Woman or Wench? Shakespeare’s Servants Re-Imagined on Screen: Literature and IT Review

For my thesis, I intend to examine and analyse the representation of female servants in Shakespearean films since the 1990’s, paying close attention to the correlation between class, sexuality and identity. Currently, my working title reads “Woman or Wench? Shakespeare’s Servants Re-imagined On Screen”. I shall endeavour to explore whether cinematic adaptations elevate the performance of a relatively marginalised group of individuals. To achieve this, I shall be concise in my selection of characters and their onscreen counterparts. I have chosen Margaret from Much Ado About Nothing, the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet, Nerissa in The Merchant of Venice and Emilia in Othello. I have chosen these characters as they are each active and essential to the overall narrative. My objective for the thesis is to interrogate recent films and the portrayal of these characters. As such I shall be primarily focusing on film adaptions since 1990 up until 2013.

For my focus on Margaret, I have selected Joss Whedon’s 2012 production of Much Ado About Nothing and Kenneth Brannagh’s iconic 1993 film where Margaret is played by Ashley Johnson and Imelda Staunton respectively. Both films feature Margaret yet her performance differs in each. I intend to interrogate these differences and ponder the implications for her overall performance. When examining the Nurse I shall use Baz Luhrman’s William Shakespeare’s Rome+Juliet (1996). In Luhrman’s film, the Nurse, played by Miriam Margoyles, is Latina and I will examine the implications of this characterisation. For Emilia, I have chosen Oliver Parker’s 1995 film, with Anna Patrick playing the role. Finally, I shall use the 2004 adaptation of The Merchant of Venice to examine Nerissa, played by Heather Goldenhersch.

Firstly, I plan to carefully study the texts Much Ado, Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice and Othello to ensure I can offer an informed analysis of their cinematic counterparts. I will use The Norton Shakespeare Second Edition edited by Stephen Greenblatt (W.W. Norton & Company, 2008). Greenblatt’s edition provides the audience with critical essays, textual information and a bibliography for further reading. The footnotes are well-presented and provide insight into the plays and their context.

Shakespeare’s female servants on screen is an overlooked topic; there is little critical theory solely dedicated to the characters I have discussed. I will examine essays or texts devoted to Shakespearean films and overall theories on cinema. Crucial to my research is Maurice Hindle’s Studying Shakespeare on Film (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007). Hindle presents an in-depth analysis on the film modes, styles, the history of Shakespeare on film and critical essays on Brannagh’s Much Ado About Nothing and Luhrmann’s Romeo+Juliet.

 To gain a firm understanding of the technicalities of Shakespearean films, I will use Samuel Crowl’s Shakespeare and Film, A Norton Guide (W.W. Norton & Company, 2008). His chapter “Soliloquies and Scenes: Adapting Stage Conventions to the screen” will be of particular use. As I shall be examining the characters’ performance, identity and sexuality, I will make use of Laura Mulvey’s Visual and Other Pleasures (Antony Rowe Ltd, 1993). Her chapter “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”, which details the theory of “the Male Gaze”, is particularly relevant to my research.

Additionally, my research requires the examination of the characters in their textual setting. To gain a full, complete understanding of their context, I shall use R.C. Richardson’s text Household Servants in Early Modern England (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010). Out of my chosen films, Romeo+Juliet and Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing are the only two not set in the Renaissance period. Additionally, Frances E. Dolan’s chapter “Household Chastisements: Gender, Authority and ‘Domestic Violence’” from the collection Renaissance Culture and the Everyday (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999) provides extensive knowledge on the subject of servants in the Renaissance and Early Modern era.

