Shakespeare's Widows

Shakespeare s Widows moves thirty-one characters appearing in twenty plays to center stage. Through nuanced analyses, grounded in the widows material circumstances, Kehler uncovers the plays negotiations between the opposed poles of residual Catholic precept and Protestant practice - between celibacy and remarriage. Reading from a feminist materialist perspective, this book argues that Shakespeare s insights into the political and economic pressures the widows face allow them to elude mechanistic ideology. Kehler s book provides extensive historical background into the various religious and cultural attitudes towards widows in early modern England.

Author: D. Kehler
Publisher: Palgrave MacMillan
Published: 07/01/2009
Pages: 246
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.70w x 0.70d
ISBN: 9780230617032

Review Citation(s):
Chronicle of Higher Education 09/04/2009 pg. 17
Choice 03/01/2010

About the Author
DOROTHEA KEHLER is Professor Emeritus of English Literature, San Diego State University, USA and a Life Member of Clare Hall, Cambridge University.