The Magnetic Lady
Encyclopedia
The Magnetic Lady, or Humors Reconciled is a Caroline era stage play, the final comedy
of Ben Jonson
. It was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels
, on October 12, 1632
, and first published in 1641
, in Volume II of the second folio collection of Jonson's works.
The play was premiered by the King's Men
at the Blackfriars Theatre
; it was not an overt failure like The New Inn
, but does not appear to have been a great success either. The play was criticized by the dramatist's long and seemingly ever-growing list of enemies, Inigo Jones
being one example.
In Lady Loadstone's household, conditions are upside down (at least in the playwright's system of values). Lady Loadstone commands her little domestic world without male rule — in the words of one critic, it is a "feminocentric environment." Yet she cannot manage her household against her obstreperous servants. The governess, Mistress Polish, the midwife, Mother Chair, and the nurse, Mistress Keep (representing the "smock-secrets" of women), are a set of females out of control — a theme that Jonson visits again and again in his works, as in the Ladies Collegiate in Epicene
and the chorus of she-critics in The Staple of News
.
However to describe Lady Loadstone's domestic world as 'feminocentric' is argued by some to be completely inaccurate. The very fact that Lady Loadstone is guided constantly by the advice of Master Compass, who is described by Parson Palate as 'the perfect instrument your Lady should sail by' indicates her dependence upon her male friend's guidance, as a widow in a male dominated society. She is also counselled by the Parson and the Doctor and the dowry is controlled by Sir Moth Interest. It is the machinations of Master Compass, who exposes Mistress Polish's plot and effectively wins the day in the final reveal and his supremacy of the situation. The female characters in the play are outnumbered by the male and ultimately are 'subdued' at the end in one way or another. The character of Mistress Polish is arguably one of Jonson's more interesting female characters and a challenge for any actress.
The play's action features a dinner party that is never seen onstage, but is reported by various characters. The foppish Sir Diaphanous Silkworm falls into a quarrel with the gruff soldier Captain Ironside, which causes Placentia to go into premature labor, thus revealing her illegitimate pregnancy. A complex tangle of misunderstandings is eventually unwound: fourteen years earlier, Polish switched her own infant daughter with the Lady's niece Placentia. The girl known as Placentia is actually Polish's daughter Pleasance, and the supposed Pleasance, serving as the false Placentia's maid, is the true heir. By the play's end, the two worthy and sensible men in the piece, Captain Ironside and Compass, prove themselves to be the suitable matches for aunt and niece.
There is no other known record of performances of the play until the play was revived in Autumn 2010 as part of the White Bear Theatre’s Lost Classics Programme.
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
of Ben Jonson
Ben Jonson
Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
. It was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels
Master of the Revels
The Master of the Revels was a position within the English, and later the British, royal household heading the "Revels Office" or "Office of the Revels" that originally had responsibilities for overseeing royal festivities, known as revels, and later also became responsible for stage censorship,...
, on October 12, 1632
1632 in literature
The year 1632 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*On February 14, Tempe Restored, a masque written by Aurelian Townshend and designed by Inigo Jones, is performed at Whitehall Palace....
, and first published in 1641
1641 in literature
The year 1641 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*Pierre Corneille marries Marie de Lampérière.*Sir William Davenant is convicted of high treason.*Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon becomes an advisor to King Charles I of England....
, in Volume II of the second folio collection of Jonson's works.
The play was premiered by the King's Men
King's Men (playing company)
The King's Men was the company of actors to which William Shakespeare belonged through most of his career. Formerly known as The Lord Chamberlain's Men during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, it became The King's Men in 1603 when King James ascended the throne and became the company's patron.The...
at the Blackfriars Theatre
Blackfriars Theatre
Blackfriars Theatre was the name of a theatre in the Blackfriars district of the City of London during the Renaissance. The theatre began as a venue for child actors associated with the Queen's chapel choirs; in this function, the theatre hosted some of the most innovative drama of Elizabeth and...
; it was not an overt failure like The New Inn
The New Inn
The New Inn, or The Light Heart is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy by English playwright and poet Ben Jonson.The New Inn was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels, on 19 January 1629, and acted later that year by the King's Men at the Blackfriars Theatre...
