A Critique of Poor Reading: Antissia's Madness in The Countess of Montgomery's Urania

Summary

Introduction

WHEN Mary Wroth published The Countess of Montgomery’s Urania in 1621, she contributed to a long-running debate about the value and dangers of reading. Reading in general was often thought to be perilous, and the popular romance genre was widely viewed as dangerous for early modern readers. As Tina Krontiris notes, “Moralists and theoreticians on education almost unanimously castigated romantic literature … especially for women.” In fact, in the wake of Urania's publication, Wroth was reprimanded by one of her readers, Sir Edward Denny. Denny chastised Wroth in a series of letters, accusing her of corrupting her readers with “lascivious tales and amorous toyes” (239). Given both the early modern suspicion of reading and Denny's response, it is not surprising that Wroth also addresses the dangers of reading in her manuscript sequel to Urania. Of particular interest is an episode in which a woman named Antissia goes mad from reading too much. On its surface, this episode supports common early modern concerns about reading—and women. Antissia's madness is caused by reading and is described by other characters as a particularly feminine affliction. Furthermore, her madness manifests in the creation of poetry that other characters condemn in terms strikingly similar to those Denny used for Wroth's work. However, as I argue, beneath the surface of this episode lies a pointed critique of the belief that reading is dangerous. All of Antissia's problems arise, ultimately, not from her own choice to read certain things but from the bad reading and interpretation practiced by other characters.

Wroth's critique of poor reading in this episode draws on the literary ancestor of the reading-mad Antissia: Don Quixote. As Josephine Roberts argues, Cervantes's Don Quixote, particularly Thomas Shelton's English translation (1612/1620), significantly influenced Wroth. Don Quixote does not form the basis for many episodes in Urania. However, Roberts notes that Cervantes’s romance “guided [Wroth’s] response to a range of her more direct sources.” In other words, Cervantes's satirical perspective toward the romance genre influences Wroth's overall attitude in her work. This influence is often seen in the ironic tone that Wroth's narrator takes toward events in the tale. For instance, this narrative comment from Urania 1: “It being impossible for Knights and Ladies to travel without adventures, this befell them” (Urania 1:397.40–41).