In The Witch of Edmonton, a 1621 domestic tragedy by Thomas Dekker, John Ford, and William Rowley, Susan Carter discovers to her surprise that she is a whore. This news is a shock for the virtuous yeoman's daughter, who has only just married Frank Thorney, the outwardly pleasant son of a poor gentleman from her village. Shortly after their wedding night, Frank has informed Susan that he must leave her for a time (2.2.144-48), and the puzzled young wife has followed him across the fields, whereupon he has drawn a knife to kill her. (1) It is when Susan asks why that she receives the devastating answer, "Because you are a whore"; Frank explains, "[You are] no wife of mine. The word admits no second. /I was before wedded to another, have her still" (3.3.26, 31-32). In this cataclysmic moment, Susan learns that her husband is a bigamist and that she is now in the position of being unmarried and yet not a virgin. She is a paradox; even though she refers to "the stain / Of my unwitting sin" (50-51; emphasis mine), and even though Frank takes full responsibility for it ("I do not lay the sin unto your charge, / 'Tis all mine own" [33-34]), both behave as though Susan has technically committed what she calls the "sin of my most hatred... Adultery" (43). No polite word exists for her state, a problem already introduced in the previous scene, in which Frank, confessing to his original wife, Winifred, that he is a bigamist, accidentally refers to Susan as his wife too, before hastily correcting himself to say "the woman; I knew / Not how to call her now" (3.2.34-35). Behind Frank's loss for words lurks the proverbial phrase "neither maid, wife nor widow," which lists the three acceptable social roles for women and implies that anyone who doesn't fit them is a whore. (2) Susan is thus relieved when Frank murders her, for, as she says, her death prevents her from living as an adulteress any longer (3.3.41-43); believing that heaven will accept her "soul's purity," she dies welcoming death and forgiving Frank (57-64). The playwrights evoke great sympathy for Susan and the cruel social logic that produces her "stain," but by presenting death as her only solution, they dodge difficult questions about how such a woman should have been treated by society had she remained alive. (3) Susan's crisis of status is the reverse of what happens to Frank's first wife. Before the events of the play begin, Winifred is an unmarried, pregnant serving-woman who has slept with both her fellow servant Frank and with their master, Sir Arthur Clarington, and could thus have been tarred with the same label as Susan. (4) But Winifred's subsequent marriage to Frank gives both herself and her baby a legitimate identity: as Frank bluntly puts it, "thy childe shall know / Who to call Dad now" (1.1.4-5), and, as Winifred tells Sir Arthur, "I will change my life, / From a loose whore, to a repentant wife" (191-92). When Frank commits bigamy soon afterward (marrying the rich Susan only to secure his inheritance), Winifred's status is unaffected; she is able to identify herself as "his first onely wife, his lawful wife" (4.2.175). And at the end of the play, the focus is on the renewal of Frank and Winifred's marriage in the wake of Frank's crimes: repentant upon the gallows, Frank accepts that he must die for his sins, and when his penitence moves Susan's family sufficiently for them to forgive him, Winifred too accepts his remorse and wishes they could ascend to heaven together. Since they cannot, she promises to "be the monument / Of [his] lov'd memory" and "preserve it / With a Religious care" (5.3.100-102). Susan is mentioned only fleetingly in this final scene, so that even though Frank is being executed for her murder, the emphasis is on the solidifying of his and Winifred's roles as husband and wife. (5) At the end of the play, after Frank's execution, Winifred delivers an epilogue beginning "I am a Widow still," emphasizing that despite her reversals of fortune she still occupies a legitimate position, and she asks the audience to give her "a good report"--that is, a good reputation--so that she may without shame attract a future husband (1-2). …

中文翻译：

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“我现在不知道怎么称呼她了”：《埃德蒙顿女巫》中重婚者的第二任妻子，一切都被欲望所迷惑

