A Woman Killed With Kindness
by Thomas Heywood
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A woman struggles to survive, and then struggles to die, in Thomas Heywood's startling domestic tragedy about the possession and punishment of women, probably first published in 1607. The marriage of John Frankford, a middling country gentleman, and his wife Anne is comfortable, if uneventful, until he gives his friend Wendoll the free use of his table and purse. Wendoll takes even more than was offered, and confesses his desperate love to Anne, who takes pity on him, and together they fall show more into infidelity. When they are discovered John banishes his wife to a distant manor, forbidden to see their two children, and it is in the comfort of her exile that she will starve herself to death. In the subplot, a woman devoted to her brother is offered as payment for his debts. Usually considered to be a domestic tragedy, 'A Woman Killed With Kindness' is complex in its didacticism, as Heywood explores the boundaries of marital punishment, and the moral weight of mercy. show lessTags
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Heywood is a good example of the professional dramatist who worked for Philip Henslowe, the theatrical manager, both as a playwright and an actor. By his own admission, Heywood claimed to have "either an entire hand or at least the main finger" in 220 plays, of which less than 30 survive. His best-known play, A Woman Killed with Kindness (1603), show more exemplifies domestic tragedy, in which sentiment and homely details are equally mingled. Heywood wrote an eloquent defense of the theater against Puritan attack called An Apology for Actors (1607--08). (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- A Woman Killed With Kindness
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- Members
- 118
- Popularity
- 275,870
- Rating
- (3.25)
- Languages
- English, Polish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 22
- ASINs
- 2
