Changing the Subject: Mary Wroth and Figurations of Gender in Early Modern England

Lady Mary Wroth (c. 1587-1653) wrote the first sonnet sequence in English by a woman, one of the first plays by a woman, and the first published work of fiction by an Englishwoman. Yet, despite her status as a member of the distinguished Sidney family, Wroth met with disgrace at court for her authorship of a prose romance, which was adjudged an inappropriate endeavor for a woman and was forcibly withdrawn from publication. Only recently has recognition of Wroth's historical and literary importance been signalled by publication of the first modern edition of her romance, The Countess of Mountgomeries Urania.
Naomi Miller offers an illuminating study of this significant early modern woman writer. Using multiple critical/theoretical perspectives, including French feminism, new historicism, and cultural materialism, she examines constructions of gender in Wroth's time. Moving beyond the emphasis on victimization that has shaped many previous studies, she considers the range of strategies devised by women writers of the period to establish voices for themselves despite daunting cultural constraints.

Naomi J. Miller is an assistant professor of English at the University of Arizona.