As previously stated, there is little critical theory devoted to Margaret, the Nurse, Nerissa or Emilia on film. I shall have to rely on the work carried out on the textual characters and argue whether it is applicable to the cinematic representation. There are certain difficulties and concerns with this approach and I will need to remain objective and focused on my title. I have found a selection of essays and articles that have provided some compelling arguments. Barbara Hodgson’s chapter “William Shakespeare’s Romeo+Juliet: Everything’s Nice in America?” from Shakespeare An Anthology of Criticism and Theory 1945-2000 (Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2004) looks at the effect ethnicity has in Luhrman’s Romeo+Juliet. Given Margoyles’ almost caricature, Latina performance of the Nurse, this chapter is relevant to my analysis of the character. Regarding the role of Margaret in Much Ado, Mario DiGangi “The Social Relations of Shakespeare’s Comic Households” (A Companion to Shakespeare’s Works: The Comedies. Blackwell Publishing, 2003) looks at her place as a domestic servant. I intend to examine the connection between Margaret’s status as a servant and her sexuality. Mihoko Suzuki’s “Gender, Class, and the Ideology of Comic Form: Much Ado About Nothing and Twelfth Night” (A Feminist Companion to Shakespeare. Blackwell, 2000) examines her sexual transgressions and culpability in Hero’s downfall.

Emilia is both a servant to Desdemona and wife to Iago. The duality between these two social roles results in two different yet compelling portrayals in Parker’s adaptation. To aid my interrogation of the character, I will use Carol Chillington Rutter’s text Enter the Body: Women and Representation of Shakespeare’s Stage (Routledge, 2001), notably the chapter “Remembering Emilia”. Although Chillington Rutter primarily focuses on stage performance, I believe the chapter offers a detailed critique of the relationship between Emilia and Desdemona. I would like to repeat my earlier conviction that there is merit in the critical opinions and theories based on Shakespeare’s texts and their applicability to film. This is certainly true of Kay Stanton’s “Made to Write ‘whore’ upon: Male and Female Use of the Word ‘Whore’ in Shakespeare’s Canon” from A Feminist Companion to Shakespeare (Blackwell, 2000). The word “whore” is used by and to describe Emilia. I shall examine how these descriptions translate to Othello. Radford’s The Merchant of Venice demonstrates highly homoerotic overtones between Antonio and Bassanio. However, I believe Nerissa and Portia’s relationship in this film has similar overtones. To address this, I will use Theodora A. Jankowski’s chapter from A Feminist Companion to Shakespeare, “…in the Lesbian Void: Woman-Woman Eroticism in Shakespeare’s Plays.”.

However, I will not solely rely on work based around the texts. I believe Carol Chillington Rutter’s essay “Looking at Shakespeare’s Women in Film” from The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Film is one of the best pieces of work written about Shakespearean women on film. In this essay, Rutter specifically examines female performance from a range of films. Rutter argues that Shakespeare’s films offer women more to perform than his texts. This is one of the few essays solely dedicated to Shakespearean women on screen and it discusses the characters and films I am examining in my thesis.

In addition to these texts, I shall also rely on IT to aid my research and thesis composition. I endeavour to use the databases made available to me through the Boole Library website including JSTOR, Academic Search Complete, LION and ProQuest. Online journals such as Shakespeare Quarterly, Shakespeare Studies and Shakespeare Survey will be of great assistance to my research. I will also make full use of the multimedia facilities supplied by the Boole Library.

Works Cited

Callaghan, Dympna. A Feminist Companion to Shakespeare. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2000. Print.

Chillington Rutter, Carol. “Looking at Shakespeare’s Women on Film”. The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Film. Ed. Russell Jackson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

–Enter the Body: Women and Representation on Shakespeare’s Stage. New York: Routledge, 2001. Print.

Crowl, Samuel. Shakespeare and Film: A Norton Guide. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2008. Print.

Dutton, Richard, and Jean E. Howard. A Companion to Shakespeare’s Works. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub., 2003. Print.

Hindle, Maurice. Studying Shakespeare on Film. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. Print.

Hodgson, Barbara. “William Shakespeare’s Romeo+Juliet: Everything’s Nice in America?” Shakespeare: An Anthology of Criticism and Theory, 1945-2000. Ed. Russ McDonald. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub., 2004. Print.

Much Ado about Nothing. Dir. Kenneth Branagh. Perf. Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, and Denzel Washington. Samuel Goldwyn Co., 1993. DVD.

