Talk:Venice Preserv'd

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[edit] Interpretation not Preserv'd

I know it's tempting to interpret the play, but we should avoid doing so. In fact, if we are going to offer any at all, we should report interpretations that are well attested. As for the women's issues, it's important to remember that the play was perceived by female theater-goers as a favorite. She-tragedy really picked up after that, where the virtues of suffering women contrast with the business of men. Several critics have talked about the social and private spaces of men vs. women in the Restoration, but there are different codes of honor. Honor matters to all of them, and, although we don't "get it," contemporary audiences not only "got" the references to living politicians, but they also understood the pressures of honor as being equal to those of love. Geogre 11:43, 19 February 2007 (UTC)