ABSTRACT
The statutory place for femininity in Goldoni's plays is initially the inside space of the paternal home. With the passing of femininity from nubility into the reproductive phase of marriage, paternal inside space is replaced by the inside space of the husband's home. Individual characters whose excesses are critiqued in the plays come under criticism precisely because their behaviour jeopardizes the harmonious workings of the family, rather than because it offends family members in their individuality. This is one reason why the idealized form of domestic femininity, represented by the figure of the angel in the house, is portrayed as ever tolerant, all-enduring and even self-sacrificing. The ideal wife is not only expected to manage the household economy, exercising the virtue of thriftiness. In keeping with the duties of the angel in the house, wives are expected to exert a civilizing influence on their husbands in Goldoni's plays.
