Until quite recently whenever an expert on the Elizabethan period tried to qualify and define the epoch by means of a single word, he would choose the term «virile». If by that it was meant that at the time only the strong in body and mind survived, he was right as far as women were concerned. Although Renaissance had brought with it the «fashion» of educating the daughters alongside with the sons, at least among the aristocracy, the first had to fight for the right of pursuing what they had once been allowed to begin. Elizabeth Cary, the author of The Tragedy of Mariam was no exception; all her life she had to endure and persevere not only to further her studies, but also to become more than the mere translator of psalms and other pious texts, the only work educated women were supposed to be good at. Her play is proof that in spite of abiding by the rules, she succeeded in being different.