The role of the widow in TDOM- John Hathaway

Role of the widow- status in Jacobean society

Being a widow was a status in society that yields the Duchess both tremendous opportunity and freedom but also makes her the focus of suspicion, censure and control. Widows were able to inherit in their own right, and they could then choose themselves if ,and crucially who, they wanted to remarry.

The lusty widow

This was a figure overwhelmed by her lustful desires. Ferdinand calls his sister a “lusty widow. Women in early modern England were thought to desire sex more than men, which was why there was such stress placed on self-control and purity. The Duchess seeks to redefine and reframe the trope of the lusty widow through empowerment- “Diamonds are of most value… that have pass’d through most jeweller’s hands”.

The virtuous widow

Overbury- “she is like the purest gold, only employed for Prince’s medals”. The Duchess stresses her right to own and control her own sexual destiny: “this is flesh and blood, sir”- she states that the role of the virtuous widow is not for her. She eschews the chastity and passionless existence implied by the “alabaster” statue that “kneels” carved into her “husband’s tomb”, as a symbolic representation of the continued veneration that widows were thought to owe their deceased husbands.

Protestant views on widowhood

Towards the end of the 16th century, there was a notable shift away from such Catholic views on widowhood resulting from a change in thinking regarding the role of marriage and family in society. The Protestant approach understood and affirmed the right of the widow to remarry if she chose.

• Duchess: “Be cased up like a holy relic”- this simile compares her and other widows to objects that are venerated but also separated from normal life and human interactions- the Duchess suggests its unfair to expect a young widow to not remarry and start another family.

Challenging perspectives on widowhood

A move away from earlier Catholic perceptions of widows towards a more lenient and accepting Protestant view that supported remarriage. Webster’s radical transformation of Painter’s original source material creates an engaging and sympathetic Duchess. Ferdinand recognises the Duchess’ virtue: “cover her face. Mine eyes dazzle”.