‘Being strong on both sides’: Shakespearean heroines equivocations

Abstract

In the sixteenth century, politico-religious persecution led English Catholics to develop a technique for dealing with Protestant inquiries while avoiding the sin of perjury. Conceived by Henry Garnet in his Treatise of Equivocation, the practice consisted of formulating sentences that were always true but had two different meanings: one easy to understand but false; the other true but complex and hidden. This article investigates how some Shakespearean heroines explore this technique to answer questions in distressing situations. As the persecuted politico-religious minority did in history these misguided heroines seek to protect themselves or those whom they love in the plays.