Much Ado About Nothing. Dir. Joss Whedon. Perf. Amy Acker, Alexis Denishof. Lionsgate, 2012. DVD.

Mulvey, Laura. Visual and Other Pleasures. Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire, 1993. Print

Othello. Dir. Oliver Parker. Perf. Laurence Fishburne, Kenneth Brannagh. Columbia Pictures, 1995. DVD.

The Merchant of Venice. Dir. Michael Radford. Sony Pictures, 2005. DVD.

Shakespeare, William. “Much Ado About Nothing”. The Norton Shakespeare Second Edition. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. London: W.W. Norton & Company, 2008. Print.

-“Romeo and Juliet”. The Norton Shakespeare Second Edition. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. London: W.W. Norton & Company, 2008. Print.

-“Othello”. The Norton Shakespeare Second Edition. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. London: W.W. Norton & Company, 2008. Print.

-“The Merchant of Venice”. The Norton Shakespeare Second Edition. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. London: W.W. Norton & Company, 2008. Print.

William Shakespeare’s Romeo+Juliet. Dir. Baz Luhrman. Perf. Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes. 20th Century Fox, 1996. DVD.

Illustrations

Studying Shakespeare on Film. Digital image. Amazon. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2016. <http://www.amazon.com/Studying-Shakespeare-Film-Maurice-Hindle/dp/1403906726&gt;.

Feminist Companion to Shakespeare. Digital image. Blackwell Reference Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2016. <http://www.blackwellreference.com/public/book?id=g9780631208075_9780631208075&gt;.

Nerissa. Digital image. Weary Sloth. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2016. <http://www.wearysloth.com/Gallery/ActorsG/35991-27174.gif&gt;.

Ashley Johnson Gallery. Digital image. Very Sharing IMG. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2016. <http://veryshareimg.com/ashley-johnson-much-ado-about-nothing.html&gt;.

Anna Patrick as Emilia. Digital image. Crimson Chevalier. WordPress, n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2016. <https://crimsonchevalier.wordpress.com/emilia/&gt;.

Romeo and Juliet Nurse. Digital image. Quotes Gram. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2016. <http://quotesgram.com/romeo-and-juliet-nurse-quotes/&gt;.

“Once More Unto the Breach, Dear Friends”: E-Portfolio Submision

When the student blog was assigned in October, it was met with a mixture of excitement and dread. The assembled group was informed that the blog should catalogue our progress through the MA and follow our own research interests.

The inspiration for my first post

At this point, I was struggling to compose a class assignment, never mind a research topic for my thesis. My “About” section and first post was marked with uncertainty as I declared “blogging is not my forte”.In spite of my initial vague ideas on how to approach my blog, I did know that gender in Early Modern drama was, and continues to be, a point of interest. After taking a seminar in third year titled “Shakespeare on Page and Screen”, I decided to follow this interest and write a post on the latest cinematic adaptation of Macbeth, directed by Stephen Kurzel. Hoping to avoid a summary or review of the film, I focused on the portrayal of the Weird Sisters.

“I wish to focus on the representation of the Weird Sisters and compare them to other cinematic counterparts. The audience first encounter the three witches as they watch the funeral of the Macbeths’ child from afar. Visually, the Weird Sisters appear to be more human than supernatural. Rather than the terrifying, faceless witches in Orson Welles’ Macbeth, these women are unremarkable in appearance and speak in normal tones. If anything, they are more akin to Roman Polankski’s witches who live on the outskirts of society. Varying in ages, Kurzel’s witches are predominantly dressed in black and appear to exist on the borders of the violent, masculine world that Macbeth inhabits. Whenever they appear there is a physical separation between them and society. During the Battle of Ellan, Macbeth sees the witches standing in fog, away from the action. In other scenes they appear in or at the edge of the forest. The spaces they occupy seems gendered as only women and children are permitted to remain there. After delivering their first prediction, they leave through the fog before disappearing. Despite his initial attempt to uncover more information, Macbeth cannot follow them past a certain point.”

