Editing and Publishing Women’s Drama in Modernity

As an editor of early modern Englishwomen’s dramatic writing, it is essential to explore the differences between what might be termed “modernized” and “authentic” editorial practices, and those difficult choices that must be made when evaluating one’s purposes in reproducing texts. This entry will, therefore, first explain how the philosophical premise behind the “trolley problem” may elucidate editorial practices, before evaluating the two alternative tracks, utilitarian/modernized and deontological/authentic, that have dominated editions of early modern Englishwomen’s dramatic works. Finally, it considers a specific example of how such editorial practices have changed by focusing upon race in editions of Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam.