Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Domestic tyranny

We have discussed the nature of tyranical kings somewhat over the course of this semester, but in Hyde Park, a different kind of tyranny is explored in Mistress Carol. In Act I scene 1, Trier describes says of her, "Why, I hear she is / A very tyrant over men." The use of this term seems to imply that Mistress Carol's shrewish (or perhaps merely threateningly intelligent?) manner carries somewhat dangerous consequences. Based on our previous discussions about what makes a leader tyrannical, can we agree with Trier's description of Mistress Carol using this term? What are the implications of moving tyranny to the domestic rather than the political sphere and assigning it to an unmarried and unwidowed female?

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