Lady Mary Wroth, “Sonnet 9” explores the profound impact of the patriarchal and religious control over people, specifically women’s personal lives and desires in Elizabethan England. It highlighted gender inequality in love and marriage, as social pressures were on women to confirm to the existing patriarchal model of society. The speaker used the words pleasure in “Bee you all pleas’d, your pleasure grieve not me” to highlight the wealth and power that the patriarchal and religious system benefited from marriage. Thus, the marriage was designed to benefit others besides the woman, and the words “Doe you delight? I envy not your joy ” shows a lack of envy for both systems. The speaker seeks out freedom for all to love as they see fit without
