Prisoners of love

cross-cultural and supernatural desires in Lady Mary Wroth's Urania

Sheila T. Cavanagh

pp. 93-110

in: Constance C. Relihan, Göran V. Stanivukovic (eds), Prose fiction and early modern sexualities in England, 1570–1640, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2003

Abstract

Lady Mary Wroth's The Countess of Montgomery's Urania¹ is filled with innumerable characters who undergo countless romantic and political adventures. Dominated by episodes involving the royal offspring of the Kings of Morea, Naples, and Romania, this voluminous romance covers significant geographical and intellectual territory. In the printed text, the central characters come of age, both personally and professionally. Many of them inherit thrones and establish knightly reputations, at the same time that they become embroiled in complex romantic entanglements that conclude with a number of marriages and a host of broken hearts. The manuscript Urania continues to follow most of these characters, as well as many of their children, spouses, and confederates. The sequel also expands the geographical scope of the narrative and introduces characters from beyond the western regions that predominate in part one. Most notable among these newcomers is Rodomandro, the dark skinned King of Tartaria, who marries Queen Pamphilia, the central female figure in the story. In addition, the manuscript continues Wroth's examination of other exotic territories, such as the realm of the occult.