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been kidnapped, and is now planning to invade Lady Happy's kingdom. The Prince(ss) announces: "since I am discovered, go from me to the
Councilors of this State, and inform them of my being here, as also the reason, and that I ask their leave I may marry this Lady; otherwise, tell them I will have her by force of Arms." In a scene labeled as "written by the Duke," Madam Mediator weeps to the gentlemen of the town that the reputation of the convent has been destroyed by the discovery of a man within its walls. After a conversation of sexual innuendo, she asks the gentleman to keep the Princess’s sex a secret, but they tell her that the news is already broadly known. The play ends with the marriage of the Prince and Lady Happy. They dance, and the Prince promises to maintain the convent of pleasure for virgins and widows.
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figuratively), and an uprising scholar has argued that the relationship between the Prince(ss) and Lady Happy could be considered asexual in nature. Scholars argue that the emphasis on pleasure gravitates towards sensuality rather than sexuality, and sensuality can exist in the absence of sexual desire/attraction, also, it is important to note that the characters themselves (Lady Happy and the Prince(ss) never express the need for sexual satisfaction. This further adds to the queer narrative that is assigned to the play, especially because the relationships between the women in the
Convent are "intense, even romantic, but not sexual."
134:: An unnamed suitor who joins the convent in the guise of a woman and develops a romantic relationship with Lady Happy. This character is listed as "The Princess" in the first edition list of characters, and for most of the play, stage directions refer to this character as "Princess." Near the end of the play, an ambassador arrives who declares that the Princess is a prince who has gone missing from his kingdom; from this point, the stage directions refer to this character as the "Prince" rather than the "Princess."
29:
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placed on women by their role as wives. The long and detailed play-within-a-play depicting the suffering of marriage is particularly seen as presenting a categorical rejection of marriage. In contrast, life in the convent is presented as a fundamentally better existence for women. Specifically, it allows them greater bodily autonomy and agency, and the opportunity to enjoy physical pleasure through clothing, food, art and music.
254:. The early scenes of the play repeatedly make the argument that marriage is a primarily economic relationship, and one in which wives are the losing party. By rejecting marriage, Lady Happy also therefore refuses to transfer her personal wealth to a husband. Her personal decision to remove a valuable commodity (herself) from economic circulation is seen by the other characters as a threat to the
203:), depicting the miseries which men cause for women: husbands who get drunk, abuse their wives, and spend or gamble all their money; the physical and mental strain of pregnancy, childbirth, and child-rearing; the sorrow of children's deaths; the horror of rape. At the end of this play, the Princess expresses mild disapproval, saying that more people are happy in their marriages than are unhappy.
211:
pastoral scene closes with verses believed to be written by
Margaret Cavendish's husband. A dance is organized with a prize to be awarded to the best dancers. The prize is awarded to Lady Happy and the Princess. The Princess soliloquizes, resolving to remain with Lady Happy rather than return to the masculine outside world. An extended water-nymph scene follows: the Princess, dressed as
195:
inside the convent. She also relates a rumour that an unknown
Princess wishes to join the convent. The act ends with the Monsieurs, who have been unable to garner state intervention against the convent, concocting a plan to disguise themselves as working women in order to enter, however, they never achieve to do so.
198:
The
Princess is welcomed to the convent at the start of Act III. The Princess notes that many of the women in the convent have paired off together romantically, with some wearing men's clothes. The Princess asks to "act Lovers-parts" in male attire with Lady Happy, who gladly agrees. The women of the
194:
In Act II, the
Monsieurs disapprove of Lady Happy's plan because it prevents them from acquiring her wealth through marriage. They decide to petition the state to dissolve her convent. Madam Mediator visits the convent and hears from Lady Happy and the other inhabitants about how much they enjoy life
265:
In light of these strong critiques of marriage, analysis of the play often tries to identify the particular qualities of Lady Happy's relationship with the Prince(ss) which might allow them to be happy. These scholars point to
Cavendish's reportedly happy marriage to her own husband, and to positive
218:
In Act V, Madam
Mediator announces that the ladies of the convent have been deceived by a man in women's clothing. The Princess calmly expects to be above suspicion, but an ambassador arrives and addresses the Princess as his Prince. The ambassador reports that their kingdom assumed their prince had
294:
Within
Cavendish's play although the main topic is cross-dressing and female female love, other scholars have also noted the masculinity the Prince(ss) serves in the play. Reason being the constant note of Lady Happy mentioning how “masculine servant" is. Within the text, their romance is seen as
301:
Recent scholars have also found that other than female-female love, there is a newer theme in queer theory that is being applied to
Cavendish's play: asexuality. Lady Happy engages in pleasure without men away from the eye of the public that often sought to penetrate her body (both literally and
261:
The play also emphasizes the non-economic disadvantages of marriage for women, including wives' physical vulnerability to their husbands, the life-threatening danger of childbirth, and the emotional limitations caused by their subordination. Lady Happy repeatedly criticizes the social restraint
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scene: Lady Happy, dressed as a shepherdess, is feeling overwhelmed by her love for the Princess. The Princess arrives dressed as a shepherd and they embrace and kiss. Another woman dressed as shepherd attempts to woo Lady Happy but is rejected, while the Princess's advances are accepted. The
190:
Act I begins with three Gentlemen discussing the death of Lady Happy's father, Lord Fortunate. They describe their intent to woo her now that she is independently wealthy. Lady Happy tells Madam Mediator that her own plan is to live with other women and enjoy a life away from men.
