Homily on the State of Matrimony and the Portrayal of Women

Women have long struggled to be viewed as and treated as equals. Whilst this is still an ongoing struggle, women are much more equal now than they used to be. The text Homily on the State of Matrimony is an example that clearly proves this as it continuously demeans and belittles women across the course of it, thus demonstrating the common views of women during this time as lower and inferior. Two texts that prominently challenge this view are Arden of Faversham by an unknown author and The Tragedy of Mariam by Elizabeth Cary. In both of these plays, the women are strong examples that directly oppose what the Homily states about women as they are exceedingly strong characters who drive their respective plays much more than the men do. Thus, these two plays defy the view of women presented in the Homily and prove that an inferior view of women during this time period was not entirely dominating.

In Arden of Faversham the character of Alice, who is Arden’s wife, is a very central and prominent figure to the text and arguably the most central character of the text because whilst the text is titled after Arden, it is actually Alice who the plot truly centers around and focuses on. Arden himself is not nearly as central to what occurs in the plot as it follows other characters, especially Alice, as she and others plot his murder. Alice is absolutely a villain and by no means a good person, yet this is exactly what is so important about her as she is so completely ruthless and entirely her own driving force. She is absolutely not, as the Homily states,”a weak creature,” instead she is exceedingly cunning, determined, and bold. She is so bold that she is plotting the murder of her husband so that she may be with someone else. Her boldness is further exemplified many times by the way she is caught or slips up in front of Arden and yet she continuously lies and attempts to cover the truth up as seen in one instance in the lines, “Henceforth I’ll be thy slave, no more thy wife, / For with that name I never shall content thee. / If I be merry, thou straightways thinks me light; / If sad, thou sayest the sullens trouble me; / If well attired, thou thinks I will be gadding; / If homely, I seem sluttish in thine eye. / Thus am I still, and shall be while I die, / Poor wench, abused by thy misgovernment!” (13. 106-113). She is so boldly accusatory and blatantly trying to blame everything on Arden here when he has every right to be suspicious and concerned. This proves she is some being below or inferior to him but rather is actually mostly controlling him as well as the situations around her. Alice is defiant of the beliefs portrayed in the Homily and the beliefs of most of society during this time as she is truly bold and the one driving the narrative and thus the plot that this text follows. Additionally, the fact that Alice is the villain and is so much so driving the entire plot directly refutes the Homily’s statements about women being weak and needing to be led. Whilst the Homily states that husbands “ought to be the leader” Alice makes it exceptionally clear she is a leader in her own right. Alice is not a good person and what she does to Arden cannot be justified, but ultimately, she is a strong woman asserting her power which in turn challenges the portrayal of women in the Homily.

The Tragedy of Mariam features two prominent women in the characters of the titular Mariam and her sister-in-law Salome. The title of this work immediately marks it as different from others of this time as a female character is featured in the title, thus demonstrating her immense importance as the work itself is directly named after her. Mariam and Salome are strikingly different but both strongly exemplify vast contradictions to the portrayal of women displayed in the Homily. Mariam experiences quite the journey across the course of this play and goes from being conflicted in her feelings towards her husband, as seen in the lines, “When Herod lived, that now is done to death / Oft have I wished that I from him were free; / Oft have I wished that he might lose his breath; / Oft have I wished his carcass dead to see / Then rage and scorn had put my love to flight, / That love which once on him was firmly set / Hate hid his true affection from my sight,” to eventually realizing that he is terrible and their relationship is awful (1.2.15-21). At the beginning of the play, it seems like Mariam is committed to being a perfect wife for her husband because she thinks that is what she must do, exactly like what the Homily suggests women should, but by the end of the play she realizes she should not be forced to do this. Her conflicted emotions towards her husband from the beginning become strong beliefs she foundationally stands on later on in the play as she comes to fully recognize the fact that their relationship is majorly flawed and that she should be free to feel about it however she desires to. Mariam is such a complex but powerful figure because in spite of the terrible things her husband does to her she still mourns him when she believes him to be dead and still tries to do what she believes the right thing is before ultimately realizing she deserves better. In stark contrast to Mariam is Salome who is exceedingly bold, manipulative, and central to the events that unfold within the play. She is truly the evil master puppeteer of this text as she is constantly controlling everyone and everything that unfolds within the play. Furthermore, Salome is quite progressive and bold in her beliefs, as is seen in one instance when she is discussing divorce and states, “Why should such privilege to man be given? / Or, given to them, why barred from women then? / Are men than we in greater grace with heaven? / Or cannot women hate as well as men? / I'll be the custom-breaker, and begin / To show my sex the way to freedom's door, / And with an off'ring will purge my sin” (1.4.45-51). These lines so directly refute what is said in the Homily as here Salome makes it clear she believes women should absolutely have access to the same rights as men and should not in any way be, as the Homily states, “the weaker vessel.” Salome may be an evil villain, but she is a villain who has strong beliefs and personality that mark her as an exceedingly bold and standout character that entirely contradicts the obedient inferior wife image portrayed in the Homily. Overall, both Mariam and Salome serve as to prominently challenge the depiction of women presented in the Homily.

