Noah’s Uxor: A Shrew Worth Redeeming
1 When Lucy Ricardo sabotaged her husband’s show in an attempt to perform in the show, everyone, with the possible exception of Ricky, laughed. Likewise, when Roseanne Arnold verbally abused anyone who tried to exert any authority over her, the response was again laughter. The trope of the shrew as a humorous character stretches far back in literary history, even arguably as far back as Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, where the wives withheld sex until the men ended their war. While shrewish behavior was rarely condoned in everyday life, in literature it was usually tied to comedy, and therefore the shrew became fun. Along with making her a sympathetic character, humor also allowed the shrew to safely overthrow widely held conventions, particularly that of the husband’s control over his wife.
2In the Middle Ages, one popular depiction of the shrew was Noah’s wife, known by the Latin term for wife, Uxor. In several plays during this time period, Uxor shows herself to be a shrew, refusing to board the ark, insulting Noah, and physically striking Noah. This truculence, however, is humorous, so instead of being forbidden to enter the ship, she becomes a popular character. Instead of a threat to the community, her rebellion becomes acceptable, at least within the drama.
3Medieval communities of England worked, played and prayed together. Religious festivals were celebrated throughout the year, and often involved elaborate rituals and entertainments. These festivals also had a social impact, using humor to develop social commentary and criticism. Medieval drama had a large role in these festivities, presenting, among other things, stories from the Bible which could, at times, allow the playwright to subvert contemporary conventions by placing his concerns in ancient biblical times.
4Corpus Christi cycles started in Europe in the second half of the fourteenth century as a combination of religious ritual, education, and festival celebration. These plays were largely run by guilds, who funded and performed them. Taking place over multiple days, these cycles traced salvation history from Creation to Doomsday. While educating a largely illiterate audience, these cycles also entertained, working humor in amongst the biblical drama. These cycles proved so popular that they lasted over 200 years, despite the amount of funding and time that went into producing them. The plays were performed outdoors on stage wagons that stopped at various points throughout the city, making the performances available to the entire populace.
5Of the medieval cycles, only four, in addition to several single plays and a list of plays belonging to the Beverly cycle, remain. The surviving cycles, Chester, York, Wakefield[1]It should be noted that the unity of the Wakefield cycle, also known as the Towneley cycle, has been called into question. It is clear that the cycle was composed by different authors, but Barbara Palmer has argued that the cycle should be seen more as a mosaic of plays than a unified cycle, based on city records available., and Coventry, and the Beverly list give a clear view of the plays thought most important to a medieval audience. The plays, or multi-play pageants, that appear in the four cycles and the list are The Fall of Lucifer The Creation and Fall of Man Cain and Abel Noah and the Flood Abraham and Isaac The Nativity The Raising of Lazarus The Passion The Resurrection Doomsday (Kolve 51) These plays form the core of salvation history for a medieval audience. The plays either directly portray the salvation attained, such as in the crucifixion sequence, or provide a figural type for salvation, a character such as Abraham who prefigures Christ.