Assignment #4: Our Argument

Our Argument: 

The N-Town plays are important because they have feminist themes that are central in today’s relevant cultural topics about gender equality. There is very little information about the N-Town Plays, but based on what we have discovered, the majority of the N-Town Plays revolve around the character Mary, the mother of Jesus. Comparatively, the other 3 cycle plays (Wakefield, York, Chester) had Mary as a somewhat unimportant and minor character. These cycle plays were anonymously written, and yet in a time where the church controlled the theatre, and society was patriarchal, ¼ of the cycle plays (The N-Town Plays) were focusing on a specific woman. Knowing that these cycle plays were sequences of episodes that dramatize biblical stories, biblical stories which were written and approved by men. We believe that what the N-Town plays are doing is shifting the focus to a woman, that woman being Mary. What we believe this does is defies the norm set by crediting men to being the main central focus of creation and power in religion.

What we are asking others to consider is, why were these playwrights anonymous if they were written in a time where religious stories were welcomed, could this have been because women wrote these plays, or perhaps the author’s didn’t credit themselves because of the themes that their plays were discussing. In knowing that the N-Town plays are the least popular, because of their mystery. What we argue is that perhaps the N-Town Play’s lack of attention speaks volumes in importance of what it is saying about women in religion.