Antitheatricalism – Ben Jonson

Antitheatricalism in Light of Ben JonsonsVolpone Commentary by Joel Culpepper Crossdressing in England was mostly opposed by the Fundamentalist differentiate of the Protestant church building known as the Puritans. The Puritan dogma, much alike the concept of transvestism, was constantly challenged. Puritans found resistance in the religious authorities of the Church of England and the English government. Before 1536, the Roman Catholic Church was unimpeded and always won over Puritan proposals regarding legislation.Without a cooperative political ear, the Puritans resorted to experimental spiritual expression by changing their social behavior and structuring. Due to these changes, a formidable way of attacking the theaters use of crossdressing was developed- public preaching and pamphlets. Other individuals and groups (like the Juvenalians) back up the moral and social reform movement by speaking and writing essays and books on the subject. Due to the nature the actors role in Be n JonsonsVolpone, the play was also affect in this moral battle.The ideology behind the Puritan protest was based on biblical sentiment and the patristic literary tradition of Roman writers like Tertullian and St. Augustine. The Puritans religious banner for combatting gender transgression was Deuteronomy 225- The woman shall not wear that which pertains to a man, neither shall a man put on a womans garment (Tiffany 58). In general, pagan myths were also associated with crossdressing. Puritans like William Pryne labeled these actors as beastly young-begetting(prenominal) monsters that degenerate into women (Tiffany 59).Further, the Puritans feared that men dressing as women caused the men in the auditory modality to lust for real females and to form homoerotic desires for the male actors (the reverse was also true for women). The Puritan fear also opposed androgynous Renaissance uniform and womens male hairstyles, as documented in Phillip Stubbes 1583Anatomy of Abuses. Jonson wa s more(prenominal) than aware of these Puritan sentiments. InVolpone, Volpone hopes Celia will submit sexually and down her in more modern forms such as a Brave Tuscan lady, or proud Spanish beauty (Campbell 3. 7. 226, 228). Volpone seems to be conveyor of Jonsons acknowledgment of the actors transformative ability a part of the playwrights (and the actors) self concern of the real drama within a play, or metadrama. In Volpones subsequent proposal to Celia, crossdressing is coupled with androgyny. Male and female liquor are joined in harmony because their lips transfuse their wandering souls (Campbell 3. 7. 234).Ones point of view might relate this as a matter of homosexual or heterosexual sex. The passage could also (ironically) refer to the Puritan sponsored sacrament of marriage- a holy sacrament. It must also be mentioned thatVolpones ending also provides an element of penalisation for sins- lust, avarice and deception being among them. Jonsons blatant use of classical sati re as farce links the feminine male with naivety or belligerency that demeans love and advocates the scholarly, independent male identity.The female image in his plays is often masculine- true to the actors real physicality and the surrounding male chauvinist population. Interestingly, Jonson allows the head male character ,Volpone, to be exceedingly great at his craft of deception while the virtuous Celia adopts an irrational, painful way to keep herself a virgin. Celia vows she will entomb hot coals rather than submit to Volpones desires. The Puritans homophobia is also apparent inVolpone.Volpone makes sure (through explanation) that even though he acted the part of Antonias (a supposed lover of a man king) for the non-heterosexual King Henry III, he is a ladies man. Volpone claims that he attracted/ The eyes and ears of all the ladies present (Campbell 3. 7. 164). In another reversal of gender, Lady Would-be notices her husband with person she believes to be a female prostitu te dressed as a young man. After belittling her husband for this by calling him a thickening of a female devil, she realizes her mistake and apologizes.This situation supports the possibility that Jonson believed the Puritans were making a mistake (like Lady Would-Be) in ignoring permanent, masculine reality and challenging the temporary ,imaginative, and womanly role of actors for immorality. Morality, the main goal of the Antitheatrical movement in the Renaissance, was both supported and denounced by Jonson in various ways. However, the general perception is that Jonson (unlike Shakespeare) fueled the fires of degradation- implicating women with the weakness, lack of intelligence, and agreement they were believed to exude.In the annals of theatrical history, Jonsons metadrama could be said to perpetuate this social stereotype. Nevertheless, Jonsons crossing of the gender line and sexual scenes like Volpones flashing of Celia were enough to have religious, moral, and social comm entators screaming blood murder. Two issues demand prominence in the play. While outwardly a play driven by blatant genderless controversy, the private thematic, character-driven nature ofVolponesuggests a conformity and adherence to the intellectual and theological moralism of the time. http//www. english. uga. edu/cdesmet/joel/PURITAN. html