In review, I possibly should have provided description or perhaps some images of previous incarnations of the witches. The balance between summary and analysis is a pitfall that many students struggle with. However, I believe I produced a balanced and informed post that engaged with the material. By choosing to focus on one aspect of the entire film, it became more than a simple review. I made reference to other films and sought quotes from Stephen Kurzel regarding his directorial decisions:

“Perhaps the most important feature of Kurzel’s witches is their lack of supernatural power. While Welles’ witches controlled Macbeth through a voodoo doll, these witches seem to have little or no interest in causing malicious or devious harm. They simply deliver their predictions and allow the characters to make their own choices. Their iconic and perhaps clichéd, speech of “Double, double toil and trouble” is notably absent in Kurzel’s film, another decrease in their supernatural abilities. During an interview, Kurzel remarked that “we were interested in having them appear on the battlefield, perhaps as observers and watchers of his [Macbeth]tragedy. […] A simple use of them, as opposed to them being these supernatural manifestations” (Lambie, Macbeth, Breaking Bad, Snowtown).

From a visual perspective, the witches are certainly more benign than supernatural. There are no warts or other unattractive physical ailments. Instead, their foreheads are marked with papal crosses. It is interesting that it is a religious icon that marks the witches. Within the film, there are an abundance of scenes shot within churches; Lady Macbeth questioning Macbeth’s masculinity, Macbeth’s coronation and Lady Macbeth’s “Out damned spot” soliloquy. Yet religion offers little comfort in this stark, violent world.”

At the end of the second semester, our blogs were critiqued. I was advised to broaden my content and demonstrate application of the analytical skills and deployment of some of the theory I encountered during the MA programme. With this in mind, I made a conscious effort to tie in topics I was discussing in class with ideas or theories I pursued in my own research:

“As I conduct my own research for an essay on the mutation of the literary figure Cressida I have been exploring a lot of feminist theory. Based on my previous blog entries and my previous academic work, it is hardly surprising that I have taken such an interest in this area. An idea that has come up is the theory of “the male gaze” which can be mainly found in film and other visual mediums although can be applied to some aspects of literature. The theorist Laura Mulvey developed the idea of “The Male Gaze” in her 1975 essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”, which I found in Visual and Other Pleasure. The theory is primarily concerned with how women are viewed in film or other forms of media. The camera angle often plays to a the appeals of male character or a heterosexual male audience. Once you become aware of this theory, it is next to impossible to ignore it. During heterosexual sex scenes, the camera will often linger over the female form for a longer period of time and can slowly move up or down. After doing a quick search, I believe every Bond Girl is introduced through a scene that is rife with sexual desire and objectification.”

I developed my own thoughts of The Male Gaze and extended it to my own analysis of Cressida. This was perhaps a risky move, given Mulvey’s essay was specifically written for visual mediums. But, I believe I defended my interpretation and wrote an engaging post.

“The idea of male gaze can and does appear in literature. While lacking visual imagery, texts that present female characters solely through the the view of a male character to play to the expectations of a predominantly male audience. This is quite a frequent occurrence in early to late medieval texts. Narrator’s such as the one found in Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde, often report on the appearance of female characters as the male protagonist cast their gaze upon them. By constructing any female character through the male gaze, they are denied sexuality aside from the one bestowed upon them. They reassure men of their sexual power and dominance over the female form.”

The blog also tracked elements and assessments of the EN6009 module: Contemporary Literary Research: Skills, Methods and Strategies. Tasked with editing a Wikipedia page that was relevant to our thesis topic, the MA’s live-tweeted the in-class assessment. This post marked a distinct moment in my research journal. I managed to write a post that vividly captured the event through screenshots while adopting a critical tone.

“The hardest part of the exam was the criticism and critical analysis. There was no such section on the original page but I could have easily spent another two hours writing a complete one. Given the time constraints of the exam, I included what I feel were the crucial elements to the play. It may have been shorter than I could have liked but it was a necessary element to the page. Without it, or more importantly, references, the page would have remained an unreliable source. The entire exercise may have been a challenge but it was one I was delighted to take on. The MA’s were grouped together and we interacted with one another in person and on Twitter. The company and support reassured us all and we were even able to help one another at times. For example, a classmate asked me about Middle French as I studied the language in my undergraduate degree.