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romance. Some scholars see their relationship as a "fleeting fantasy" of lesbianism, which is overridden by a solidly heterosexual and patriarchal ending. Others see it as the first portrayal of "lesbian love" in English literature, and therefore part of an important history of
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unnatural, although the Prince(ss) seems comfortable wearing men's clothing. This argument of male-female-male cross-dressing plays an important role on surprising the audience and breaking the gender norms, further enhancing the queer reading that can be given to
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in 1668. It tells the story of Lady Happy, a noblewoman who chooses to reject marriage in favor of creating a community - the titular “convent” - in which she and other women of noble birth can live free from the constraints of
583:
Smith, Kelsey Brooke. Perilous Power: Chastity as Political Power in William Shakespeare's Measure for Measure and Margaret Cavendish's Assaulted and Pursued Chastity. Dissertation, Brigham Young University, 2014. BYU,
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The play was published under Cavendish's name, which was unusual for a work written by a woman at the time. Cavendish never attempted to have it staged, and instead devised it as something more akin to a
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details of the relationship between Lady Happy and the Prince(ss), to support the idea that it is possible for women to desire marriage in a relationship that is non-hierarchical and collaborative.
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social order. The character Monsieur Facil is responding to this threat when he petitions the state to force Lady Happy out of her convent "for the good of the Commonwealth."
796:
Jankowski, Theodora A. (1998). "Pure Resistance: Queer(y)ing Virginity in William Shakespeare's 'Measure for Measure' and Margaret Cavendish's 'The Convent of Pleasure'".
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A wealthy noblewoman who inherits her father's estate and decides to seclude herself inside with a group of other women rather than finding a man to marry.
110:. Also, it is important to note that the ending of the play was supposedly written by her husband William Cavendish who also helped her publish some of her work.
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is whether Lady Happy's marriage at the end of the play represents a desirable ending, or a simple acknowledgement that for most women, marriage is inevitable.
490:
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The informal leader of a group of men who oppose the existence of the convent and devise unsuccessful schemes to bring an end to it. He is accompanied by
717:
Shaver, Anne (1999). "Agency and Marriage in the Fictions of Lady Mary Wroth and Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle". In King, Sigrid (ed.).
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Tomlinson, Sophie (1992). "'My Brain the Stage': Margaret Cavendish and the Fantasy of Female Performance". In Brant; Purkiss (eds.).
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291:. In both readings, the potential for lesbian pleasure is seen as an additional threat to the institution of patriarchal marriage.
536:"Convents As Feminist Utopias: Margaret Cavendish's The Convent of Pleasure and The Potential of Closeted Dramas and Communities"
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Kellett, Katherine (2008). "Performance, Performativity, and Identity in Margaret Cavendish's "The Convent of Pleasure"".
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Kellett, Katherine (2008). "Performance, Performativity, and Identity in Margaret Cavendish's "The Convent of Pleasure"".
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Kellett, Katherine (2008). "Performance, Performativity, and Identity in Margaret Cavendish's "The Convent of Pleasure"".
215:, and Lady Happy, dressed as a sea goddess, sit surrounded by sea-nymphs and describe their luxurious underwater kingdom.
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utopia, in which women attempt to improve their lives by avoiding marriage. As such, a key interpretive question for
968:"Traumatic Pregnancy, Queer Virginity, and Asexual Reproduction in Margaret Cavendish's The Convent of Pleasure"
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marriage, in which a woman's property becomes the property of her husband, is represented as an obstacle to
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282:'s comedies. One result of the Prince(ss)'s cross-dressing is that much of the play appears to show a
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Bonin, Erin Lang (Spring 2000). "Margaret Cavendish's Dramatic Utopias and the Politics of Gender".
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Bonin, Erin Lang (Spring 2000). "Margaret Cavendish's Dramatic Utopias and the Politics of Gender".
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Holmesland, Oddvar (2013). "The Convent of Pleasure (1668): Cross-gendering Negotiation".
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The (Wo)Man in the Masque: Cross-Dressing as Disguise in Early Modern English Literature
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ideals and questions the expected roles of women in 17th-century English society.
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Two married women who live outside the convent. Friends of Madam Mediator.
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Several of the secondary characters also appear in Cavendish's play
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is one of several plays by Cavendish that depict a form of
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Newcastle, Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of,?-1674 (1999).
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convent then stage a play within the play (also called a
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Utopian Negotiation: Aphra Behn and Margaret Cavendish
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356::
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