Hopkins's writing is engaging and accessible...Highly recommended.' - B.E. Brandt, Choice

• Sheffield Hallam University, UK

  Lisa Hopkins

LISA HOPKINS is reader in English at Sheffield Hallam University. Her previous books include Writing Renaissance Queens, Christopher Marlowe: A Literary Life, The Shakespearean Marriage: Merry Wives and Heavy Husbands and John Ford's Political Theatre.

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