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The Chorus In Elizabeth Cary's 'Tragedy Of Mariam', Viona Falk

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis examines Elizabeth Cary’s use of the Chorus in The Tragedy of Mariam (pub. 1613). Imitating classical dramatists, Cary portrays the Chorus as a specific cultural group. Mariam’s Chorus consists of “a company of Jews” whose commentary on the play’s events is informed by its participations in patriarchal culture. The Chorus’s prescriptions for wifely virtue and judgements of Mariam’s moral standing frequently contain contradictions. Comparing the contradictions in the Chorus’s statements with similar contradictions in early modern domestic conduct guides, I argue that Cary uses the Chorus to interrogate patriarchal ideology. I consider Cary’s employment of the Chorus in …