From the beginning of the play while all of the other characters are engaging in illegal and sexual activities Isabella is off doing her own thing. She is ignoring the conformity of her fellow characters and choosing to not partake in the sexual promiscuity that is occurring all around Vienna. Instead, she chooses the complete opposite and decides to join a convent. It is almost as if she represent the virtuous and pure virgin Mary and the city of Vienna is essentially the whore. Yet, despite Isabella’s attempt to break away from the sins of the city she is pulled back into the chaos. Just as she is about to assert her final act of sexual independence and claim her body as her own for the rest of her life she is asked by Lucio to use her feminine wiles to help save her brother, Claudio, from being executed. Thinking that her love and respect for God would help persuade Angelo to allow her brother to live she is sadly mistaken. All of Vienna, including the ruler had been engulfed by the lure of sex. And it seems that no matter what Isabella does she can not escape the promiscuity that is occurring in her city. It becomes abundantly clear after Angelo insinuates that he will pardon Claudio’s life if Isabella has sexual intercourse with him that Isabella is not going to be able to escape this life, no matter how badly she wished to join the convent. At the end of the play however, it seems that Isabella may have given into the conformities of marriage and the sins of the city allowing herself to leave behind her dreams of a virtuous and sinless life at the convent. In Act V, the Duke proposes to Isabella, although we are not given her answer before the play ends she seems to be happy and pleased by his proposal. This situation however, of the Duke proposing to her reinforces Isabella’s loss of sexual freedom and identity which she had been trying to hold on to throughout the entire play. Although, Isabella would still be virtuous if she married the Duke she would be denying her freedom. The conflict of Isabella wanting to be an independent woman is still a conflict that occurs today. Which is one of the reasons why Measure for Measure is a great story. Yes, many students probably love it because it focuses on sex, it is essential to a classroom or a person individual library of knowledge because it focuses so heavily on not only modern day conflicts. But the conflict of a woman wanting to be independent, virtuous and able to have their own sexual freedom as well as the ideas and social stigmas that go along with prostitution have continually been themes throughout history since Shakespeare wrote Measure for Measure.
8 comments:
One of the main points of this play was to not fall for temptation. Obviously everyone else around her was unable to keep from doing this. However, Isabella had that chance. She could have went off to the convent and left that world behind her; if that’s what she really wanted to do. Isabella could have escaped the promiscuity in her city. It was only the question if she had that mental effort and the personal push to do so. If she was in any way weak, which she was, she would quit that idea and like she did, fall for temptation. She had a chance to escape that life. At the same time, isn’t it human nature to have an attraction to something? So Yes. Isabella conformed to marriage and the sin city. All this means is that Isabella was human. She felt the lure to the erotic city which was exciting. My question was, did she really have dreams of a sinless life? In my own personal opinion, if she wanted it that bad, she would have said no to Lucio in a heartbeat.
I agree with Caitlin as well. I believe that if Isabella REALLY wanted that sinless life she would have never went to the prison to see Claudio, she would have turned down Lucio at the proposal of going to talk with her brother. I don't know if it's a stretch to say but I also believe that if she really wanted nothing to do with all the sins going on around her she would have instinctively and quickly refused the Duke's marriage proposal. Shakespeare maybe wants us to think that if Isabella never said anything after the proposal she either agreed or was somehow considering it. If Shakespeare wanted us to know that she rejected all of the sexual activity and sinful lives that the other characters have he would have had her immediately refuse the marriage.
I agree with the both of you. Isabella went through an identity crisis of her own through this play. She did however hold true to being chaste. I believe she didn't want the virtuous nun life because she was all for tricking Angelo.I do think she thought she was helping her brother the best she could and still said no to having sex with Angelo. I think the "trick" was her only option and although it was mean, she would still be a virgin. The ending scene did however confuse me a little. I do wonder why we never heard Isabella's answer to the Duke's purposal. My opinion on this one is Shakespeare was making more of a statement. That even the most virtuous people can be tempted into things they were so once against and now it becomes a battle with in oneself to overcome it.
Alissa, I like the fact that you pointed out the unique nature of Isabella's character. The idea of comparing her virtuous character to the promiscuous nature of Vienna as a whole was a really interesting point. Calling an entire city a "whore" is a huge statement to make, but I think you really back up this argument. Isabella, although admirably virtuous, is tragically too weak to protect her true identity in a, (as you put it), sexually-engulfed city.
I think that the ambiguity surrounding Isabella's character is an interesting question to pursue. I agree with many of you that Isabella was never the pious woman guided by what she claimed were her dogmatic interpretations of religious orthodoxy. Thus, I do not think that Shakespeare was necessarily utilizing her character to show how the most pious of people can be brought to sin, but to show how the most outwardly pious are oftentimes the most morally corrupt. I say this, because of the way in which Isabella is often described as fickle and selfish. At one point she is mourning her brother's impending death, and then when he attempts to convince her to sleep with Angelo, she berates him with curses and wishes him dead. Isabella goes back and forth between condemning and mourning for her brother, and in the end, instead of sacrificing herself for his life, she is willing to sacrifice Mariana's future in order to save herself. While I also view the last scene as problematic, upon further thinking, it seems that the Duke and Isabella would be the perfect match, as throughout the play, both don a religious mask in order to hide their true intentions. It is interesting that at the end of the play Isabella is one of the only characters to have not relinquished a mask of sorts, and it seems that through her silence, she is postponing the moment in which she will have to remove her facade and face the Duke. It seems that her last words describe her uneasiness of what is to come, as in attempting to defend Angelo she claims that because his thoughts did not materialize into actions, he should not be executed. In my view, it seems that this scene can be read as a kind of self conscious attempt to deflect attention away from her own sin of putting Mariana in a precarious situation. It seems that Isabella is trying to prove to herself, and implicitly to others, that her involvement in the bed trick should not be condemned.
I really enjoyed reading your post because it really made me think. I, too, thought that Isabella could be viewed as saintly at the beginning of this play. However, as the play progressed I realized more and more that she is still a human being with very human instincts. Even though she vows to the lifestyle of a nun, she is very easily pulled from this commitment and adapts herself to life as a common woman. By the end of this play it is made all the more clear of this change in lifestyle with her supposed marriage to the Duke. This very event is a clear reminder that even individuals that devote their life to God are still human beings. We are reminded of this time and time again in our current society with the sexual accusations that seem to follow Catholic priests all over the world.
Although do not see Isabella quite as pure as the Virgin Mary, I do believe she is virtuous. She willingly went out of her comfort zone as a nun-in-training to attempt to sway Angelo to spare her brother Claudio, portraying a forgiving aspect of her. At the same time, she was not as concerned with letting a stranger sleep with Angelo in her place. It is a more personal interaction than overall forgiveness of sin. She is humanized in this sense.
Wow! What an electric discussion this is! Your post raises a great question and idea, Alissa. I would just add that, as a Protestant nation, England had (at least in theory) removed devotion to the Virgin from religious practice. In that sense, we might see Isabella as a kind of reformed Virgin, one who is unlike the Catholic icon and made to suit the beliefs of a Protestant church?
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