Widows and Suitors in Early Modern English Comedy

By Jennifer Panek

Book Overview

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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521036623
• ISBN13: 9780521036627
• Release Date: May 2007
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"