My Marginalia

A Commonplace Book for Early Modern Literature and Culture: Shakespeare's Sister #lit379 by Cheryl David, Marylhurst University

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Table of Contents

Page/Post (from bottom entry to the top entry):

1.     From “A Room of One’s Own” by Virginia Woolf

2.     From “A Room of One’s Own” by Virginia Woolf

3.     From “To all virtuous Ladies in general” by Aemilia Lanyer

4.     From “Dinner”.  “How to Be a Tudor” by Ruth Goodman.

5.     “The little birds in chirping notes did sing…” by Aemilia Lanyer

6.     From “Hercules Oetaeus”, translated by Elizabeth I

7.     Character Flowchart from “The Tragedie of Mariam” by Elizabeth Cary

8.     Two Quotes from “The Tragedie of Mariam” by Elizabeth Cary

9.     From “Love’s Victory” by Mary Wroth

10.  From The Letters of Bess of Hardwick

11.   From “A Chaste Maid in Cheapside” by Thomas Middleton

12.  From “A Chaste Maid in Cheapside” by Thomas Middleton

13.  Character Description from “A Woman Killed with Kindness” by Thomas Heywood, as well as a quote.

14.  From Women “According to Men” by Suzanne Hull (2)

15.  From “A Sweet Nosgay” by Isabella Whitney

16.  From “A Modest mean for Maides In order prescribed” by Isabella Whitney

17.  From “Dinner”.  “How to Be a Tudor” by Ruth Goodman

18.  From “Tragedie of Mariam” by Elizabeth Cary

19.  From “A Treatise” by John Northbrooke

20.  From “Love’s Victory” by Mary Wroth

21.  From “The English Housewife, Chapter 1” by Gervase Markham

22.  From “The English Housewife, Chapter 1” by Gervase Markham

23.  Reflection piece, along with a screen capture from Keri’s Prezi, Week 10.

24.  Table of Contents

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Reflection:

This quote from Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own sums up the plight of women during the early modern period:

(screenshot from Keri’s Prezi from Week 10)

Women didn’t stand a chance in any profession outside of mother and wife.  Thankfully, the women showcased in our class gave us a glimpse of what their life was like in their writings without putting themselves in at risk of being considered outcasts of society.  They were able to tell their “story” as a veiled manuscript of fiction, yet allowing the reader to read between the lines to find the hidden transcript within the text.  Women didn’t have a place to write about their plight, but they could write around it while giving us the information we need to prove their voices were, at times, a cry for help.

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From “The English Housewife Chapter 1″ by Gervase Markham

I had to pick this quote because I have been suffering from bronchitis for what seems like weeks.  

That being said, the entire section of what to do for various illnesses are beyond the pale:  when did she learn to do all of these things, or did she keep a book full of concoctions with her at all times?  And when did she get the time to play doctor when she was doing everything else?  

I wonder if these solutions carried over to farm animals, because I could see her having to perform the tasks of a vet as well.

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From “The English Housewife, Chapter 1″ by Gervase Markham

This was an absolute treat!  I had to laugh as I read this because the text comes across as a male wish-list for the perfect female.  Modernly, I see it as characteristics requested when building a female robot. 

These characteristis “requested” are just so far out there.  Sure, there’s common courtesy and how we all should treat one another, but requesting women be “wise in discourse but not frequent therein” doesn’t fit the idea of a female.  To be honest, a woman with all of the above qualities would make me question her integrity.  

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From Love’s Victory by Mary Wroth

I wasn’t a big fan of this text because there was no aspect of the hidden text in it.  I have been invested with the plight of the women writers of the period and this text didn’t give any hints as to what was going on.  It seems like a fairy tale and set apart from the theme of the rest of the texts in the class

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From “A Treatise...” by John Northbrook

This was a treat to read, because the text resembled an early-American Puritan Cotton Mather kind of madness with its religious connotations of women belonging to the kingdom of Satan.

In a nutshell, women needed to stay away from the playhouses because all of the various characters will lead her down a pit of despair.  The text has a tone of complete fear, to be honest, a cross between keeping the playhouse a men-only club or women turning into playthings of the devil.  

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A Random note from “The Tragedie of Mariam” by Elizabeth Cary.

Yes, this is the text I am using for my critical essay for the class.  I had to make this observation somewhere because it won’t fit into my essay.  

