Abstract
This essay analyses the inscription of manliness through the mechanics of contract-making in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Irish dramas. The works of William Congreve and George Farquhar are ‘full of contracts’, effectively dramatising a moment in history when contracts appear to replace hierarchical obligations as a medium of social exchange. Analysing comedies such as The Way of the World through the lens of contract theory, this chapter argues that their plots and character types dramatise the uneven distribution of agency within, as well as across, genders. Building on the work of Bridget Orr, this chapter argues that contract’s function as a gendered index of marginal or mainstream political status provides a context to discuss these authors’ problematic place within cultural histories of Irishness.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Title of host publication | Ireland and Masculinities in History |
Editors | Rebecca Anne Barr, Sean Brady, Jane McGaughey |
Place of Publication | Basingstoke |
Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan |
Chapter | 2 |
Pages | 19-38 |
Number of pages | 20 |
Volume | n/a |
Edition | 1 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9783030026387 |
ISBN (Print) | 9783030026370 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published (in print/issue) - 22 Jan 2019 |
Publication series
Name | Genders and Sexualities in History |
---|---|
Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan, Cham |
Keywords
- Ireland
- Gender
- congreve
- Farquhar
- Drama
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Caught in a Contract: Congreve, Farquhar and Contractarian Masculinities'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Profiles
-
James Ward
- School of Arts & Humanities - Lecturer in Early Modern English Literature
- Faculty of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences - Lecturer
Person: Academic