title: Curst Shrews and Venomous Scolds: The Societal and Legal Reactive Processes to Dangerous and Unideal Female Speech in Early Modern England

authors: Rhodes, Athena

subjects: Early Modern England

abstract: This thesis argues that in seventeenth century England, the tongue, or more specifically the female tongue, was understood as a fleshy weapon wielded to inflict misery and chaos on men. In response, early modern society reacted strenuously when faced with this form of living danger. The two primary processes were containment and correction.

Female verbal expression was often framed or contained in artifices created through rhetorical texts, for example, satirical, judicial, or moralistic texts. These texts were made to disempower and dismiss female verbal expression categorised as dangerous, or abnormal. Two of the main constructs used in texts were the ‘cursed shrew’ and the ‘common scold’, both of which were created to vilify and dismiss verbal rebellion by presenting them in negative narratives. The shrew was defined through satire. The common scold was defined through a mixture of legal definitions, and community intervention. First, this dissertation investigates these two female constructs of Early Modern England, which emerged from verbal disorder observed by external parties. The second element of this dissertation explores the ‘correction’ of the female verbal rebel: the formal mechanisms that were employed for public justice, and also the informal rites or actions carried out in the neighbourhood or household. 

Framed in chapters which resemble the sequence of a stage play, I begin my thesis with a comedic opening act about the cursed shrew and her illustrious satirical career. The arrival of the common scold heralds the dramatic second act. This act ends in a spectacle, as the shrew and scold are delivered their deserved punishment; the shrew ‘tamed’ and the scold ‘crowned’. The shrew was a warning, while the common scold was defined in relationship to the community, or through personal hardship. While taming narratives eked a good wife out of a shrew,  the punishment of the common scold was a of combination communal rite and formalised legal legislation. 

The study of past female crime and punishment is a crowded domain of history; the witch and the whore jostling for the ‘most historical research dedicated to her person’ award. This thesis contribution is centred on verbal female characters and punishment, a topic which has received far less attention. The shrew and the common scold are often mentioned as a means of comparison to other female criminals, to draw similarities and divergences in behaviour and punishment, but they have rarely achieved protagonist status. This is what my thesis accomplishes, through an assemblage of ideas about the binary of unwanted female speech and English society.

text: Curst Shrews and Venomous Scolds: The Societal and Legal Reactive Processes to Dangerous and Unideal Female Speech in Early Modern England This thesis argues that in seventeenth century England, the tongue, or more specifically the female tongue, was understood as a fleshy weapon wielded to inflict misery and chaos on men. In response, early modern society reacted strenuously when faced with this form of living danger. The two primary processes were containment and correction.

Female verbal expression was often framed or contained in artifices created through rhetorical texts, for example, satirical, judicial, or moralistic texts. These texts were made to disempower and dismiss female verbal expression categorised as dangerous, or abnormal. Two of the main constructs used in texts were the ‘cursed shrew’ and the ‘common scold’, both of which were created to vilify and dismiss verbal rebellion by presenting them in negative narratives. The shrew was defined through satire. The common scold was defined through a mixture of legal definitions, and community intervention. First, this dissertation investigates these two female constructs of Early Modern England, which emerged from verbal disorder observed by external parties. The second element of this dissertation explores the ‘correction’ of the female verbal rebel: the formal mechanisms that were employed for public justice, and also the informal rites or actions carried out in the neighbourhood or household. 

Framed in chapters which resemble the sequence of a stage play, I begin my thesis with a comedic opening act about the cursed shrew and her illustrious satirical career. The arrival of the common scold heralds the dramatic second act. This act ends in a spectacle, as the shrew and scold are delivered their deserved punishment; the shrew ‘tamed’ and the scold ‘crowned’. The shrew was a warning, while the common scold was defined in relationship to the community, or through personal hardship. While taming narratives eked a good wife out of a shrew,  the punishment of the common scold was a of combination communal rite and formalised legal legislation. 

