Pamphilia To Amphilanthus - Sonnet 8

Sonnet 8

The eighth sonnet in Pamphilia to Amphilanthus supports Wroth's overarching themes of a woman's struggle in the 17th Century English society. The sonnet introduces female struggle between coercion and consent to a male lover. Bernadette Andrea's "Pamphilia's Cabinet: Gendered Authorship and Empire in Lady Mary Wroth's Urania" addresses the reasons why a female character would confront the reality of choosing between coercion and consent. One of the main aspects that Andrea approaches is the limits that the historical context put on the author's freedom of speech. Andrea states, "She may write, but only from the limits of her own room; she may preserve her writing, but only within the confines of her own mind". Sonnet 8 is Pamphilia's expression of her own thoughts, emotions, and views.

The power of the patriarchal society on her views is evident. The influence is exemplified in line 6, "I am thy subject, conquered, bound to stand". Voicing her situation, Pamphilia feels subjected to male dominance. However, her desires are unclear on this matter because she says, "behold I yield", (5) as if a declaration of her choice to the relations with Amphilanthus. The idea of free choice for women would be classified as a protofeminist thought because they were grossly oppressed and not allowed to think for themselves. Stephen Mullaney provides insight into the reason that Mary Wroth's work survived by stating, "What comes to reside in a wonder-cabinet are, in the most reified sense of the phrase, strange things: tokens of alien cultures, reduced to the status of sheer objects, stripped of cultural and human contexts in a way that makes them eminently capable of surviving the period that thus produced them". This essay was first published in 1983 and was subsequently included as chap. 3 in Mullaney's extended study of The Place of the Stage: License, Play, and Power in Renaissance England. The social analysis of the survival of the oppressed writings comes from "Strange Things, Gross Terms, Curious Customs". The treatment of women caused Pamphilia to question whether she even has a choice in who she loves (consent) or if that is determined by society (coercion). Her inability to differentiate in the poem is probably due to the subjugation of inferior treatment that she has experienced. Mullaney refers to this as being "reduced to the status of sheer objects". She is forced to analyze if she is merely an object at the disposal of men. As a result, her ability to analyze, invoke higher level thinking, and even her personhood is examined.

Wroth's representation of female emotions conjured with the interaction with of a male suitor puts expected women's values into action. The sonnet explores the "obedience" attribute of what Bernadette Andrea refers to as the "triple injunction" of English culture in the 17th century. The "triple injunction" concept was communicated through many different forms including: educational tracts, religious sermons, and legal codes. Its purpose was to define the perfect woman as upholding social norms through the values of chastity, obedience, and silence. Pamphilia ends the sonnet resolving to "obey" (14) Amphilanthus' "charms", (14) regardless of her own wants. Her conclusion to persevere despite her personal feelings speaks to the cultural understanding of women heroism which is equated with endurance. Pamphilia does not concede all hope of having a choice in the relationship, but does wish to avoid physical hurt.

The sonnet does make an intriguing reference to Astrophel and Stella: in line 13 of the Petrarchan sonnet, Wroth writes, "…Sir God, your boyship I despise". The phrase "Sir God" is linked to the late 16th century poem, Astrophel and Stella. Sidney's Astrophel is referred to as "Sir Foole". According to Catherine Bates, Astrophel contracts similar difficulty as he, "is not only overmastered, the willing victim of a superior power, he is also emasculated". Perpetuating the gender roles of the time, Bates argues that Sidney paints Astrophel, a boy, as feminine. Wroth includes traces of Astrophel and Stella to provide ties to previous gender inequality. Astrophel only experiences the struggle between coercion, "overmastered", and consent, "willing", because he is cast as feminine. Bates's understanding of downward mobility in social status by moving from male to female through Sydney's Astrophel and Stella is strongly supported by Bernadette Andrea's analysis of social norms. Wroth's echo of Sydney's work is to address the gender issues from a new voice: the female perspective.