in The Miseries of Enforced Marriage — Wilkins, George
Metadata
Play
The Miseries of Enforced Marriage
Author
Wilkins, George
Year (catalogued)
1607
First performance
1606
Decade
1600s
Genre
Tragedy
Play type
Adult Professional
Company
King's Men
Speech prefix(es)
S. Will. | S. wil. | sir wil. | S. will. | Syr willi ▪ | Sir wil. | Syr wil. | sir Wil. | sir Will. | Will, | Willi. | willi. | VVill. | will. | sir Wil
Words
341
Characters
1783
Typicality
0.31 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A15352
BritDrama no.
1521
Cluster
Cluster 14 — Law & judgment
Important excerpts
No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).
Full speech
My honoured Lord, your happily well met, Fi: Nephew, shame you not thus to transform your self? Like to a swine. Shame to our name, to make thy self a Beast, Thy body worthy born, and thy youths breast Tyld in endue time for better discipline. I say Cose what is passed, the way to bliss, For they know best to mend, that know amiss, Where thou makest havoc. Of what thy father left. No pities fit for him. He is my kinsman. Whose within here. Where is my kinsman Scarborrow? I guess the cause of it, But cannot now intend to visit him, Great business for my sovereign hasts me hence, Only this Letter from his Lord and Guardian to him, Whose inside I do guess, tends to his good, At my return I'll see him, so farewell. His sickness? Which tells you that your Lord & Guardians dead. Eighteen my Lord, next Pentecost. Not a day less my Lord. His friends are proud, to hear this good of him. My Lord speaks Like a father for my Kinsman. Our name is blessed in such and honoured marriage I have possessed you with this business master Doctor Thanks my good Couz. Oh but good Coze. Yet hear your own case? Oh Cozen. Yet being as it is, it must be your care, To salve it with advice, not with despair, you are his ward, being so, the Law intends, He is to have your duty, and in his rule Is both your marriage, and your heritage, If you rebel against these Injunctions, The penalty takes hold on you, which for himself, He straight thus prosecutes, he wasts your land, Weds you where he thinks fit, but if your self Have of some violent humour matched your self, Without his knowledge, then hath he power To Merce your purse, and in a sum so great, That shall for ever keep your Fortune's weak, Where otherwise if you be ruled by him Your house is raised by matching to his kin. Kinsman.
Plot summary
Plot — The Miseries of Enforced Marriage
The ward William Scarborow betroths himself to Clare Harcop, but on his return to London he is forced to marry Katherine, the niece of his guardian, Lord Falconbridge. He is rewarded with control of his own’ and his younger brothers’ property. He writes to tell Clare the news of his unwelcome marriage; upon receiving the letter, she dies (possibly by suicide). ===== PAGE 337 ===== 1606 Scarborow takes her death badly: he blames his wife, and becomes prodigal. Ilford fakes his own arrest for debt in order to induce Scarborow to guarantee the supposed loan, thereby defrauding him of his money. This still leaves him with the patrimony of his younger brothers, Thomas and John; but he spends it, and drunkenly assaults his friends and kinsmen. The brothers and the honest family servant Butler are forced into theft to keep themselves from starvation. They steal £300 from Harcop, Clare’s father, which they use to make their sister appear to be a rich woman. Butler tricks Ilford into marrying her, but on learning that she is penniless her new husband throws her out; Butler offers to support her out of his meagre wages. Thomas confronts and fights with his elder brother, but saves his life when they are attacked by Ilford. Now penitent, Thomas declares his intention to confess to Harcop that he and John stole the money, even though it will mean hanging for them both. John falls out with him over this, but they are reconciled by Butler. Dr Baxter, who married Scarborow to Katherine, talks him into repentance. On his deathbed, Lord Falconbridge also repents and leaves the Scarborow brothers double their original wealth in restitution, along with a dowry for their sister.