Mary+And+Philip


 * The Relationship Between Philip and Mary**

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Mary was seven years younger than Philip and during her childhood did not have a very close relationship to him as she did with her other siblings. He was at school while she was at home playing with their other siblings. As Philip got older he traveled around the continent to further his studies in language as Mary “studied quietly at home” along with the rest of her family (29 Hannay). ======

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Years later when Philip upset Queen Elizabeth and was forced to leave the court; he then lived with Mary at her place in Pembroke. This is probably when they became so close. They spent a lot of time together taking walks and reading romances (47 Hannay). Mary encouraged Philip in his writing and this is probably why he dedicated the Arcadia to her. This time that the two siblings shared together was not just the bonding of brother and sister but the connection through literature that they found in one another. Mary and Philip read each others prose and helped one another in their literary achievements. When Philip did pass away it makes perfect sense that Mary would honor him through her writing while working on his. This is the glue to their relationship and they real connection they shared with one another. ======

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Although implication of incest is hinted at, these two more likely shared the bond of art than anything sexual. Mary was finally more of an equal to her brother and was a huge contributor to his literature. For him to take her advice and listen to her encouragements suggests that he valued her opinion as an author. In John Aubrey’s Brief Lives it gives a short commentary on Mary and Philip’s lives. He speculates at one point on the relationship between Mary and Philip and says, “Sidney was much here, and there was so great love between him and his faire sister that I have heard old Gentlemen say that they lay together, and it was thought the first Philip Earle of Pembroke was begot by him, but he inherited not the witt of either brother of sister.” Aubrey’s backhanded compliment to the Sidney’s here is rather brutal and it is known that he had much dislike for the Herbert family. This account also cannot be entirely trusted because most of his other ‘factual’ accounts in the piece are inaccurate. Therefore his Brief Lives is more his own personal speculations on the family than actual facts. Although called “unsupportable nonsense” by Ivor Brown, this statement still suggests, regardless if it is true or not, that there was gossip or some conjecture around Mary and Philip’s close relationship. ======

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Finally Philip got married and left his sister yet they still remained close. Philip was trying to reestablish his political power and social stance in society, when he was wounded in battle and died. Mary was ill at this time and this was just another hard blow for her. She did not immediately release anything about Philip to commemorate him, but mourned to herself for a few months (39 Hannay). Her literary career after this improved as she continuously wrote about her brother or for her brother or finished his work as a way to honor him. Because of Philip she became a successful author that made a huge advancement for all female authors to follow. In the same way due to Mary’s encouragement and support Philip continued to work on his literature and became an accomplished writer. ======

-Katie Jackson

Hannay, Margaret P. // Philip's Phoenix: Mary Sidney, Countess of Pembroke //. New York: Oxford UP, 1990.

Waller, Gary F. // Mary Sidney, Countess of Pembroke: a Critical Study of Her Writings and Literary Milieu //. Salzburg, Austria: Institut Für Anglistik Und Amerikanistik, Universität Salzburg, 1979.