Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Bequeathing woman's freedom

In Bell in Campo, Cavendish presents us with a possible utopia in which women are empowered in a martial environment. Lady Jantil lies decidedly outside this utopia in her static role as devoted widow. However, she places a clause in her will that states that she will leave her maid Nell Careless 1,000 "to live a single life" (Part 2 IV.19), a fate the maid enthusiastically accepts. Given that the female soldiers are folded back into their domestic roles at the end of the play, can we read Nell Careless as the truly free woman in this play? If so, what does that say about Cavendish's vision of the real possibilities of female freedom?

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