Happiness: Early Modernity and Shakespearean Comedy

Happiness: Early Modernity and Shakespearean Comedy Kathleen French Faculty of Arts The University of Sydney A thesis submitted in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Abstract This thesis investigates attitudes to happiness in the early modern period and literary representations of positive emotion. It is situated methodologically at the nexus of a number of interconnected approaches. Against a background of body studies and Freudian psychology, it engages with current research in the history of the emotions and work being done in the field of positive psychology. The insights provided by positive psychology into the power of positive emotions, such as optimism, resilience and emotional intelligence, open up a way to access the originality of Shakespeare’s understanding of the emotions and their power in people’s lives. An interdisciplinary approach provides a methodology that can incorporate analysis of imaginative and non-fiction texts with research into the historical, cultural, religious and political influences that shaped how people might have thought and felt about happiness. It considers the extent to which people could be happy in the context of religious beliefs that emphasised the fallen nature of man. As a result of increasing political absolutism and the failure of political theory to provide for societal or personal happiness, people engaged in a process of myth making. They imagined utopian societies, and they imposed their beliefs in the possibility of discovering a lost paradise on the new worlds they discovered in the Americas. More realistically, they accommodated themselves to the conditions of their lives by searching for happiness through forming meaningful personal relationships. Ethical theories about happiness formulated by Aristotle in The Nicomachean Ethics were influential, but came into conflict with theology, especially Augustine’s emphasis on original sin. Aquinas attempted to reconcile philosophy with theology, offering hope that a limited form of happiness might be found in this life. Aristotle, Augustine and Aquinas were formative influences on the ways in which Shakespeare dramatizes the search for happiness in his comedies, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It and Twelfth Night. He reflects the influence of Aristotle in his representation and evaluation of different types of happiness in the comedies. He also creates fallen political and religious worlds in which his characters must grapple with adversity. Aristotle believed that happiness was dependent on living in a benign political state. Living in fallen worlds, some of Shakespeare’s characters demonstrate an aspect of happiness that Aristotle did not address, that it is a condition that can be achieved through adversity. Acknowledgements I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Huw Griffiths, for his unfailing support and encouragement. His interest in my topic encouraged me to branch out in new directions and his extensive knowledge of the early modern period provided me with a reliable sounding board to test my ideas. After discussing my work with him I always left feeling inspired to do better. Huw rigorously proof read my final draft. Any mistakes are my own, made in the last weeks prior to submission. My thanks go to my auxiliary supervisor, Professor Liam Semler, who gave generously of his time to read my work and make helpful suggestions for improvement. I also acknowledge other members of the English Department who showed interest in my topic and gave useful advice, especially Dr Ursula Potter who informed me about her research into links between religion and women’s physical and psychological health. Discussing my ideas with scholars attending conferences on Shakespeare and the history of the emotions broadened the scope of my enquiry. Adjunct Professor Toni Noble introduced me to the field of positive psychology. She provided guidance in making me aware of key thinkers in the field and has been constantly helpful in her readiness to discuss their theories and findings with me. Dr Robin Murray shared information about the clinical applications of positive psychology to physical and mental health. Dr Rob Pigott has showed continuing interest in my research and has enthusiastically discussed positive psychology, happiness and Shakespeare with me. I have enjoyed our talks. I acknowledge the interest and support of my family, colleagues and friends, especially Dale Amir, Anna Candler, Justin Doyle, Martin Sims and Sue Soper. Finally, I would like to pay tribute to the late Tim Kelly, who first encouraged me to believe that this was a project worth pursuing. Contents Introduction 1 Studies of the emotions Psychological approaches The influence of Aristotle on conceptions of happiness The influence of Augustine The influence of Aquinas The influence of Aristotle in the sixteenth century Concepts of happiness and word usage Overview of thesis Chapter 1. The Relationship of Religious Belief and Political Theory to Happiness 53 Differing views about the desire for happiness in this life The experiences of women: Katherine Stubbes, Lady Mildmay and Lady Hoby Different attitudes to government Chapter 2. Searching for the Ideal: Utopian Fiction, the Myth of Venice and the New World 91 The construction and the failure of the Utopian vision The myth of Venice The search for the ideal in the New World The challenge to accepted ideologies The attempt to construct real life utopias Chapter 3. The Importance of Interpersonal Relationships as a Source of Happiness 133 Happiness and intimacy Friendship and politics Private friendship between men and amity’s utopian discourse The letter as an expression of intimacy Intimacy and the Republic of Letters Happiness and women Whether sexual relationships could be a legitimate source of happiness Happiness in marriage Chapter 4. Looking for Different Types of Happiness in The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It and Twelfth Night 182 Shakespeare’s exploration of the nature of virtue Hierarchies of happiness Hedonism and happiness Pleasure and content The highest form of happiness Chapter 5. Looking for Happiness in a Fallen World 223 Shakespeare’s exploration of the dark forces in human nature A more optimistic vision of human nature The cruelty of laughter Living in fallen worlds Coping with trauma and grief The power of forgiveness The wisdom of the melancholic and the fool Engagement or retreat? Chapter 6. Rewriting Eve 264 Reason and emotion Emotional intelligence The gendering of melancholy Coping with grief, optimism and resilience Women as agents of change Conclusion 306 References 312 1 Introduction. My thesis investigates attitudes to happiness in the early modern period and the literary representation of positive emotion. It is based on the presumption that the desire for happiness is pan-cultural, but the ways in which happiness is expressed will be culturally constructed.1 Consideration of a wide range of texts from diverse time periods and cultures draws attention to the enduring nature of the desire for happiness; influential figures like Aristotle, Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas thought that it was important to discuss the nature of the emotion. Their views were formative in shaping how subsequent thinkers and writers represented happiness, but they were also subject to reinterpretation and challenge as they were read in different cultural contexts. In the early modern period some people conformed to ways of thinking that were perceived to be orthodox in their particular environment. Other writers reveal a tension between the views they felt obliged to express and the desire for more individual opinions. More radically, writing might constitute sites of resistance as men and women challenged expectations and beliefs that they considered repressive. In the last twenty years scholarly research into the early modern period has focused on cultural constructions of the human body, on how representations of the body were shaped by theories about the humours, and how an understanding of these emotions illuminates our response to literary characters. Whilst I engage with early modern and contemporary 1 My presumption has similarities with the views of Gail Kern Paster, Katherine Rowe and Mary Floyd-Wilson. They accept that similarities in emotional experience support claims for the biological basis of emotion, but believe that an insistence on universality is too dismissive of the variety of emotional experience and expression to be found in differing times and cultures. They reach a compromise position that “some emotions are probably pan-cultural and some are highly determinate.” Gail Kern Paster, Katherine Rowe and Mary Floyd-Wilson, ed., Reading the Early Modern Passions: Essays in the Cultural History of Emotion (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004), 9. 2 discourses that relate to this research, my focus on happiness opens up new possibilities for analysing the philosophical and theological influences on attitudes in the sixteenth century. The central argument of my thesis is that recent critical focus on negative emotions has failed to recognise the part played by positive emotions in peoples’ lives. In considering the importance and power of positive emotions I draw on the twenty-first-century discipline of positive psychology and the ways in which it deals with the complexities of human emotion. The connections I make to positive psychology will be particularly pertinent to my discussion of Shakespeare’s comedies,

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