Thomas Middleton, A Chaste Maid in Cheapside

Anja Mueller-Wood (Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz)
Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error

Set “in the heart of the city of London” – the commercial area of Cheapside that once had been the capital’s old market – amongst shrewd merchants and canny craftsmen, Thomas Middleton’s

A Chaste Maid in Cheapside

depicts an urban microcosm ruled by money. In this world, human relationships and social institutions have become commodified, and the traditional virtues associated with them have lost all value. The moral implications of this pervasive materialism are introduced immediately in the play’s sordid overture, in which the titular character Mary (Moll) Yellowhammer, the daughter of a wealthy goldsmith, is castigated by her mother Maudlin for being insufficiently outgoing. Boasting about her own premarital exploits, Maudlin dismisses Moll as being a little too…

1554 words

Citation: Mueller-Wood, Anja. "A Chaste Maid in Cheapside". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 February 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=7214, accessed 19 March 2024.]

7214 A Chaste Maid in Cheapside 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.