Marriage and Sexual Regulation in Ford’s ’Tis Pity She’s a Whore

This paper interprets John Ford’s play, ’Tis Pity She’s a Whore, in the context of the sexual regulation of the day, which was predicated on holy matrimony. Anyone engaging in a sexual relationship outside of marriage was threatened with divine punishment. This interdiction was internalized by people through the panoptic mechanism sustained by the discrepancy in knowledge and visibility between God and man. This panoptic control of the mind was complemented by the actual penalty—public penance—which was aimed at the sexual offenders’ eventual submission to the regulation. Given this context, Ford’s allegiance to the orthodox sexual mores of his day can be seen in his accentuation of the all-encompassing regulative power in this play. In spite of his incestuous and atheistic posturing, Giovanni remains subject to panoptic control in his initial attempt to constrain his incestuous desire, his application of God’s principle in censoring himself, and, at the end of the play, his dual roles as the agent and object of God’s vengeance on sexual offenders. The incestuous couple’s subjection to sexual regulation is revealed in their attempt to legitimize their relationship by establishing a matrimonial bond and also in their acquiescence to Annabella’s marriage to Soranzo. In contrast to Giovanni, Annabella has a strong tendency to submit to sexual regulation; she eventually reconciles with God by undergoing public penance and an orthodox preparation for death. While experiencing the play, Ford’s audience was also penetrated by the same panoptic mechanism, and made conscious of God’s invisible but omniscient surveillance.