Teamwork

[…] Aside from developing my editing skills, the editathon highlighted how useful Twitter can be. Due to my incessant tweeting, the Shakespeare in Ireland blog picked up one of tweets. This resulted in Andy Kessan, an academic who specialises in John Lyly, tweeting me, delighted the page was receiving some attention.”

As time went on, my posts became more critical and leaned towards the Early Modern period and revolved around themes of sexuality, gender and the representation of women. In my prescribed reading, I made connections between texts and examined overriding themes such as a wife’s submission to her husband.

“The prescribed reading for my MA modules has yielded some interesting correlations between marriage and women’s autonomy. The first text was The Tragedy of Mariam, written in 1603 by Elizabeth Cary. The second is Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurst. Centuries apart, both texts feature women who are expected to remain silent and act as “the crown of husbands virtue”. Mariam is King Herod’s second wife and it is her inability to hold her tongue that ultimately leads to her downfall and execution. Yet Janie outlives her controlling second husband Jody who dies immediately after she finally vents her frustrations.

According to medieval and early modern homilies, it was a wifely duty to remain silent and do everything in her power to assist her husband. More importantly she is expected to bolster her husband’s reputation. Salomé, Mariam’s sister-in-law, is rebuked by her husband Constabarous for her infidelity. Interestingly, he is more concerned with appearance, his wife must seem virtuous, stating “A virtuous woman crowns her husband’s head”. There should not be any question regarding a wife’s devotion to her husband; her reputation should only enhance his.”

With each post, my use of multimedia improved. I used hyperlinks to connect articles, texts and other blog posts. My blog became a narrative that tracked my academic development.

“In a previous post, I examined Laura Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze which objectifies women. In both texts, there is evidence that physical beauty is a key component of a wife’s role. Mariam is described as “the fair Queen of Jewry”…The preoccupation with beauty is mimicked in Their Eyes Were Watching God with Jody stating ” A pretty doll-baby lak you is made to sit on de front porch and rock and fan yo’self and eat p’taters dat other folks plant just special for you.” (Herst, p.26). A women’s intellect is not required, only her appearance…Like Herod, Jody is happy to have a beautiful, “fair” wife but is not interested in what she has to say. Jody frequently speaks on Janie’s behalf, cutting across her. This predominantly happens when they are in public. It seems that a wife embarrassing her husband in public is the worst crime she can commit.”

Blogging my own research and analysis proved to be beneficial and influential to my overall degree. For our mini-conference, Textualities, I wrote a paper on female silence which was clearly inspired by my “Silence Isn’t So Golden” post.

“I titled my presentation “Shakespeare’s Silenced Women; Problems with Performance in a Patriarchal Context” and chose to examine how female silence translates to film. My main focus within the presentation looked at the literary figure Cressida (Troilus and Cressida), Katherine (Henry V), Hero and Beatrice (both from Much Ado About Nothing). I also mentioned Lavinia (Titus Andronicus), Hermione (A Winter’s Tale) and Desdemona (Othello) when examining and comparing the physical silencing of women.”

The Textualites reflection post was a compulsory element of the mini-conference yet it proved to be one of my more successful posts. Confined to a 300 word count, I strove to provide a personal, in depth reflection while carefully maintaining an academic tone.

“Textualities consisted of six panels of four speakers with time allocated for questions at the end. When we weren’t interrogating our classmates or drinking vast amounts of caffeine, the class interacted with one another on Twitter. My main task within the organisation of Textualites was running the official Twitter account. What initially seemed like a straightforward task soon revealed some challenges. Firstly, each panel needed to be live tweeted. I also needed to strive for a balance between engaging and informative tweets, all in a one hundred and forty character limit… Splitting the task with my peer Emilio, we successfully kept the Twitterverse up to date with all the presentations.”

Throughout the year, MA’s were required to attend research seminars hosted by the School of English. I attended five of these seminars although it was unfortunate that there was only two that focused on the Medieval to Renaissance period. I wrote posts on these two seminars as I  found them to be highly relevant to my own research. These seminars were given by Dr Tom Birkett and Dr Andrew J. Power.

