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Intertextuality and Voice in the Early Modern English Controversy About Women

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Intertextuality and Voice in the Early Modern English Controversy About Women ABSTRACT Title of Document: CONTEXT MATTERS: INTERTEXTUALITY AND VOICE IN THE EARLY MODERN ENGLISH CONTROVERSY ABOUT WOMEN Maggie Ellen Ray, Doctor of Philosophy, 2014 Directed By: Professor Theresa Coletti, Department of English Professor Jane Donawerth, Department of English This dissertation examines three clusters of works from the early modern English controversy about women—the debate about the merits and flaws of womankind—in order to argue that authors in the controversy took advantage of the malleability of women’s voices to address issues beyond the worth of women. I depart from standard treatments of the controversy by giving priority to the intertextual contexts among works that engage with one another. Attending to the intertextual elements of this genre reveals the metapoetic concerns of the authors and the way such authors fashion their feminine apologists as discursive agents in order to express those concerns. Chapter 1 examines Edward Gosynhyll’s sixteenth-century works in tandem with Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Legend of Good Women and “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale,” arguing that Gosynhyll’s revisions of Chaucer—revisions embodied by the feminine apologists in the texts—are integral to his project of establishing the controversy genre as multivalent and dialectical. The resulting metacommentary examines in a new light the age-old rhetorical tradition of exemplarity, a persuasive tool used in diverse literary genres. Chapter 2 considers the way the anonymous play Swetnam the Woman-Hater uses cross-voicing and cross-dressing to establish the performative nature of controversy conventions. In doing so, the play argues for the social benefits of abandoning essentialist logic in favor of gender performance, as such performance makes the role of apologist available to men and women alike. This cluster reconsiders the very processes by which a person— male or female—can be known to others. Finally, I trace John Taylor’s use of the marginal woman in his controversy works in order to demonstrate the extent to which Taylor makes these women instrumental in establishing his own poetic and social identity. This project contributes to studies on the English controversy as well as to the field of early modern women and women’s writing by arguing that authors found the genre generally and the woman’s voice specifically to be fit vehicles for articulating poetic agendas beyond the immediate task of debating the nature of womankind. CONTEXT MATTERS: INTERTEXTUALITY AND VOICE IN THE EARLY MODERN ENGLISH CONTROVERSY ABOUT WOMEN By Maggie Ellen Ray Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate of Philosophy 2014 Advisory Committee: Professor Theresa Coletti, Co-Chair Professor Jane Donawerth, Co-Chair Professor Kimberly Anne Coles Professor Kellie Robertson Professor Carmen Benito Vessels © Copyright by Maggie Ellen Ray 2014 Dedication To Jason, my greatest defender. “La nostra volontà quïeta virtù di carità, che fa volerne sol quel ch’avemo, e d’altro non ci asseta.” —Dante, Paradiso, 3.70-72 ii Acknowledgements Numerous faculty throughout my educational career have made this project possible. For focusing my love of books into a fascination with English literature, I thank Lorena Thompson. During my undergraduate years at Claremont McKenna College, Lisa Foreman Cody introduced me to the intrigue of historical accounts of literary periods through her course “Shakespeare in the Age of Elizabeth,” with readings I still turn to today. Adam Bradley encouraged me as a critic, a researcher, and a friend, modeling the benefits of a classroom built on enthusiasm for the subject. Ann R. Meyer first introduced me to medieval literature, and for that I will always be grateful. Tobias Gregory and Colleen Jaurretche provided crucial foundations in Renaissance literature while demonstrating the collegiality, compassion, and good-naturedness that marks the exceptional teachers from the rest. And Audrey Bilger, to whom my debt of gratitude cannot be expressed nor repaid, taught me that there is nothing more important than pursuing your passion, nothing more powerful than a woman on a mission, and nothing worthwhile that is not also difficult. At the University of Maryland, I encountered teachers and scholars whose richness of imagination, depth of knowledge, and undaunted work ethic made it impossible to envision a more appropriate place to grow as a scholar. Gerard Passannante’s early encouragement of my interest in the oddities of a medieval fabliau and Thomas Moser’s passionate introduction to Chaucer confirmed my sense of belonging