著者

蒔田 裕美

出版者

英米文化学会

雑誌

英米文化 (ISSN:09173536)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.40, pp.89-109, 2010

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Philaster, or Love Lies a-Bleeding, a collaboration by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, was one of the most successful tragicomedies that appeared on the Jacobean stage. It is said that Shakespeare followed the fashion set by them in writing romances such as Cymbeline and The Winter's Tale. Arethusa, the heroine of Philaster, represents-at least in some aspects-the "patient Griselda" type, a romantic character appearing in medieval and Renaissance Europe, noted for her enduring patience and wifely obedience. This motif can be found in Shakespeare's Cymbeline and The Winter's Tale. The purpose of this paper is to consider the heroine character of Philaster by comparing it with Shakespeare's Griselda heroines, and by showing some new features found in Beaumont and Fletcher's work. Shakespeare's heroines recognize that their sufferings are derived from the gods. Thus they endure their trials conventionally until time reveals the truth and things end in the spirit of "all's well that ends well," as in the Griselda tradition. Arethusa, however, already deviates from the typical Griselda heroine motif in the sense that she doesn't wait for a happy ending and, instead, takes passionate action to get married to her lover. In conclusion, Beaumont and Fletcher succeed in creating a sensational play, as the subtitle "Love Lies a-Bleeding" symbolically suggests.