Dr Birkett’s paper gave an account of his research project, “The World Tree Project”.

“His seminar, titled “Viking Ships to Reading Lists- Collecting Cultures with the World Tree Project” offered us an insight into his research project and how Viking heritages link various nations and cultures.”

I once again found myself at risk of summarising the talk. In an effort to avoid so, I wrote about how many nationalities share a Viking heritage and how this links into contemporary concerns regarding cultural appropriation.

“The aim of the project is to create a digital archive that is available to the public. A component of the talk that caught my attention was how various countries and cultures appropriate their Viking or Norse heritage. The phrase “cultural appropriation” is thrown about these days, sometimes with value and other times merely used as a buzzword to attract more hits on an online article. Generally speaking, it has negative connotations and refers to individuals appropriating one aspect of another culture without any demonstration of knowledge or respect…Within the context of the presentation, the phrase simply referred to how countries and regions use and interpret different aspects of Viking heritage or even the word “Viking” itself. None of these appropriations are inherently wrong or disrespectful as they represent valid experiences and opinions. Given the wide influence it had on Europe, it is not surprising to see the effects of Viking culture outside of Scandinavia. […] Many nationalities and cultures share a mutual heritage. Rather than become outraged at the differences, perhaps we should enjoy them and revel in cultural appreciation. I believe this is part of The World Tree Project’s ethos; to embrace what we share and equally what we do not.”

Given that the Medieval to Renaissance programme is larger than the Modernities and Irish Writing and Film MA groups, it was disappointing that there weren’t more seminars tailored to our areas of research. Even though there were a limited number of Medieval to Renaissance research seminars, I attended screenings and workshops throughout the year. One of these was Dr Dereck Dunne’s “Shakespeare and Performance Workshop”. Looking at The Globe theatre as a performance space, I was challenged by the prospect of reinterpreting how certain plays function within the famed playhouse.

“Prior to the workshop, I was aware that certain plays were written for an audience at court, and the implications this may have for academics studying the overall text. Yet I have never given much thought to how The Globe functions as a performance space. To a modern audience, the famed theatre can seem bare in comparison to a contemporary stage. This preconception is quickly proven false after we discussed certain aspects of The Globe.

Circular in its structure, The Globe has a pit surrounding the stage where the poorer theatre-goers paid £1 to see a performance. The price increases for the tiered seated area. Dereck presented the idea that there is a conversation of sorts between the actors and the audience: the actors onstage provide the words while the audience provides the punctuation. I found this proposition intriguing, especially when you examine the mob scenes in Julius Caesar, or the battlefield of Agincourt in Henry V. There will never be a stage suitable to hold a mob or an army, yet when The Globe is at capacity, an actor suddenly has 3,000 people to address. He then has the opportunity to use the audience as his own “band of brothers””

The other research seminar that I blogged about was Dr Andrew Power’s examination of “The Early Stages of Shakespeare’s Boy Players”. His meticulous research impressed those in attendance and provided a basis for our own analysis and critical thinking.

“Power’s suggestion that the playhouse was a training ground for young actors is one that I found fascinating. For all my interest in female performance within Early Modern drama, I have spent little time examining the implications of young boys playing these roles. Transvestism is certainly present in many Shakespearean texts, with women dressing up as boys. I even covered some of these instances in an earlier blog post. Power elaborated on this theory by suggesting that boys were apprenticed to the manager of the playhouse where they received formal training. When examining certain plays, such as Two Gentlemen of Verona or A Comedy of Errors, there appears to be female roles that require little interaction with other characters or with the audience. Luce (later called Nell) in A Comedy of Errors speaks her lines from behind a closed door, avoiding the gaze of the crowd. Ursula is a maid in Two Gentlemen of Verona who steps onstage to provide a mirror but does not speak. These roles could be seen as training roles for young boy actors so that they might one day progress to major ones.”