in the department. Sandy Mack provided pedagogical mentoring above and beyond his duties, and I aspire to his candidness, compassion, and intelligence. Kim Coles pushed my comfort zones of knowledge and has been an invaluable resource, and Kellie Robertson offered crucial feedback on this project while also proving an encouraging and resourceful mentor during the job search. Kandice Chuh was a paradigm of grace and intellect, reminding students why we do this work in the first place. To Jane Donawerth, I owe my gratitude for introducing me to a breadth of writing by Renaissance women, inspiring both my first publication and this current work. Her diligent and swift feedback, capacious knowledge of the period, and endless enthusiasm throughout the dissertation process made this project rich in ways I could not have imagined. Finally, Theresa Coletti has supported me as student, scholar, teacher, and person at every step of the way with candor, a sense of humor, patience, and incredibly keen insights to both her own field and the academy at large. I look forward to a lifetime of saying that I was once her student. My friends and colleagues have made these years as enjoyable as possible, providing encouragement, entertainment, and inspiration in the form of their companionship and their own scholarship. At the University of Maryland, I thank Jasmine Lellock for paving the path-less-taken to Mama, PhD; Ted Kaouk, for consistently stretching the limits of my knowledge and offering kind words iii whenever I see him; Andy Black, for reminding us all that there is more to life than a PhD; Lew Gleich, Porter Olsen, Martin Camper, Katie Stanutz, Liz DePriest, Jamison Kantor, Nathan Kelber, Chris Maffuccio, and Nathaniel Underland for their friendship; Rebecca Lush, for proving that surviving this process with grace and a smile is possible. To Ann Hubert, Gina Di Salvo, and Allison Adair Alberts, my gratitude for intellectual encouragement and camaraderie. I could not have managed this project logistically or emotionally without the support of a small handful of peers: Kyle and Vickie Garton- Gundling, Michelle Boswell, Amanda Dykema, and Amy Merritt. To you all, I owe perhaps the greatest thanks, as you offered material support in the form of lovingly entertaining my son, intellectual support at every step of the way, and most of all, the kind of friendship that asks for nothing in return. May our paths always cross. To my friends and family outside the department, I owe my deepest gratitude to your patience, your assistance with the practicalities of dissertating while raising a small child, and your ability to help me maintain perspective and the energy to keep going. My in-laws have been kinder and more wonderful than the label “in- laws” can ever connote; my parents have provided financial and emotional support, especially my mother Debbie Arnold, who flew across the country to entertain her grandson during the final stretch of this project. My older brother has modeled optimism towards life that I hope to one day emulate. Edward and Laura Chester, whose friendship has provided more strength to me than they can know, and especially to Laura, who has been on this journey with me since the first infantile steps. To my twin sister and her husband Michael, who have saved me from various forms of “life happens,” who have put no limits on what I can ask of them and expect to receive, and who have believed in me every step of the way, I cannot thank you enough. To my beautiful son, for waddling into my office and reminding me why I am in there in the first place, I hope you will one day understand why I spent so many hours doing this instead of playing with you; I love you. But most of all, and always, to my husband, Jason Ray. You are a monument of patience, love, and support. I could not have done this without you, and I would not have wanted to. Thank you. iv Table of Contents Dedication.............................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements .............................................................................................. iii Table of Contents...................................................................................................v Introduction............................................................................................................1 Privileging Dialectical Exchange ........................................................................5 Voice: The Feminine Apologist as Discursive Agent .......................................10 Chapter Outline..................................................................................................21 Chapter 1: Exemplarity and The Chaucerian Origins of the Early English Controversy about Women.................................................................................27
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