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JOINCULTURE
THE TRAGEDY OF MARIAM -ELIZABETH CARY-
An essay on the 17th century common views of marriage
Cary's most well-known play The Tragedy of Mariam combines many striking issues of the seventeenth-century society about marriage and sexuality. Along the different characters' personalities, the writer is able to represent and make the audience think about contemporary concepts, either standard, anachronistic or revolutionary of the time.
Key depictions of woman behaviour such as proper wifely behaviour, revenge against the tyrannous husband or the matter of chastity and silence appear around the central character of the play, Queen Mariam. However, the progression of the play is intertwined with other characters who make life complicated for the misunderstood Queen (Doris and Alexandra), and they really want to throw her out of the story (Herod and Salome). Furthermore, it is worth mentioning the presence of the chorus. Its constant but scarce interventions are the revelation of what most of the members of the audience were trying to reveal with their social behaviours. Most of these comments can help us to understand what was expected from a woman: more precisely, a married woman. It is key to accurately analyse the comments, judgements and assertions that an anonymous voice makes in-between the development of the action, not only for the understanding of the story, but also as a revelation of the Jacobean principles in which Cary published the play. The direct connections of the ability to speak with woman’s sexuality are strongly pointed out in the third act: 'and though her thoughts reflect with purest light, | Her mind, if not peculiar, is not chaste'
The Tragedy of Mariam: Trabajo
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