Date of Award
4-2-2012
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
First Advisor
Lobanov-Rostovsky, Sergei
Abstract
Every generation of readers invents its own Shakespeare. Because of his foundational role in the western canon, changing the definition of Shakespeare changes our definition of culture. What is troubling, however, is that even in our modern times he seems to represent an image wholly western and wholly masculine. In an effort to alter our reading of his texts, as well as our reading of modern day gender, women authors re-imagine Shakespeare‰Ûªs plots into contemporary settings. In doing so, they invoke Adrienne Rich‰Ûªs definition of re-vision: the idea of reimagining canonical texts to uncover truths about ourselves. The female authors in this thesis‰ÛÓSmiley, Warner, Vogel, MacDonald, and Bamber‰ÛÓre-vision Shakespeare‰Ûªs texts in an effort to change the performance of femininity. In this re-visioning of the text, they also re-vision the performance of Shakespeare and essentially cross-dress him into the role of their muse. Through this process they ‰ÛÏdrag‰Û Shakespeare into the twenty-first century and make him complicit in the discourse of feminism.
Recommended Citation
Fitzpatrick, Caitlin, "The Cross-Dressed Muse: "Dragging" Shakespeare into the Twenty-First Century Through Feminist Re-Visions" (2012). Honors Theses. 63.
https://digital.kenyon.edu/honorstheses/63
Rights Statement
All rights reserved. This copy is provided to the Kenyon Community solely for individual academic use. For any other use, please contact the copyright holder for permission.
Comments
Includes bibliographical references (p. 104-108)