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- The Tragedy of Superstition; or, the Fanatic Father, is a straight play by James Nelson Barker set in a Puritan village in Colonial America, specifically in "New England, about the year 1675." Although feeling much like a melodrama, Barker himself identifies the play as a tragedy in the title. Barker tells in his preface to the play that main incidents of the play are said to have actually occurred in New England in the late 1600s. The play revolves around the hero Charles and the villain Reverend Ravensworth. Ravensworth persecutes Charles and his mother on the claims that they are practicing magic. Unlike a traditional melodrama, in which poetic justice prevails, Charles is executed at the end of the play, his mother dies at the sight of her murdered son, and Ravensworth's daughter dies of grief because of the love she had for Charles. It might be easy to miss that Reginald at the very end reveals his mission, which was to pardon Isabella's father, the Unknown, for his part in killing King Charles I, but in doing so reveals that the king had secretly married Isabella ("espoused"), meaning that her son Charles was the son of the King. The play critiques tyrannous styles of power, in this case by a religious leader, especially ones that use fear of a supposed "Other" to consolidate and maintain power. The tragedy was first performed on March 12, 1824 at the Chestnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia. (en)
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- The Tragedy of Superstition; or, the Fanatic Father, is a straight play by James Nelson Barker set in a Puritan village in Colonial America, specifically in "New England, about the year 1675." Although feeling much like a melodrama, Barker himself identifies the play as a tragedy in the title. Barker tells in his preface to the play that main incidents of the play are said to have actually occurred in New England in the late 1600s. The play revolves around the hero Charles and the villain Reverend Ravensworth. Ravensworth persecutes Charles and his mother on the claims that they are practicing magic. Unlike a traditional melodrama, in which poetic justice prevails, Charles is executed at the end of the play, his mother dies at the sight of her murdered son, and Ravensworth's daughter dies (en)
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