在 1621 年托马斯·德克尔、约翰·福特和威廉·罗利的家庭悲剧《埃德蒙顿女巫》中，苏珊·卡特惊讶地发现自己是个妓女。这个消息令这位贤惠自耕农的女儿感到震惊，她刚刚娶了弗兰克·索尼（Frank Thorney），弗兰克·索尼（Frank Thorney）是她村里一位贫穷绅士的外表和蔼可亲的儿子。新婚之夜后不久，弗兰克通知苏珊他必须离开她一段时间（2.2.144-48），困惑的年轻妻子跟着他穿过田野，于是他拔出刀来杀死她。(1) 当苏珊问为什么她得到了毁灭性的回答时，“因为你是个妓女”；弗兰克解释说，“[你是] 不是我的妻子。这个词不允许第二次。/我在嫁给另一个人之前，让她仍然”（3.3.26, 31-32）。在这灾难性的时刻，苏珊得知她的丈夫是重婚者，她现在处于未婚状态，但还不是处女。她是一个悖论；即使她指的是“我不知情的罪的污点”（50-51；强调我的），即使弗兰克对此负有全部责任（“我不把罪归咎于你，/这都是我自己的” [33-34]），两者都表现得好像苏珊在技术上犯了她所说的“我最憎恨的罪......通奸”（43）。她的状态没有礼貌用语，这个问题在上一幕中已经介绍过了，弗兰克在向原妻温妮弗雷德坦白自己是重婚者时，不小心把苏珊也称为自己的妻子，然后急忙纠正自己说“那个女人；我知道/现在不知道如何称呼她”（3.2.34-35）。弗兰克的背后 字里行间隐藏着一句谚语“既不是女仆，也不是妻子，也不是寡妇”，它列出了女性可以接受的三种社会角色，并暗示任何不适合她们的人都是妓女。(2) 当弗兰克谋杀她时，苏珊因此松了一口气，因为正如她所说，她的死使她不再像淫妇一样生活 (3.3.41-43)；相信天堂会接受她的“灵魂的纯洁”，她死了，欢迎死亡并宽恕弗兰克（57-64）。剧作家们对苏珊和产生“污点”的残酷社会逻辑表达了极大的同情，但通过将死亡作为她唯一的解决办法，他们回避了这样一个难题，即如果这样的女人还活着，社会应该如何对待她。(3) 苏珊的地位危机与弗兰克的第一任​​妻子发生的情况相反。在剧中的事件开始之前，温妮弗雷德是一位未婚怀孕的女仆，她与她的同伴弗兰克和他们的主人亚瑟克拉灵顿爵士睡过，因此可能会被贴上与苏珊相同的标签。(4) 但是 Winifred 随后与 Frank 的婚姻给了她自己和她的孩子一个合法的身份：正如 Frank 直言不讳的那样，“你的孩子应该知道/现在该给谁打电话”(1.1.4-5)，而且，正如 Winifred 所说的亚瑟爵士，“我将改变我的生活，/从一个放荡的妓女，到一个悔改的妻子”（191-92）。当弗兰克不久后重婚（嫁给富有的苏珊只是为了继承他的遗产）时，温妮弗雷德的地位不受影响；她能够称自己为"他的第一任妻子，他的合法妻子"(4.2.175)。而在这部剧的最后，重点是在弗兰克的罪行之后弗兰克和温妮弗雷德的婚姻的更新：在绞刑架上忏悔，弗兰克接受他必须为自己的罪孽而死，当他的忏悔让苏珊的家人足以原谅他时，温妮弗雷德也接受了他的悔恨，希望他们能一起升天。因为他们不能，她承诺“成为纪念碑/ [他] 爱的记忆”并“保存它/以宗教关怀”（5.3.100-102）。在最后一幕中，苏珊只是短暂地被提及，因此即使弗兰克因谋杀她而被处决，重点是巩固他和温妮弗雷德作为夫妻的角色。(5) 在剧的最后，在弗兰克被处决后，温妮弗雷德发表了一个结尾，开头是“我仍然是寡妇，” 强调尽管她的命运发生了逆转，但她仍然占据着合法的地位，并要求观众给她“一个好报告”——也就是一个好名声——这样她就可以毫不羞耻地吸引未来的丈夫（1- 2）。…