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Portrayal of Women in 2 Plays

John FordÆs æTis Pity SheÆs A Whore and Thomas HeywoodÆs A Woman Killed With Kindness both depict women as lustful, deceptive, adulterous and a threat to notions of maleness and masculinity. In FordÆs play, Annabella is pregnant with her brother GiovanniÆs child. She will marry Soranzo, a rake, without informing him she is pregnant. In HeywoodÆs play, Anne Frankford is a married woman who commits adultery. In both of these plays we see that women are used to portray to audiences of the Jacobean era of the dangers and consequences of sexual transgressions.

The women portrayed in both of these plays are considered sinful, driven by lust, and deceivers of men. Annabella has conceived a child by her brother, Giovanni. Soranzo is unaware of her condition and is thrilled that she has consented to marry him. However, as soon as the wedding banquet is over, we see that their match is one made of misery. Soranzo drags Annabella by the hair, waving his sword and screaming insults at her. He tells her she is a ôstrumpetö and ôfamous whore,ö who is controlled by nothing other than her ôhot itch and pleurisy of lust,ö (Ford, IV.iii.1-8). He informs her she is deceptive and a game player. She tells him, despite her alleged penchant for lust, that ôbut for marriage, / I scarce dream yet of that,ö (Ford, I.i.10-12).

Ironically, even though Annabella is supposed to be a creature of lust, the above statement seems to show that she has not yet consummated the match with her husband. Anne Frankford is a married woman. Despite the fact that we are never told why she commits adultery, she does. While the concept of incest in FordÆs play is tragic, the concept of adultery in HeywoodÆs play is not only tragic due to adultery but due to the breakup of the domestic contract between man and woman. Anne is initially described as ôbeauty and perfectionÆs eldest daughter,ö and her husband J

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Portrayal of Women in 2 Plays. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 06:15, March 19, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1711287.html