Elizabeth Cary’s play, The Tragedy of Mariam (1613), culminates with the execution by beheading of the play’s protagonist on the orders of her husband, the tyrannical Herod the Great. By executing Mariam, Herod attempts to re-establish his authority in Jerusalem after a rumour of his death has unleashed a wave of resistance and instability across his state. This article focuses upon the choice of beheading as the mode of execution and argues that the play’s biblical setting invites comparisons with Old Testament representations of beheading (including those in the stories of David and Judith). These beheadings occur as part of narratives of resistance against tyranny and overbearing patriarchs. The article argues that Herod’s attempts to harness beheading as a means of stabilising his state, as well as the broader cultural recognition of headlessness as a symbol of feminine disorder, are offset by the anti-tyrannical and anti-patriarchal properties of biblical beheading.

中文翻译：

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“她的身体与她的头分开”：伊丽莎白卡里的玛丽亚姆悲剧中的斩首和圣经互文性

伊丽莎白卡里的戏剧《玛丽雅姆的悲剧》（1613 年）以她丈夫暴虐的希律大帝的命令将剧中的主角斩首而达到高潮。通过处决玛丽雅姆，希律试图在他的死讯传言后在耶路撒冷重建他的权威，这在他的国家引发了一波抵抗和不稳定。本文着重于选择斩首作为执行方式，并认为该剧的圣经背景与旧约中斩首的表现形式（包括大卫和朱迪思故事中的表现形式）进行了比较。这些斩首是反抗暴政和霸道族长的叙述的一部分。文章认为，希律试图利用斩首作为稳定国家的手段，