The study of past female crime and punishment is a crowded domain of history; the witch and the whore jostling for the ‘most historical research dedicated to her person’ award. This thesis contribution is centred on verbal female characters and punishment, a topic which has received far less attention. The shrew and the common scold are often mentioned as a means of comparison to other female criminals, to draw similarities and divergences in behaviour and punishment, but they have rarely achieved protagonist status. This is what my thesis accomplishes, through an assemblage of ideas about the binary of unwanted female speech and English society.

year: 2016

title: Home and away: the role of intraspecific behavioural variation in biological invasion

authors: Pyper, Nicola

abstract: Invasive populations cause adverse impacts on ecosystems, agriculture, and economic activities. Advancing understanding of how populations respond to environmental changes and develop their invasive status will enable improved prediction, prevention, and management of ecological invasions. Here, we review recent literature and find that behavioural shifts within species across native and invasive populations are common during invasion. We collate examples which demonstrate how behaviours associated with invasion can be an outcome of plastic, pre-adaptive, and/or post-adaptive processes. However, we find that research investigating the molecular basis of observed behavioural shifts associated with invasion is limited. Important research (but perhaps the most challenging to conduct), is the long-term study of ongoing invasions that track species’ behaviour and genetic change throughout the stages of the invasion process. Additionally, future research should aim to establish whether behavioural shifts originate from plasticity, microevolutionary processes, or a combination of both. Common garden experiments (using distinct populations grown under shared conditions), carried out in conjunction with genetic studies that track changes at the molecular level, could aid this endeavour.

text: Home and away: the role of intraspecific behavioural variation in biological invasion Invasive populations cause adverse impacts on ecosystems, agriculture, and economic activities. Advancing understanding of how populations respond to environmental changes and develop their invasive status will enable improved prediction, prevention, and management of ecological invasions. Here, we review recent literature and find that behavioural shifts within species across native and invasive populations are common during invasion. We collate examples which demonstrate how behaviours associated with invasion can be an outcome of plastic, pre-adaptive, and/or post-adaptive processes. However, we find that research investigating the molecular basis of observed behavioural shifts associated with invasion is limited. Important research (but perhaps the most challenging to conduct), is the long-term study of ongoing invasions that track species’ behaviour and genetic change throughout the stages of the invasion process. Additionally, future research should aim to establish whether behavioural shifts originate from plasticity, microevolutionary processes, or a combination of both. Common garden experiments (using distinct populations grown under shared conditions), carried out in conjunction with genetic studies that track changes at the molecular level, could aid this endeavour.

year: 2024-04-04

title: Different Coloured Tears: Bicultural Bereavement Perspectives

authors: Edge, Kiri

subjects: Maori

abstract: The research explored the pathways that Māori and Pākehā  bicultural whānau follow in  mourning, grieving and moving on through life, in response to the death of a signficant loved one. Of specific interest were sites of conflict, processes of negotiation and pathways to resolution occuring across cultural worlds whilst deciding on, organising and enacting tangi/funeral rituals for the deceased. These explorations were founded on the Pou Toko Manawa of the framework offered by Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi and related principles. The research was conducted across two distinct yet inter-related studies. The first study explored the bereavement experiences of individuals belonging to Māori and Pākehā bicultural families, offering insights related to the emergence of conflict, negotiation and pathways to resolution. The insights gathered gave rise to further explorations concerned with the perspectives of experts who facilitate, mediate and enact bereavement processes. As the second study, the expert perspectives revealed supports, constraints and legalitites that emerge in bicultural bereavement processes. The culmination of the two studies engender a multi-faceted understanding of key concepts, issues and processes in bicultural bereavement, and the cultural and socio-political landscapes within which these events are located. In considering the research findings within the theorectical framework of Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi, the research offers a unique bicultural and New Zealand specific understanding of conflict and resolution.

text: Different Coloured Tears: Bicultural Bereavement Perspectives The research explored the pathways that Māori and Pākehā  bicultural whānau follow in  mourning, grieving and moving on through life, in response to the death of a signficant loved one. Of specific interest were sites of conflict, processes of negotiation and pathways to resolution occuring across cultural worlds whilst deciding on, organising and enacting tangi/funeral rituals for the deceased. These explorations were founded on the Pou Toko Manawa of the framework offered by Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi and related principles. The research was conducted across two distinct yet inter-related studies. The first study explored the bereavement experiences of individuals belonging to Māori and Pākehā bicultural families, offering insights related to the emergence of conflict, negotiation and pathways to resolution. The insights gathered gave rise to further explorations concerned with the perspectives of experts who facilitate, mediate and enact bereavement processes. As the second study, the expert perspectives revealed supports, constraints and legalitites that emerge in bicultural bereavement processes. The culmination of the two studies engender a multi-faceted understanding of key concepts, issues and processes in bicultural bereavement, and the cultural and socio-political landscapes within which these events are located. In considering the research findings within the theorectical framework of Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi, the research offers a unique bicultural and New Zealand specific understanding of conflict and resolution.

year: 2017