The courtship and remarriage of a rich widow was a popular motif in early modern comic theatre. Jennifer Panek brings together a variety of texts, from ballads and jest-books to sermons and court records, to examine this staple of comic theatre in its cultural context. She persuasively challenges the stereotype of the lusty widow as a tactic to dissuade women from second marriages, arguing instead that it was deployed to enable her suitors to regain their masculinity, under threat from the dominant, wealthier widow.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Acknowledgements; A note on texts; Introduction; 1. The widow's choice: female remarriage in early modern England; 2. The widow's threat: domestic government and male anxiety; 3. The suitor's fantasy: courtship and compensation; 4. The husband's fear: the lusty widow as wife; 5. A playwright's response: four Middletonian remarriage plots; Notes; Works cited; Index.
