Amazonian figures appear in a variety of English Renaissance plays, ranging from comedies and masques to tragicomedies and tragedies. Yet they all seem to share a common characteristic, insofar as they are all absent from the play-endings. On the English stage, Amazons die, disappear from the action, prove to be a disguise for male figures or renounce their Amazonian status to become obedient wives. This paper purports to show that although Amazons are presented as both admirable and fearful embodiments of female potency on the English stage, they nonetheless remain a mere reminiscence, a fantasy or an alternative to be silenced by the final triumph of the patriarchal order.
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