Date of Award
1999
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
English
Abstract
Often, women stand out as being some of the most interesting and ambiguous characters in English drama. In this study, I examine moments in five Renaissance plays in which female characters reject the extreme dichotomies that were used by society to describe women. In the first portion of the paper, I look at the ways in which malcontents are similar to unconventional female characters in that they both challenge existing patriarchal structures. Secondly, I explore the characters of Mellida, Sophonisba, and Desdemona who begin to assert their own desires, while at the same time, they continue to embody more traditional notions of femininity. Finally, I look at the Duchess of Malfi, who perhaps more than any character in Renaissance drama, consciously creates a new kind of life in which she is not limited by reductive and arbitrary binaries concerning the definitions of women.
Recommended Citation
Turner, Kimberly Ann, "Uncertain identities : aristocratic women of English Renaissance drama" (1999). Master's Theses. 1354.
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/masters-theses/1354