Shakespeare's War Brides

Abstract

Although the term “war bride” came into our language in the late nineteenth century, the concept a woman marrying a soldier of foreign birth goes back to antiquity. Women who marry foreign soldiers, whether they are mercenary soldier or victors, occur in myth and dramatic literature from ancient times to the present day. Many of the anxieties, experiences or social attitudes written about actual twentieth-century war brides can be found centuries earlier in literature.