Performing the Many Roles of Queenship: Mary II as a Character in Dutch Songs

Abstract

During Mary II’s reign (1689-1694), several dialogue songs were written and performed in the Dutch Republic that featured her as a named character. This article studies five songs in which the character of Mary plays a number of roles, including daughter, wife, naval commander, and above all else, Queen of England. Building on previous research on queenship, studies of royal family loyalty, and recent work in performance theory, this article examines how these songs aided in constructing and interrogating queenship through performance. Through analysis of the songs, three intersections of power and performance, and how they overlap and interact, will be investigated. First, the wielding of power by a monarch as a form of performance. Second, performances that interrogate political power, as well as the possibilities and limitations of such acts. These two relations will then be combined to study the explicit use of performance as a metaphor by purposely ‘casting’ those in power into specific roles. This study will demonstrate how for a queen, especially Mary II, being cast in the role of wife whose husband is co-monarch, or a daughter whose father was forced to abdicate to make way for her, goes beyond stereotypical gender roles, as significant political relationships and governmental circumstances worthy of public discussion. Finally, this article explores how views of monarchy—and in particular, queenship—were constructed in the Dutch Republican context in which these songs were performed, thus providing an outsider perspective on the concept of queenship.