Silence Isn’t So Golden

The prescribed reading for my MA modules has yielded some interesting correlations between marriage and women’s autonomy. The first text was The Tragedy of Mariam, written in 1603 by Elizabeth Cary. The second is Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurst. Centuries apart, both texts feature women who are expected to remain silent and act as “the crown of husbands virtue”. Mariam is King Herod’s second wife and it is her inability to hold her tongue that ultimately leads to her downfall and execution. Yet Janie outlives her controlling second husband Jody who dies immediately after she finally vents her frustrations.

According to medieval and early modern homilies, it was a wifely duty to remain silent and do everything in her power to assist her husband. More importantly she is expected to bolster her husband’s reputation. Salomé, Mariam’s sister-in-law, is rebuked by her husband Constabarous for her infidelity. Interestingly, he is more concerned with appearance, his wife must seem virtuous, stating “A virtuous woman crowns her husband’s head”. There should not be any question regarding a wife’s devotion to her husband; her reputation should only enhance his.

Mariam awaiting Herod’s judgement

In a previous post, I examined Laura Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze which objectifies women. In both texts, there is evidence that physical beauty is a key component of a wife’s role. Mariam is described as “the fair Queen of Jewry”. Lighter skin is more aesthetically pleasing and is used to distinguish some form of racial superiority. During an argument, Salomé is insulted for her “half breed” and “mongrel” appearance. Not only does Salomé fail in her wifely duties for seeming unfaithful, her ethnicity is directly tied to her immoral behavior.

The preoccupation with beauty is mimicked in Their Eyes Were Watching God with Jody stating ” A pretty doll-baby lak you is made to sit on de front porch and rock and fan yo’self and eat p’taters dat other folks plant just special for you.” (Herst, p.26). A women’s intellect is not required, only her appearance. Janie’s hair is a source of envy and admiration. Given her mixed racial heritage and her physical description, it is likely her hair is smoother or perhaps slightly straighter than other Black women. When Jody’s customers begin to gaze and touch her hair, he demands she wear it under a rag, seeking to control her even further. He seems to want others to admire him for having a young, attractive wife but not admire her in anyway. Like Herod, Jody is happy to have a beautiful, “fair” wife but is not interested in what she has to say. Jody frequently speaks on Janie’s behalf, cutting across her. This predominantly happens when they are in public. It seems that a wife embarrassing her husband in public is the worst crime she can commit.

Halle Berry as Janie

The idea of silencing women as a method oppression is an idea that has appeared in my own reading and research. Within Shakespeare’s texts, we see many women who are left silent, particularly in the comedies. Measure for Measure is one example. Isabelle, a novice nun, is proposed to by the Duke of Vienna. Yet after his proposal she is silent, neither accepting it nor denying it. This silence is one of the reasons Measure for Measure is considered to be a “problem play”. Actors and directors are left with the challenge of interpreting this silence, as Isabella does not speak again for the remainder of the play. Does she silently accept, willingly or unwillingly or does she walk off the stage, refusing it completely?

The correlation between the Black female experience and Early Modern women is not one I expected, or at least not to find so many similarities. However, I do intend to research the idea of silence in Early Modern drama more thoroughly, perhaps even consider it as a thesis proposal.

 

Works Cited

Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God: A Novel. New York: Perennial Library, 1990. Print.

Cary, Elizabeth. The Tragedy of Mariam, the Fair Queen of Jewry. Manchester: New Mermaids, 2010. Print.

Shakespeare, William. “Measure for Measure”. The Norton Shakespeare Second Edition. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. London: W.W. Norton & Company, 2008. 1499. Print.