Sibling power: Middleton and Rowley's 'A Fair Quarrel.'

Sisters are under the jurisdiction of their brothers in Middleton and Rowley's 17th-century drama 'A Fair Quarrel.' The brothers' control of their sisters in 'A Fair Quarrel' can be better understood if the play is placed in its social context, and the laws surrounding sibling relations during the 17th century are examined. The examination of sibling relations in the play also benefits from comparisons to the works of Heywood, Shakespeare, Middleton, and Webster.