When I first read the text I was confused, because I thought the Salome in the text was the same Salome who danced The Dance of the Seven Veils and had John the Baptist beheaded, especially since the Salome in the text was a sort of femme-fatale just like in the John the Baptist story.  

The Salome in the text is Salome I, Salome II was the one in the biblical story.  She was the daughter of Herod II, while Salome I was the sister of Herod.  

Once I got that sorted out I was able to understand the text more.

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From “Dinner”, from How to Be a Tudor by Ruth Goodman

This book was a favorite because it gave an overall glimpse into the life of the time.  Yes we were given a look as to what the women had to deal with, but we also got a look at life.  The “Dinner” chapter intrigued me because of the detail that went into dinner on a daily basis.  A lot of fanfare, having grace, the servants involved...it was quite a spectacle.  Even better, the text painted a picture of what went on in the daily lives, so we could see how women were treated as they were as well as the roles they played.

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More Isabella Whitney:

A rolling stone gathers no moss: in other words, don’t stop trying.  

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From “A Sweet Nosgay” by Isabella Whitney

I have mixed thoughts about this work.  On one hand, the tone is extremely feminine, almost oppressively so because it’s the text of a woman who is obviously beholden to a man.  On the other hand, I have a difficult time with the submissive tone to it.  The text obviously fluffs up the male to make him superior over her, and she uses that to her advantage.

After several readings, I could also see some irony involved.  The writer goes as far as trespassing and theft to prove her worthiness to the man in question, and that makes me think she is judging his character.

(The arrow at the bottom of the page means I made notes about the text on the other side of the page).

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From “Women According to Men” by Suzanne Hull.

The first quote above is from the Bible (1Cor 11:3) and I think it sums up the entire post-modern period, and no I did not miss that the quote came from the Bible.  Women, in my mind, were tolerated because someone had to bear the children.  I added the second quote because the only reprieve women got from male authority was if they were a widow.  

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From “A Woman Killed with Kindness” by Thomas Heywood.  

I had to break down all of the characters to make sure I could follow who was doing what to whom.  An extensive character list seems to be one of the norms in Early Mondern lit, because this isn’t the only text with a bunch of characters working (mostly) independently of the plot.

I also added a quote down at the bottom.  Out of all of the text we came into contact with, this was the one which irritated me the most, to the point of throwing my book across the room.  The portrayal of women was probably accurate, but I couldn’t handle how Master Frankfort’s ego turned into Anne’s fault.  He was so proud of himself for marrying such a “fair, a chaste and loving wife” but he really didn’t know for sure, all he had was the word of others.  Then he introduces Wendoll into the household as a “companion” and then says he can have anything he wants?  So he chooses Anne.  And it’s Anne’s fault.  

This text is considered a work of fiction but it comes across as non-fiction to me.  I can totally see this happening.

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Two quotes from A Chaste Maid in Cheapside by Thomas Middleton.  If the reader isn’t used to British Humor they might have an issue with this text because it is delightfully raunchy.  Also, the men depicted in this story are the biggest messes the reader will ever come across, as written by a man.  The women, with all of their flaws and vices and status in society are the ones who come out on top, in the end.  It’s a fun read!

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From Love’s Victory by Lady Mary Wroth, considered to be the first known original pastoral drama written by a woman.  It’s consider a “closet drama” since it was written to be read, not performed on stage.

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2nd entry for Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam. I had a heck of a time trying to find information on the biblical story because I assumed the Salome in the text was the Salome who beheaded John the Baptist.  She is not.  In fact, she is actually Salome I.  She had three children with her husband Constabarus. 

Mariam is, in fact, Mariamne I, the second wife of Herod the Great.  She is also known as Mariamne the Hasmoean.  She was one of the last heirs of the Hasmoean dynasty.

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Flowchart for The Tragedy of Mariam, The Fair Queen of Jewry by Elizabeth Clary.  I did this to keep track of the cast of characters involved.  There’s a lot going on and there’s a need to understand the “pre-story” before diving into the text.  Hence the reason for “Herod” and “Herod 2.0″.

I think this is going to be my choice for my Critical Essay…

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Week Four in Early Modern Literature and Culture: Shakespeare’s Sister:  My first entry is Hercules Oetaeus, trans. by Elizabeth I.  She translates the chorus of the Aetolian women, who are pledging fidelity towards Deïanria, the wife of Hercules.  I am fascinated by this because Elizabeth’s reign was, although magnificent in terms of literary and cultural achievements, was rife with secrets. Trust was a risk one had to take.