MAJOR WORKS AND THEMES

Cary’s extant works include The Tragedy of Mariam (1613) and the History of the life, reign and death of Edward II (1627). Until the twentieth century, Edward II was attributed to her husband and still often appears under his name in libraries, since the correct author was identified only after publication. Barry Weller and Margaret W. Ferguson discuss the textual questions about this piece that still trouble critics (12–13). Elizabeth Cary also wrote several saints’ lives and a life of Tamberlaine, which do not survive, and a translation of Jacques Davy du Perron’s The reply of the most illustrious cardinal of Perron (1630), a text that was suppressed shortly after publication.

The Tragedy of Mariam is a Senecan closet drama that retells the story of Herod and Mariam. Cary seems to rely most directly on Josephus’ account of this tale, a version of which was published by Thomas Lodge in 1602. Since The Tragedy of Mariam presents Cary’s revision of Mariam’s history, however, it remains uncertain whether Cary encountered Josephus’ narrative through Lodge, in the original, or through another source. In any case, Cary’s drama was published in 1613, possibly without her consent, then withdrawn from publication immediately (Foster, 160).

Cary’s Tragedy of Mariam often receives autobiographical readings since it offers the story of a woman’s unhappy marriage and her crises of conscience. In the play, Mariam falsely receives word of her husband’s death and learns that he has left word that her own death should follow upon his. Furthermore, her love for her husband is compromised by the knowledge that he earlier ordered the deaths of her brother and grandfather.

The play focuses upon Mariam’s struggle to choose between speaking her mind or silence. In this regard, it is notable that she adds a character not found in Josephus’ narrative: Graphina, a woman who models more conventional female verbal discretion. In addition, Cary’s play presents the figure of Salome as a woman who openly defies traditional constraints against women. Although the drama does not directly offer support for Salome’s views, it allows her space to make a case in favor of female-initiated divorce.

The play is particularly noteworthy for its presentation of the Herod and Mariam story from a female perspective and for compelling insights into early modern concepts of race. It is also probable that the drama is offering a commentary upon the marital practices of Henry VIII.

Cary’s Edward II provides further evidence of the author’s interest in revising traditional histories as more sympathetic to female concerns. It also suggests Cary’s thinking about marriage may have been influenced by her time in Ireland. She does not speak directly about her experiences there; nevertheless, the difference between her portrayals of marriage in The Tragedy of Mariam and in Edward II , as well as the variation between her depiction of Queen Isabel and depictions found in her sources, suggests that her exposure to Irish marriage practices may have combined with her own marital dissatisfactions to produce an unusually sympathetic account of a woman’s nontraditional choices.

Ireland provided a range of subversive behavioral models for women—something that would undoubtedly appear attractive to the Elizabeth Cary we know through the Life . In Irish law, for example, divorce was comparatively easy, and unions were formed and dissolved with relative impunity. Women, particularly those of high birth, had a stronger voice in creating or changing their marital allegiances than most Englishwomen enjoyed.

As others have noted, Cary’s representation of Isabel in her Edward II differs significantly from the image of the queen proffered in Holinshed,* Marlowe,* and elsewhere. Cary’s Isabel demonstrates more agency and less unquestioned culpability than other accounts allow. Although the specifically political aspects of Edward’s story receive more extended treatment, Cary’s account of a savvy and active Isabel stands in sharp contrast to her earlier portrait of the more resigned Mariam. While both the drama and the history present intelligent, articulate women, Isabel evinces the kind of forceful ingenuity that characterized renowned early modern Irishwomen. Mariam, on the other hand, responds verbally to events and situations but impacts her fate less actively. Read together, this pair and Cary’s other female characters offer commentary on a range of roles and choices available to women during the author’s lifetime.