莎士比亚的《驯悍记》和英国的女继承人保护条例(英文)

Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew and England’s Heiress Protection Statute

《驯悍记》讲述了两个故事。在其中一个故事中,彼特鲁乔娶了凯特,并宣称:凯特是他的财产,他拥有婚姻赋予的权利,可以对她为所欲为。该剧的主要故事则围绕路森修和比恩卡展开,故事中路森修计划和比恩卡私奔。这一故事同样涉及到法律主题。首先,他欺骗了比恩卡,允许随从特拉尼奥为比恩卡的嫁妆而谈判。其次是路森修与比恩卡的私奔,这一情节往往被忽略了,但它对于理解法律与文学的关系非常重要。在莎士比亚时代的英国,路森修的私奔很有可能是违法行为,因为财富追逐者的私奔或秘密结婚属于法律条款(4,5 Philip and Mary c 8)(1556)的范畴,这一条例试图阻止男性在未获得女性父亲许可的情况下与富有的女性结婚。该条例确实试图阻止财富追逐者获得女继承人的财产,但是在剧中却并没有能够阻止这场婚姻。不过,莎士比亚在剧中找到了惩罚路森修的办法,实现了法律的意图。

There are two plots in the Taming of the Shrew. In one plot, Petruchio marries then tames Kate. He declares that she is his property, giving him the right to do with her as he pleases. The main plot, however, is about Lucentio and Bianca. It too has a legal theme, since Lucentio plans to elope with Bianca. First, he uses fraud, allowing his servant Tranio negotiate for Bianca＇ s dowery of 20,000 ducats. Second, Lucentio elopes with Bianca; that is, he marries the wealthy girl in secret. The scene where he does so is often overlooked, but is very important to our understanding of the relationship between law and literature. In Shakespeare＇ s England, Lucentio＇ s elopement would have been illegal. Elopement, or secret marriages by fortune hunt- ers, were the subject of a statute, 4, 5 Philip and Mary c 8 （1556）, which tried to prevent men from marrying wealthy women without the permission of their fathers. The statute did try to block the fortune hunter from getting the heiress＇ s money, but it could not prevent the marriage in the play. However, Shakespeare＇ s play finds a way to punish Lucentio, showing what the law intended to do.