Prisoners of the womb: Pregnant prisoners in William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale and Measure for Measure

Abstract

This article explores the early modern concept of the womb as a prison and how Shakespeare challenges it through his depictions of pregnant prisoner characters. Through the portrayal of Hermione in A Winter's Tale and Juliet in Measure for Measure, where expecting mothers are relocated from the feminine space of the birth room to more masculine spaces of the prison and courts, Shakespeare metaphorically inverts this concept. These two women are depicted as imprisoned by their wombs and a male desire to regain control, with the extent of their marginalisation bound by their social and marital status.