FEMALE AGENCY AND CRITICISM OF MARITAL PRACTICES IN LADY MARY WROTH’S THE COUNTESS OF MONTGOMERY’S URANIA

Abstract

Lady Mary Wroth is an innovative and unconventional figure both in terms of her personal background and her
literary production within the sixteenth century social and political context. She is the author of the first sonnet
sequence written by a woman, the producer of the first prose romance by a female pen, and one of the first female
playwrights. Regarding her literary output, Wroth stands out as an author who prioritises the topics in relation to
women. Her sonnet sequence serves as an instrument for expressing female voice; her romance includes myriad of
female characters who question and rebel against the maxim of chaste-silent-obedient; her only play deals with
relationships among several couples emphasising female achievement. Wroth’s determination to focus on women’s
problems underscores the dissidence a woman could achieve under an apparently irresistible social and political
formation. In The Countess of Montgomery’s Urania, she concentrates on the experiences of women who resist
oppressive marital practices. In this sense, this paper aims to examine the social context as to the institution of
marriage, the criticism Wroth poses against it, and female assertiveness in the case of unwanted matrimonies.

Keywords

• Lady Mary Wroth
• Renaissance
• romance
• marriage

LADY MARY WROTH’UN THE COUNTESS OF MONTGOMERY’S URANIA ESERİNDE KADIN EYLEMİ VE EVLİLİK GELENEKLERİNİN ELEŞTİRİSİ

Abstract

Lady Mary Wroth, hem kişisel geçmişi hem de kaleme aldığı eserlerden ötürü on altıncı yüzyıl sosyal ve politik kültürü bağlamında yenilikçi ve sıradışı bir figürdür. Bir kadın tarafından yazılan ilk sone dizisinin ve ilk nesir romansın yazarı olmasının yanısıra, ilk kadın oyun yazarlarından da biridir. Edebi üretimi çerçevesinde ele alındığında, Wroth, kadınlarla ilgili konulara öncelik veren bir yazar olarak öne çıkmaktadır. Sone dizisi kadın sesini ifade etmek için bir araç olarak hizmet eder; romansı iffet-sükunet-itaat düsturunu sorgulayan ve ona isyan eden sayısız kadın karakter içerir; tek oyunu ise kadınların başarısını vurgularken çiftler arasındaki ilişkiler üzerine kuruludur. Wroth’un kadınların sorunlarına odaklanma konusundaki kararlılığı, bir kadının görünüşte karşı konulamaz bir sosyal ve politik oluşum altında elde edebileceği muhalefeti vurgulamaktadır. Wroth, The Countess of Montgomery’s Urania eserinde, baskıcı evlilik uygulamalarına direnen kadınların deneyimlerine yoğunlaşmaktadır. Bu bağlamda, bu makale, evlilik kurumuna ilişkin sosyal bağlamı, Wroth’un bu durum hususundaki eleştirisini ve istenmeyen evlilik durumlarında kadın eylemini incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır.

Keywords

• Lady Mary Wroth
• Rönesans
• romans
• evlilik

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