Both texts strongly challenge the Homily on the State of Matrimony’s view of women and what this text says about women that may be seen as true in some regards can also be seen as true of the men in these texts. The Homily on the State of Matrimony states that, “lighter they be and more vain in their fantasies and opinion” about women and in the case of Alice and Mariam it can definitely be said that they change their minds a lot. In the case of Alice, the relationship between her and Mosby is a representation of this because the entire plot of the play is centered around their goal of killing Arden so they can be together and yet Alice ends up having massive doubts about their relationship and she even says to Mosby that she regrets getting involved with him and wishes she could still be an honest wife.. However, as big of doubts as Alice has, so too does Mosby, as is seen in the lines, “Yet Mistress Arden lives; but she’s myself, / And holy church rites makes us two but one. / But what for that? I may not trust you, Alice; / But you have supplanted Arden for my sake, / And will extirpen me to plant another. / ‘Tis fearful sleeping in a serpent’s bed, / And I will cleanly rid my hands of her” (8. 37-43). Here Mosby is contemplating murdering her when not long before he seemed willing to do anything to be with her. Alice’s doubts and conflictions pale in comparison to Mosby who goes from wanting to help her murder Arden so they can be together to suddenly stating that he will need to kill Alice eventually. So if Alice can be viewed as “vain in [her] fantasies and opinion” so too and even more so can Mosby as they are both immensely conflicted and changing in what they want. Changing opinions and wants is not something that should be attributed as a weak female trait, it is entirely a normal human trait that anyone can possess and exhibit. With Mariam, her view of her husband Herod changes and this too could be viewed as confirming what the Homily states about women, and yet again as much as Mariam changes how she feels Herod is so much worse. He is so conflicted and confused that he goes as far as to have Mariam killed only to immediately regret it afterward. That kind of confliction and changing opinion is far weaker and is a clear example of a lack of what the Homily states as “constancy of mind.” The Homily specifically notes that, “the woman is a weak creature, not endued with like strength and constancy of mind,” but as these examples prove, if this is being said of women so too should it be said of men. The Homily takes traits that can truly be attributed to anyone and attempts to paint a weak, inferior view of women with them but these texts clearly refute this perception as they center around immensely complex and bold women with personalites far beyond what the Homily imagines. It is entirely centered on false stereotypes and ideas of what a woman is and entirely ignores the fact that every individual is entirely different from the next and assuming any overarching view of all people of a similar kind is extremely harmful and wrong. The women in these texts shine, they drive themselves as well as the narrative, and they have personalities, wants, and act of their own will rather than of their husbands. Overall, whilst the women in these texts are far from perfect, so too are the men, and these texts ultimately strongly challenge the Homily’s view of women.

The portrayal of women in this time is generally not a good or accurate one but it is important to note that certain texts such as Arden of Faversham and The Tragedy of Mariam demonstrate the fact that not all texts and thus not all people shared the same inferior view of women that the Homily on the State of Matrimony portrays. Fair and equal representation, as well as rights for women, have long been a struggle, and whilst texts of the past prove that things have improved a lot it is absolutely still a problem we are continually working on in our society.