The Father and Authority in Measure for Measure

Coming to Measure for Measure right off the heels of Othello, one of the first things I looked at was marriages. Remember how in Othello, marriage and consummation occurred before the beginning of the play. Othello, in that case was described as a beginning in a state of disarray, then resuming the status quo through destruction. In Measure for Measure I see something similar occurring, the play starting in a state of disarray through the perversion of marriage and comedic conventions, but the solution is to superimpose a 'happy' comedic ending, rather than ending in tragedy.

Marriages in Shakespeare's era always went through a certain sequence, Father giving permission, Marriage then Consummation. However in Measure for Measure, this doesn't quite occur in this order. Consummation occurs before marriage, and the marriages at the end aren't conclusive or particularly joyous occasions. We have already covered sex in the lectures, so I will focus my post on the first in the sequence, the need to attain permission from the father.

First of all, there is no father in the play. While in Othello, this was highlighted as the major breach of decorum, in Measure for Measure, this is more subtle, being simply not mentioned. As far as the events in the play have occurred Juliet, Isabella and Mariana's father was not asked to consent to their marriages. In fact the 'father' of these families is not even present in the play. If we decide to look at father as just being the partriarchal figure of the society, then perhaps we can choose the Duke. But right at the beginning we see he, the head of this society, or our closest alternative to this 'father figure' steps down, and relinquishes the power of decision making. We then see that marriages do not occur, and in fact are forbidden during the next few Acts without patriarchal consent. Angelo, as an unsatisfactory replacement simply prevents marriages from occurring.

Marriages only occur right at the end, when the Duke regains his position and arranges the marriages. However, while this is preferable to the period before without this process, the marriages in the end still do not feel quite right. This can be attributed to the fact that, troublingly, the Duke usurps the role of the father. I probably sound rather freudian at the moment, but while the Duke in a way can be seen as the figurative father of the society, he is not the Isabella, Juliet, Mariana or indeed the whore that Lucio marries' true father. Thus, in a correctly functioning society he should not be able to authorise marriages for them. What occurs in the end is a show of authoritarian power, the Duke imposes his authority, bypassing the natural order and takes control of the family unit.

In the context of Shakespeare's time it is easy to draw parallels between the play and events occurring. The Duke's assumption of authoritarian power, usurping even the father's right's as head of the family can be seen as a direct response to James I's interest in authoritarianism. the contrast between Angelo's unsuitable rule, and the Duke's conclusive reassertion of power could also be an interesting comparison between the fears of authoritarianism against the fear of lacking a king altogether, that was acutely felt during the end of Elizabeth's reign. In fact it almost seems as if Shakespeare's predicting Oliver Cromwell, but I'm straying off topic. There is a fear perhaps, of how although peace can be obtained through authoritarian rule, this might not always be a satisfactory peace. And the dangers of authoritarianism intruding on previously sacred tenets, such as the fathers right to control his family, can be seen acutely expressed in this play.

This is part of the reason that the ending to Measure for Measure seems inconclusive, despite the marriages seeming, on the surface, to satisfy the requirements for a joyous ending. The effect of an authoritarian imposition of a comedic ending can be seen in fact that two of the marriages are enforced as punishments. Angelo marrying Mariana, and Lucio marrying a whore were both used as punishments with Lucio indeed claiming 'marrying a punk, my lord, is pressing to death, whipping, and hanging'(V.i.515-516). Isabella's marriage is alike, simply announced by the Duke, neglecting to ask the opinion of either Isabella, or more importantly, her father. The Duke simply is unable to provide conclusive happy marriages through his power. That is because he is trying to perform a role that he is not meant to play.

The Duke's assumption of patriarchal authority is one of the things that create the troubled ending, preventing it from fitting neatly into the comedy genre. The ending itself is one superimposed by Shakespeare, on the far more tragic ending of the original source text. In a sense you see Shakespeare using the Duke in a similar way. (except of course, since Shakespeare, if you will, is the 'God' of the universe he created, by having the Duke also doing the same thing he is, he is in fact having the Duke attain authority he is not meant to have). The Duke is superimposing the marriages of comedy onto a situation that should be tragic. So all in all, in the Duke's appropriation of Fatherly Authority, we see him transcending the limits of his own rank in part creating the uneasiness of the ending.

Quincy Chuck English 142B - Section 1F 22/10/2008