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I. Chastity and the Space Of Female Friendship

What are the possible meanings of "chastity" in Shakespeare and Fletcher's historical context? Beyond both a modern conflation of chastity with celibacy and the familiar Renaissance innovation of marital chastity, a third, less regulatory interpretation involves a morally ambitious chastity, a pursuit of integrity and autonomy, which operates like masculine "virtue" and embodies a similar power.¹⁵ Exploring this aspect of chastity, Philippa Berry considers the use of Petrarchan models in poet-courtiers' representations of Elizabeth I, whose own grand improvisation on her choice "to lyve out of the state of manage" provides the most (in)famous contemporary reference for chastity as a "determynacion."¹⁶ Berry examines the role of Elizabeth as chaste beloved in the development of masculinity through Petrarchan forms, suggesting that

the most vital aspect of the beloved's role as...

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1. Introduction
2. I. Chastity and the Space Of Female Friendship
3. II. Improvisations On the Friendship Form
4. III. Theseus's Power
5. IV. Emilia's Choice
6. V. Conclusion
7. Copyright