Pregnancy and female agency in three Jacobean plays

MacAfee, L. M. (2008). Pregnancy and female agency in three Jacobean plays. https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:2959

Title: Pregnancy and female agency in three Jacobean plays
Author: MacAfee, Linda Marie
Call Number: LE3 .A278 2008
Date: 2008
Supervisor: Slights, Jessica
Degree Grantor: Acadia University
Degree Name: Master of Arts
Degree Level: Masters
Discipline: English
Affiliation: English & Theatre Studies
Abstract: Pregnancy is the thorn in the side of patriarchal control. In early modern England, many husbands, physicians, clergymen, and pamphleteers attempted to stifle a woman's agency by proclaiming her to be mentally and morally inferior or by commandeering the physical nature of a woman's pregnant body through medical theory. However, women did (and do) possess an undeniable agency through their ability to be pregnant. John Webster, William Shakespeare, and Thomas Middleton use pregnant female characters as a way to expose onstage the cultural, social, and economic tension and liberation that exists between pregnancy and female agency in their plays 'The Duchess of Malfi, The Winter 's Tale', and 'A Chaste Maid in Cheapside'.
Rights: The author retains copyright in this thesis. Any substantial copying or any other actions that exceed fair dealing or other exceptions in the Copyright Act require the permission of the author.
Permanent Link: https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:2959

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