Shakespeare s Widows
Previous Publications The Single Woman in Medieval and Early Modern England: Her Life and Representation. Co-ed. with Laurel Amtower, 2003. A Midsummer Night s Dream : Critical Essays. Ed. Dorothea Kehler, 1998. Paperback reprint, 2001. Problems in Literary Research: A Guide to Selected Reference Works. 4th rev. enl. ed., 1997. Third rev. ed., 1987. Second rev. ed., 1981. First ed., 1975. In Another Country: Feminist Perspectives on Renaissance Drama. Ed. Dorothea Kehler and Susan Baker, 1991.
Shakespeare s Widows Dorothea Kehler
SHAKESPEARE S WIDOWS Copyright Dorothea Kehler, 2009. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2009 978-0-230-61703-2 All rights reserved. First published in 2009 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN in the United States a division of St. Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-38024-4 ISBN 978-0-230-62335-4 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/9780230623354 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kehler, Dorothea, 1936- Shakespeare s widows / Dorothea Kehler. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. 1. Shakespeare, William, 1564 1616 Criticism and interpretation. 2. Widows in literature. I. Title. PR3069.W53K44 2009 822.3'3 dc22 2008050914 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Macmillan Publishing Solutions First edition: August 2009 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Pauly and Evi with love
Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 1 Precept and Practice 17 2 Exemplary Seeming Widows 43 3 Problematic Widowed Mothers 59 4 War Widows 93 5 Working Widows 119 6 Lusty Widows/Remarried Widows 139 7 Opting Out 171 Conclusion 191 Notes 197 Works Cited 217 Index 241
Acknowledgments I wish to thank the following journals and presses for the use of excerpted material from my previously published articles and chapters: Shakespeare s Emilias: The Politics of Celibacy, In Another Country: Feminist Perspectives on Renaissance Drama, co-ed. with Susan Baker (Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow 1991): 157 78, rpt. with the permission of Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group; Shakespeare s Cymbeline, The Explicator 54.2 (2001): 70 72 and Shakespeare s Richard III, The Explicator 56.3 (1998): 118 21, both articles reprinted with the permission of the Helen Dwight Reid Educational Foundation, published by Heldref Publications, 1319 18th St., NW, Washington DC 20036-1802, 2001 and 1998 respectively; Teaching the Slandered Women of Cymbeline and The Winter s Tale, Approaches to Teaching Shakespeare s Tempest and Other Late Romances, ed. Maurice Hunt (New York: MLA, 1992): 80 86 and Teaching Romeo and Juliet Historically, Approaches to Teaching Shakespeare s Romeo and Juliet, ed. Maurice Hunt (New York: MLA, 2000): 78 84, both essays reprinted by permission of the Modern Language Association of America; The First Quarto of Hamlet: Reforming Widow Gertred, Shakespeare Quarterly 46.4 (1995): 398 413 Folger Shakespeare Library, reprinted with permission of the Johns Hopkins University Press; Shakespeare s Widows of a Certain Age: Celibacy and Economics, MHRA Works in Progress 1 (2006): 17 30, reprinted with the permission of the Modern Humanities Research Association; Canard and the Common Lot: Shakespeare s Margaret of Anjou, Journal of Drama Studies 1.1 (2007): 4 19, reprinted with the permission of Journal of Drama Studies; and Cleopatra s Sati: New Stagings and Old Ideologies, Antony and Cleopatra : Critical Essays, ed. Sara Munson Deats (New York: Routledge 2005): 137 52, reprinted with the permission of Taylor and Francis, permission conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. I am grateful to the many people who have helped me over the years. In particular, I wish to acknowledge my late friend and distinguished colleague Thomas Moisan, whose wit, erudition, and kindness I continue
x Acknowledgments to miss. I deeply appreciate the insights and generosity of James Schiffer. It has been a privilege to have the assistance of past editors Philip Kolin, Maurice Hunt, and Sara Deats. I am grateful to Brigitte Shull and the staff at Palgrave Macmillan. For their incisive comments, encouragement, and companionship, thanks are due to the members of my writing group Laura Emery, Jennifer Fitzgerald, Sherry Little, Jeanie Grant Moore, and Jeanette Shumaker and to my colleagues Clare Colquitt and Deborah Chaffin. Members of the Women s Group at Clare Hall, Cambridge, especially Marta Cavazza, and auditors at Clare Hall s Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities colloquia have provided perceptive audiences for portions of this book. (Thank you, Bob Ackerman.) So, too, have faculty and students of the English Literature departments at the Universities of Copenhagen and of Pune, and auditors at meetings of the Shakespeare Society of India, the International Shakespeare Association, and the Shakespeare Association of America. I am indebted to SAA respondents Linda Woodbridge, Alexander Leggatt, and Paul Werstine. San Diego State University funded much of my research and furnished me with always challenging students. Jessica and Edward Kehler offered astute comments on sections of Shakespeare s Widows. James Edwards, Marc Pastor, and Carol Tohsaku have saved me from innumerable computer disasters. Thank you, all. Unless otherwise indicated, Shakespeare quotations are taken from the second edition of The Riverside Shakespeare (1997) with editorial brackets omitted, biblical references from the Geneva Bible (1560), the most popular family Bible during Shakespeare s career. When using original editions, I have retained old spellings and the exchange of v for u, and i for j (but not long s for s ).