A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Carthage's Palladium: John Marston's Sophonisba
Authors: Frigren, Maija-Riitta
Publisher: WALTER DE GRUYTER GMBH
Publishing place: BERLIN
Publication year: 2025
Journal: Anglia
Journal name in source: ANGLIA-ZEITSCHRIFT FUR ENGLISCHE PHILOLOGIE
Journal acronym: ANGLIA-Z ENGL PHILOL
Volume: 143
Issue: 2
First page : 263
Last page: 280
Number of pages: 18
ISSN: 0340-5222
eISSN: 1865-8938
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/ang-2025-0021
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1515/ang-2025-0021
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/499155627
Abstract
John Marston depicts in his play Sophonisba, or The Wonder of Women (1606) an ideal female ruler. In a very powerful image Sophonisba is compared to Carthage's Palladium, a miraculous guardian statue. The first performance season of Sophonisba may have been the last, too, because there is no record of its revival. In spite of this it may have influenced later playwrights like Philip Massinger and John Ford. In this article I try to examine whether that is plausible. The female protagonists in Philip Massinger's The Emperor of the East (1631) and John Ford's The Broken Heart (1633) can be described as ideal women rulers and they have certain characteristics in common with Sophonisba. In addition, I take a look at Massinger's The Bondman (1623) and its heroine Cleora. In the beginning of that play, she displays a similar valiant spirit to Sophonisba, although the play as a whole is very different from Sophonisba. All in all, these female characters are described as exemplary women whose virtues are beyond the reach of ordinary women. We can only wonder at the wonder of women.
John Marston depicts in his play Sophonisba, or The Wonder of Women (1606) an ideal female ruler. In a very powerful image Sophonisba is compared to Carthage's Palladium, a miraculous guardian statue. The first performance season of Sophonisba may have been the last, too, because there is no record of its revival. In spite of this it may have influenced later playwrights like Philip Massinger and John Ford. In this article I try to examine whether that is plausible. The female protagonists in Philip Massinger's The Emperor of the East (1631) and John Ford's The Broken Heart (1633) can be described as ideal women rulers and they have certain characteristics in common with Sophonisba. In addition, I take a look at Massinger's The Bondman (1623) and its heroine Cleora. In the beginning of that play, she displays a similar valiant spirit to Sophonisba, although the play as a whole is very different from Sophonisba. All in all, these female characters are described as exemplary women whose virtues are beyond the reach of ordinary women. We can only wonder at the wonder of women.
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