Useful Secondary Sources

Attwell, David. "Property, Status, and the Subject in a Middle-Class Tragedy: Arden of Feversham." English Literary Renaissance 21.3 (1991): 328-348. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 16 Apr. 2015.
In this article, Attwell describes the purpose of domestic tragedies and focuses his discussion on the role of Arden of Faversham as a domestic tragedy that, by being told and retold by the public, successfully brought the Ardens’ home life to the middle of history of the time.  The societal issues of property and status are discussed in-depth in relation to Alice Arden’s crime, setting the murder up as an attempt to break down the institutionalization that controlled and restricted the woman’s life while married to Thomas Arden. 
Belsey, Catherine. "Alice Arden's Crime." Renaissance Drama 13. (1982): 83-102. Print. 30 Mar. 2015.
In Belsey’s article, she “examine[s] the implications of the constant efforts at redefinition” of Alice Arden’s crime, specifically at a time when the institution of marriage was being questioned by the masses (85).  Her discussion of the role of both Mosby and Thomas Arden in the multiple representations of the event play with gender roles and perhaps suggest that some women gained power over the men in their lives by way of those men; for instance, Arden’s “complaisance” allows Alice to rise up successfully against him (86).  Belsey discusses historical facts regarding murderous wives as well as the multiple ways in which Alice Arden’s crime can be− and was− perceived by society, both of which are pertinent to my argument.

Clark, Sandra. Women and Crime in the Street Literature of Early Modern England. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. 33-70, 106-180. Print. 12 Apr. 2015.
The sections of this book that I am citing for my paper deal directly with Early Modern women’s crimes, how society viewed those crimes, and how literature of the time represented these women. 
Dolan, Frances E. “The Subordinate(‘s) Plot: Petty Treason and the Forms of Domestic Rebellion.” Shakespeare Quarterly 43.3. (Autumn, 1992): 317-340. JSTOR. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.
In this article, Dolan discusses the relationship between a married man and woman in terms of Renaissance law; petty treason is defined and the consequences of a woman killing her husband are thoroughly discussed.  Dolan clarifies the gender differences in crime, notably the difference between a man killing his wife and a wife killing her husband. 
Fletcher, Anthony. “Husbands and Wives: Case Studies.”  Gender, Sex and Subordination in England 1500-1800. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1995: 154-172, 192-203. Print. 19 Apr. 2015.
In Fletcher’s Chapter 8, “Husbands and Wives: Case Studies,” he discusses nine “gentry marriages between the reigns of Queen Elizabeth and Queen Anne which are intended to open the doors more fully on the sexual politics of intimate relationship at this time” (154).  I think this portion of the book along with Chapter 10, “Marital Violence,” will provide accurate insight into the married lives of both men and women in early modern England.  These chapters focus intently on the violence of men towards their wives and the typical procedures of the time.

Lieblein, Leanore. "The Context of Murder in English Domestic Plays, 1590-1610." SEL: Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 23.2 (1983): 181-196. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 16 Apr. 2015.
This article discusses the way in which the press− specifically drama reenactments− makes the true-life events of murder more entertaining for an audience, noting especially the subtle changes made to Arden of Faversham from Holinshed’s account of the event.  Lieblein notes four purposes for the story’s enhancement but focuses intently on “those which intensify the passion of Alice on the one hand and enlarge the social context of the play on the other” (183-184).
Lockwood, Matthew. "From Treason to Homicide: Changing Conceptions of the Law of Petty Treason in Early Modern England." Journal of Legal History 34.1 (2013): 31-49. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.
Lockwood’s article focuses on the crime of petty treason in early modern England; he describes the law regarding the crime in-depth and in regard to women of the time and continues to discuss how changes in society resulted in changes in how those convicted of petty treason were handled in the judicial system. 

Staub, Susan C. “Bloody Relations: Murderous Wives in the Street Literature of Seventeenth Century England.” Domestic Arrangements in Early Modern England. Ed. Kari Boyd McBride. Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press, 2002: 124-146. Print. 17 Apr. 2015.
In this article, Staub discusses the “considerable anxiety” that the period demonstrated in regard to the changing roles of women, especially women as wives (126).  Further, Staub focuses on the crime pamphlets of the period and the seeming fascination with women murderers; she describes and analyzes the large number of press focused on the murderess when, in fact, the crime was not nearly as prominent as early modern texts might suggest. 

Staub, Susan C. "'Matchlesse Monsters of the Female Sex': Murderous Women in Early Modern England." Renaissance Papers (1995): 109-124. Print. 11 Apr. 2015.
This article is perhaps the most relevant to my own argument because it focuses on the portrayal of murderous women in early modern England.  Staub discusses specifically the way in which “the popular press” handled murderous wives, referencing three cases in pamphlet literature and Arden of Faversham (116).  The portrayal of women as dangerous is discussed alongside the social anxieties that arose “by women asserting identities separate from that of subordinate and wife” (113); Staub’s argument that women were constructed as evil because of a threatened patriarchy is one that favors my argument that women were used as a scapegoat in order for a male-dominated society to avoid losing an ounce of power.

Helpful Websites Include:

http://www.historyofwomen.org/oppression.html
http://www2.cedarcrest.edu/academic/eng/lfletcher/shrew/acloud.htm

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