, but does not appear to have been a great success either. The play was criticized by the dramatist's long and seemingly ever-growing list of enemies, Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones is the first significant British architect of the modern period, and the first to bring Italianate Renaissance architecture to England...
being one example.
Synopsis
As the subtitle indicates, The Magnetic Lady is a humors comedy, a form that Jonson had begun exploring three decades earlier and the last of the type that Jonson would write. The play is supplied with an Induction and a set of entr'actes that Jonson calls "Intermeans," through which the characters Probee and the ignorant Damplay have the play explained to them as it proceeds, by the Boy who's been left in charge of the "Poetique Shop." The focus of the play lies in the wealthy Lady Loadstone and her young, attractive, "marriageable" niece Placentia Steel. Placentia is the target of the amorous ambitions of a set of gulls and fools and hangers-on — Parson Palate, Doctor Rut, Bias, Practice the lawyer, and Sir Diaphanous Silkworm. Lady Loadstone's brother, Sir Moth Interest, is Placentia's financial trustee, and cares about little but maintaining control of her money. This crew is counterbalanced by two Jonsonian men of worth: Compass, Lady Loadstone's faithful steward, and his friend Captain Ironside.In Lady Loadstone's household, conditions are upside down (at least in the playwright's system of values). Lady Loadstone commands her little domestic world without male rule — in the words of one critic, it is a "feminocentric environment." Yet she cannot manage her household against her obstreperous servants. The governess, Mistress Polish, the midwife, Mother Chair, and the nurse, Mistress Keep (representing the "smock-secrets" of women), are a set of females out of control — a theme that Jonson visits again and again in his works, as in the Ladies Collegiate in Epicene
Epicoene, or the Silent Woman
Epicœne, or The silent woman, also known as The Epicene, is a comedy by Renaissance playwright Ben Jonson. It was originally performed by the Blackfriars Children, a group of boy players, in 1609...
and the chorus of she-critics in The Staple of News
The Staple of News
The Staple of News is an early Caroline era play, a satire by Ben Jonson. The play was first performed in late 1625 by the King's Men at the Blackfriars Theatre, and first published in 1631.-Publication:...
.
However to describe Lady Loadstone's domestic world as 'feminocentric' is argued by some to be completely inaccurate. The very fact that Lady Loadstone is guided constantly by the advice of Master Compass, who is described by Parson Palate as 'the perfect instrument your Lady should sail by' indicates her dependence upon her male friend's guidance, as a widow in a male dominated society. She is also counselled by the Parson and the Doctor and the dowry is controlled by Sir Moth Interest. It is the machinations of Master Compass, who exposes Mistress Polish's plot and effectively wins the day in the final reveal and his supremacy of the situation. The female characters in the play are outnumbered by the male and ultimately are 'subdued' at the end in one way or another. The character of Mistress Polish is arguably one of Jonson's more interesting female characters and a challenge for any actress.
The play's action features a dinner party that is never seen onstage, but is reported by various characters. The foppish Sir Diaphanous Silkworm falls into a quarrel with the gruff soldier Captain Ironside, which causes Placentia to go into premature labor, thus revealing her illegitimate pregnancy. A complex tangle of misunderstandings is eventually unwound: fourteen years earlier, Polish switched her own infant daughter with the Lady's niece Placentia. The girl known as Placentia is actually Polish's daughter Pleasance, and the supposed Pleasance, serving as the false Placentia's maid, is the true heir. By the play's end, the two worthy and sensible men in the piece, Captain Ironside and Compass, prove themselves to be the suitable matches for aunt and niece.
Performances
The play was first performed in 1632 and came under severe critical attack from Jonson's literary enemies namely Alexander Gill, Inigo Jones and Nathaniel Butter, who had long-standing feuds with Jonson. The work does not appear again until 1987, in a Radio 3 production to mark 350 years since Jonson's death produced by Ian Cotterell and adapted by Peter Barnes with Dilys Laye as Mistress Polish, Dinsdale Landen as Master Compass and Peter Bayliss as Sir Moth Interest. In 1996 Reading University produced an in-house student version by Brian Woolland.There is no other known record of performances of the play until the play was revived in Autumn 2010 as part of the White Bear Theatre’s Lost Classics Programme.