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''Proserpine''〔''Proserpine'' may either be pronounced "pro-ser-pine", rhyming with "wine", or "pro-ser-pin-ee", rhyming with "metonymy".〕 is a verse drama written for children by the English Romantic writers Mary Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Mary wrote the blank verse drama and Percy contributed two lyric poems. Composed in 1820 while the Shelleys were living in Italy, it is often considered a partner to the Shelleys' play ''Midas''. ''Proserpine'' was first published in the London periodical ''The Winter's Wreath'' in 1832. Whether the drama was ever intended to be staged is a point of debate among scholars. The drama is based on Ovid's tale of the abduction of Proserpine by Pluto, which itself was based on the Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone. Mary Shelley's version focuses on the female characters. In a largely feminist retelling from Ceres's point of view, Shelley emphasises the separation of mother and daughter and the strength offered by a community of women. Ceres represents life and love, and Pluto represents death and violence. The genres of the text also reflect gender debates of the time. Percy contributed in the lyric verse form traditionally dominated by men; Mary created a drama with elements common to early nineteenth-century women's writing: details of everyday life and empathetic dialogue. ''Proserpine'' is part of a female literary tradition which, as feminist literary critic Susan Gubar describes it, has used the story of Ceres and Proserpine to "re-define, to re-affirm and to celebrate female consciousness itself".〔Gubar, 303.〕 However, the play has been both neglected and marginalised by critics.〔 ==Background== In March 1818 the Shelleys moved to Italy, where their two young children, Clara and William, soon died. Mary entered into a deep depression and became alienated from Percy.〔Seymour, 232–33.〕 Mary recovered to some extent with the birth of Percy Florence later in 1819.〔Pascoe, 183.〕 Between 1818 and 1820, she absorbed a considerable amount of drama, reading many of William Shakespeare's plays, some with Percy.〔 Percy believed that Mary had a talent for dramatic writing, and convinced her to study the great English, French, Latin, and Italian plays as well as dramatic theory.〔 He even sought her advice on his play ''The Cenci'',〔Pascoe, 183–84.〕 and she transcribed the manuscript of his drama ''Prometheus Unbound''.〔Richardson, 124.〕 The Shelleys also attended operas, ballets, and plays.〔 Percy also encouraged Mary to translate Vittorio Alfieri's play ''Mirra'' (1785), a tragedy about father-daughter incest which influenced her own novel ''Mathilda''.〔Purinton, 389.〕 Mary Shelley's studies were broad during these years. She began to learn Greek in 1820〔 and read widely. She had also been reading Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'' since at least 1815 and continued to do so in 1820.〔Morrison and Stone, "Ovid", 316.〕 Her other reading included Jean-Jacques Rousseau's philosophical treatise, ''Emile'' (1762) and his sentimental novel, ''La Nouvelle Héloïse'' (1761), as well as Thomas Day's children's book ''The History of Sandford and Merton'' (1783–89).〔 Critic Marjean Purinton notes that her reading around the time she was composing ''Proserpine'' included "educational treatises and children's literature, replete with moralisms concerning gendered behaviors",〔Purinton, 390.〕 as well as her mother Mary Wollstonecraft's, ''Thoughts on the Education of Daughters'' (1787) and ''Original Stories from Real Life'' (1788). These latter were part of the conduct book tradition that challenged the gender roles of women.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Proserpine (play)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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