According to the author of this article, Mario Digangi, “many readers and scholars believe that the play Measure for Measure has a skewed and dismal account of sexual desire” (589). If that is the case, then why is it skewed? How is this exhibited in the play? Digangi answers these questions by arguing that, “the definition and manipulation of female sexuality in this play is a graphic symptom of male anxiety about female agency” (590). One interesting example that Digangi uses to show Measure for Measure’s skewed account of sexuality is the idea of two conflicting paradigms – the traditional maid/wife/widow paradigm or the play’s virgin/wife/whore paradigm. For example, according to the author, Isabella would occupy the sexually charged space
