Capitalizing on the Body: Measure for Measure and the Economics of Patrilineal Worth

Abstract

Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure grapples with a number of endemic social issues, including pre-marital sex and prostitution, as well as an inept, if not corrupt political authority. Yet perhaps an even more pressing issue in the text concerns the state of matrimony itself, one imperiled, it would seem, less by widespread licentiousness than through an increasing breakdown in the economic system entrusted to support it. Indeed, Angelo’s refusal to honor his spousal contract with Mariana following the unexpected loss of her dowry at sea constitutes more than a cruel rejection of one already suffering from familial loss; by forfeiting this bond, payment of which would have finalized the contractual agreement, the suddenly estranged Angelo likewise threatens the matrimonial state itself.