ABSTRACT
Anne Barton has eloquently termed the character of Penthea in John Ford's The Broken Heart, "the irresolvable dilemma at the heart of the tragedy". While Spartan values are maintained in the public arena, the play's story of unfulfilled love demonstrates the cost to the private realm that adherence to such sterile guidelines demands. The character of Penthea best epitomizes the inherent flaw within the Spartan constitution, for in her enforced marriage to Bassanes is concentrated the drama's principal conflict –that between individual desire and a larger social necessity. This chapter examines three different aspects of Penthea's role in the play in order to demonstrate how Ford problematizes the social practice of the arranged marriage. First, Penthea's own situation as a foil to the other marriages in the play. Second, Penthea's role as marriage broker in Ithocles's courtship of Calantha, and finally, her active presence as an avenging corpse, witnessing Orgilus's murder of Ithocles.
