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Epicœne, or The Silent Woman, also known as Epicene, is a comedy by Renaissance playwright Ben Jonson. The play is about a man named Dauphine, who creates a scheme to get his inheritance from his uncle Morose.
6 days ago · Morose, an egotistic old bachelor with a pathological aversion to noise, proposes to disinherit his nephew Sir Dauphine Eugenie, by marrying and producing children, provided he can find a silent woman.
Epicene is the play's titular character, which Cutbeard presents as a potential partner in marriage to Morose. Epicene is originally meek, obedient, and, most important, quiet. When Morose comes to "inspect" her, she speaks softly and infrequently, which pleases Morose and convinces him to take her as his wife.
- Ben Jonson
…affect personality: in Jonson’s play Epicoene; or, The Silent Woman (1609), the character Morose is possessed by the demon of ill humour. Comic allegory of this kind evolved into the Restoration comedy of manners and through that channel entered modern drama with Wilde, Shaw, and Pirandello.
Morose expresses his interest in marrying, but will only marry a woman who makes as little noise as possible. His barber, Cutbeard , tells him about a young woman named Epicene who is known for her silent demeanor.
- Ben Jonson
Epicene and Morose are married, and after the vows are spoken, Epicene reveals she is loud, opinionated, and very bossy. At the same time, to celebrate the party, two subplots emerge: a party is organized at Morose’s house (about which Morose knows nothing and which causes him immediate distress because of the noise).
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The whole comedy hinges on a huge joke, played by a heartless nephew on his misanthropic uncle, who is induced to take to himself a wife, young, fair, and warranted silent, but who, in the end, turns out neither silent nor a woman at all.
