Abstract
The Picture (1629), one of Philip Massinger’s solo tragicomedies, reflects changes in the perceptions of absolutism in the Caroline period. Charles’s absolutism involved a unique gender politics that undermined the patriarchal basis of royal authority. In response to such political anxieties, Massinger dramatizes the threat that female influence poses to patriarchal ideology and absolutism, at a time of concern about Henrietta Maria’s influence over Charles and his perceived emasculation. Massinger connects domesticity with authority, suggesting that King Ladislaus’ lack of control over his passions and his household has an effect on the body politic. Politics is redefined as a familial paradigm.
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