Much Ado & the "Jade's Trick"— as coitus interruptus? (Holiday Post #2)
As with last year, I'm using the holidays to stray a bit from the topic of biblical allusions in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Besides my post about Hamlet Had an Uncle, I will be making a few other posts before twelfth night (the day before Epiphany), including a post about Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.
[image by Folger Shakespeare Library]
Much Ado and the "Jade's Trick"— as coitus interruptus?
I have been reading a good essay about Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, an essay which argues that in many Shakespeare plays, men have more trouble with commitment than women. The essay is by Joost Daadler (2004, "The Pre-history of Beatrice and Benedick in 'Much Ado About Nothing'". 'English Studies', vol.85, no.6, 520-527).
https://dspace.flinders.edu.au/xmlui/bitstream/handle/2328/324/The%20Pre-History%20of%20Beatrice%20and%20Benedick%20in%20Much%20Ado%20About%20N.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y&fbclid=IwAR3aIjblrlkcRyM_FVksewcy3pfFLRN2ixZQxfps1Zu0VdL8zK_TzjwIBaM
What caught my eye in particular was on p.5: I have highlighted the section of special interest in bold.
Just what does Beatrice mean by saying 'You always end with a jade's trick'? Sheldon Zitner, in his note on 'jade's trick', offers the explanation, 'like a recalcitrant horse, refusing to go on'. This is to the point. A jade was a defective, illtempered horse, and the expression 'a jade's trick' thus became proverbial for stubborn, unco-operative behaviour. A.R. Humphreys's Arden edition of the play suggests that the horse-trick which Beatrice accuses Benedick of may be that of slipping the neck out of the collar. If so, she presumably reminds him that at a former time he refused to commit himself when he really needed to do so. In other words, I think we have an indication, here, of just what Benedick did to her in the past.
I know that, as Freud said, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, and sometimes a horse's neck in a collar is just a horse's neck in a collar. But from A.R. Humphreys's description, it seems that just as "nothing" was Elizabethan code or slang for "vagina," the "jade's trick" might be slang or code for coitus interruptus, the birth control method where the man withdraws (slips his horse's neck out of the collar) before climax.
We know today that this is not a reliable method, but in fact it was a known and practiced form of birth control in Elizabethan times:
Elizabethan birth control and Puritan attitudes. - NCBI
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11619425
by RV Schnucker - 1975
From the abstract:
During the Elizabethan era there was a considerable body of knowledge concerning birth control techniques including coitus interruptus, penis ointments, pessaries, purgatives, genital baths and bloodletting. Works were available describing the symptons and causes of abortion and reporting some abortifacients.
If true, the script of the play may imply that Benedick did this, or at least figuratively did it, implying that he used women for pleasure and did not want to commit. If instead of practicing "the jade's trick" or coitus interruptus, Benedick climaxed inside of Beatrice, there might be hope that he loved her and wanted to have a family and future with her, even if this love-making resulted in a pre-marital pregnancy (recall that Shakespeare and his wife Anne Hathaway seem to have been pregnant with their first child when they were married, as the daughter was born only six months after their marriage).
I have not done any systematic research to see if other scholars agree, and tend to think that many others have considered this in the centuries since the play was written—Shakespeare's plays are famous for their sexual banter. But "jade's trick" is not a familiar phrase for modern readers, so if there's a sexual meaning implied, it needs explaining, as the commentary quoted in the above essay implies.
A quick Google search reveals that "The Dunderhead" blog post on Much Ado, Ace 1, the blog author wonders if it's about premature ejaculation, and commenter "Bird Bolt" has a reply that includes the passage quoted below, along the same lines as I was thinking:
When Beatrice says “You always end with a jade’s trick, I know you of old,” she means something like “when we play chess and I’m about to checkmate you, you say that you don’t want to play anymore and throw the pieces on the ground.”
Prematurely pulling out in a race may also be referencing coitus interruptus. Regardless, I think thedunderhead is right in thinking that Beatrice is implying that “Signior Mountanto” never properly rides her.
Although the language is ridiculously sexual, I am not sure these two have actually had sex. They might have, but they might not have. The sexual puns might be flirtatious banter. They’re a means of expressing sexual desires under the guise of a “merry war,” rather than a commentary on past sexual acts.
The thinly veiled sexual banter would have added to the entertainment, perhaps especially for the groundlings.
If Bird Bolt and The Dunderhead think it so, then how could it be otherwise? 😉
What do you think?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All six of my holiday posts:
Twelfth Night & Epiphany, Malvolio & the Cecils, and Antonio & Essex (Holiday Post #6)
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2020/01/twelfth-night-epiphany-malvolio-cecils.html
Rise of Skywalker, Oedipus, & George Eliot: Saved by Heroes or Collective? (Holiday Post #5)
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2020/01/rise-of-skywalker-oedipus-george-eliot.html
Frozen II: Dams, Aboriginal Peoples, & Addressing Historical Injustices (Holiday Post #4)
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2020/01/frozen-ii-dams-aboriginal-peoples.html
Wonder Woman, Paul Ricœur, & Refusing the Second Naïveté (Holiday Post #3)
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2020/01/wonder-woman-paul-ricur-refusing-second.html
Much Ado & the "Jade's Trick"— as coitus interruptus? (Holiday Post #2)
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2020/01/much-ado-and-jades-trick-as-coitus.html
Hamlet Had an Uncle: A Comedy of Honor—J.B. Cabell (Holiday Post #1)
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2019/12/hamlet-had-uncle-comedy-of-honorby.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for reading!
My current project is a book tentatively titled “Hamlet’s Bible,” about biblical allusions and plot echoes in Hamlet.
Below is a link to a list of some of my top posts (“greatest hits”), including a description of my book project (last item on the list):
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2019/12/top-20-hamlet-bible-posts.html
I post every week, so please visit as often as you like and consider subscribing.
[image by Folger Shakespeare Library]
Much Ado and the "Jade's Trick"— as coitus interruptus?
I have been reading a good essay about Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, an essay which argues that in many Shakespeare plays, men have more trouble with commitment than women. The essay is by Joost Daadler (2004, "The Pre-history of Beatrice and Benedick in 'Much Ado About Nothing'". 'English Studies', vol.85, no.6, 520-527).
https://dspace.flinders.edu.au/xmlui/bitstream/handle/2328/324/The%20Pre-History%20of%20Beatrice%20and%20Benedick%20in%20Much%20Ado%20About%20N.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y&fbclid=IwAR3aIjblrlkcRyM_FVksewcy3pfFLRN2ixZQxfps1Zu0VdL8zK_TzjwIBaM
What caught my eye in particular was on p.5: I have highlighted the section of special interest in bold.
Just what does Beatrice mean by saying 'You always end with a jade's trick'? Sheldon Zitner, in his note on 'jade's trick', offers the explanation, 'like a recalcitrant horse, refusing to go on'. This is to the point. A jade was a defective, illtempered horse, and the expression 'a jade's trick' thus became proverbial for stubborn, unco-operative behaviour. A.R. Humphreys's Arden edition of the play suggests that the horse-trick which Beatrice accuses Benedick of may be that of slipping the neck out of the collar. If so, she presumably reminds him that at a former time he refused to commit himself when he really needed to do so. In other words, I think we have an indication, here, of just what Benedick did to her in the past.
I know that, as Freud said, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, and sometimes a horse's neck in a collar is just a horse's neck in a collar. But from A.R. Humphreys's description, it seems that just as "nothing" was Elizabethan code or slang for "vagina," the "jade's trick" might be slang or code for coitus interruptus, the birth control method where the man withdraws (slips his horse's neck out of the collar) before climax.
We know today that this is not a reliable method, but in fact it was a known and practiced form of birth control in Elizabethan times:
Elizabethan birth control and Puritan attitudes. - NCBI
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11619425
by RV Schnucker - 1975
From the abstract:
During the Elizabethan era there was a considerable body of knowledge concerning birth control techniques including coitus interruptus, penis ointments, pessaries, purgatives, genital baths and bloodletting. Works were available describing the symptons and causes of abortion and reporting some abortifacients.
If true, the script of the play may imply that Benedick did this, or at least figuratively did it, implying that he used women for pleasure and did not want to commit. If instead of practicing "the jade's trick" or coitus interruptus, Benedick climaxed inside of Beatrice, there might be hope that he loved her and wanted to have a family and future with her, even if this love-making resulted in a pre-marital pregnancy (recall that Shakespeare and his wife Anne Hathaway seem to have been pregnant with their first child when they were married, as the daughter was born only six months after their marriage).
I have not done any systematic research to see if other scholars agree, and tend to think that many others have considered this in the centuries since the play was written—Shakespeare's plays are famous for their sexual banter. But "jade's trick" is not a familiar phrase for modern readers, so if there's a sexual meaning implied, it needs explaining, as the commentary quoted in the above essay implies.
A quick Google search reveals that "The Dunderhead" blog post on Much Ado, Ace 1, the blog author wonders if it's about premature ejaculation, and commenter "Bird Bolt" has a reply that includes the passage quoted below, along the same lines as I was thinking:
When Beatrice says “You always end with a jade’s trick, I know you of old,” she means something like “when we play chess and I’m about to checkmate you, you say that you don’t want to play anymore and throw the pieces on the ground.”
Prematurely pulling out in a race may also be referencing coitus interruptus. Regardless, I think thedunderhead is right in thinking that Beatrice is implying that “Signior Mountanto” never properly rides her.
Although the language is ridiculously sexual, I am not sure these two have actually had sex. They might have, but they might not have. The sexual puns might be flirtatious banter. They’re a means of expressing sexual desires under the guise of a “merry war,” rather than a commentary on past sexual acts.
The thinly veiled sexual banter would have added to the entertainment, perhaps especially for the groundlings.
If Bird Bolt and The Dunderhead think it so, then how could it be otherwise? 😉
What do you think?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All six of my holiday posts:
Twelfth Night & Epiphany, Malvolio & the Cecils, and Antonio & Essex (Holiday Post #6)
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2020/01/twelfth-night-epiphany-malvolio-cecils.html
Rise of Skywalker, Oedipus, & George Eliot: Saved by Heroes or Collective? (Holiday Post #5)
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2020/01/rise-of-skywalker-oedipus-george-eliot.html
Frozen II: Dams, Aboriginal Peoples, & Addressing Historical Injustices (Holiday Post #4)
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2020/01/frozen-ii-dams-aboriginal-peoples.html
Wonder Woman, Paul Ricœur, & Refusing the Second Naïveté (Holiday Post #3)
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2020/01/wonder-woman-paul-ricur-refusing-second.html
Much Ado & the "Jade's Trick"— as coitus interruptus? (Holiday Post #2)
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2020/01/much-ado-and-jades-trick-as-coitus.html
Hamlet Had an Uncle: A Comedy of Honor—J.B. Cabell (Holiday Post #1)
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2019/12/hamlet-had-uncle-comedy-of-honorby.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for reading!
My current project is a book tentatively titled “Hamlet’s Bible,” about biblical allusions and plot echoes in Hamlet.
Below is a link to a list of some of my top posts (“greatest hits”), including a description of my book project (last item on the list):
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2019/12/top-20-hamlet-bible-posts.html
I post every week, so please visit as often as you like and consider subscribing.
Comments
Post a Comment