Following on from Textualities and Andrew Power’s seminar, I began to research the idea of Shakespearean women on screen in earnest. To aid my research, I wrote a blog post that looked at specific examples where I believed film enhanced performance:

“Lack of dialogue can reveal the societal constraints placed on women, but film offers a chance for female characters to bring another layer of performance to the character…Film also enhances the performance of minor or marginalised characters, particularly those with limited lines. In Kenneth Brannagh’s adaption of Much Ado About Nothing, Margaret, a servant played by Imelda Staunton, is better developed and portrayed in a more sympathetic manner than in many stage productions. In earlier scenes, she is seen flirting and sexually engaging with Borachio and the omission of significant lines might cause the audience to only view her as promiscuous woman whose lewd behaviour causes havoc. Even though her promiscuous behaviour leads to Hero’s public humiliation and violent treatment, the film does eventually reconcile this view during the first wedding. As Claudio accuses Hero of wanton behaviour the camera briefly zooms in on Margaret’s face. During this brief close-up, the audience see that she wears an expression of guilt but also one of remorse…

This is a much more sympathetic portrayal and her performance offers an alternative to the archetypal character found in the text. Although she may have acted in a promiscuous manner, Margaret remains a loyal and kind-hearted woman. Instead of being defined by her sexuality, the performance allows her to depict a sympathetic character with good intentions.”

The topic of female servants in Shakespearean drama and their transition to film is a topic I am hoping to fully explore in my literature review and thesis. To date, I have not found much critical work on the subject. Perhaps my own thesis can help rectify the matter as I consider this to be a worthwhile topic that is demands examination.

What began as rough outline of my academic interests became an integral part of my own research. The research journal connected my work within the overall UCC MA experience and the wider academic community. It tracked newfound skills: my first post lacked imagery but as time progressed, I learnt how to embed videos, gifs, hyperlinks and screenshots. The blog sparked interaction and discussion between classmates through the comment section on our blogs. The chronological progression of the blog also marked my growing academic voice. I shall certainly endeavour to use my blog to aid my thesis research during the summer months.

 

Works Cited

Murphy, Michelle. “…and some have greatness thrust upon them”. Web log post. Michelle E. Murphy: Musings of a Medieval Masters Student. WordPress, 13 Oct. 2015. Web. 2 Apr. 2016.

Murphy, Michelle. “The Scottish Film”. Web log post. Michelle E. Murphy: Musings of a Medieval Masters Student. WordPress, 16 Oct. 2015. Web. 2 Apr. 2016.

Murphy, Michelle. “Through the Eye of the Beholder”. Web log post. Michelle E. Murphy: Musings of a Medieval Masters Student. WordPress, 10 Dec. 2015. Web. 2 Apr. 2016.

Murphy Michelle. “The World Tree Project (UCC Seminar Series)”. Web log post. Michelle E. Murphy: Musings of a Medieval Masters Student. WordPress, 10 Jan. 2016. Web. 2 Apr. 2016.

Murphy, Michelle. “All the World’s a Stage: Shakespeare and Performance Workshop”. Web log post. Michelle E. Murphy: Musings of a Medieval Masters Student. WordPress, 21 Feb. 2016. Web. 2 Apr. 16.

Murphy, Michelle. “Wikipedia: Not So Unreliable After All”. Web log post. Michelle E. Murphy: Musings of a Medieval Masters Student. WordPress, 10 Feb. 2016. Web. 2 Apr. 16.

Murphy, Michelle. “Silence Isn’t So Golden”. Web log post. Michelle E. Murphy: Musings of a Medieval Masters Student. WordPress, 3 Mar. 2016. Web. 2 Apr. 16.

Murphy, Michelle. “Textualities 2016: A Reflection”. Web log post. Michelle E. Murphy: Musings of a Medieval Masters Student. WordPress, 13 Mar. 2016. Web 2 Apr. 16.

Murphy, Michelle. “More Than Just A Pretty Face: Shakespeare’s Boy Players”. Web log post. Michelle E. Murphy: Musings of a Medieval Masters Student. WordPress, 15 Mar. 2016. Web. 2 Apr. 16.

Murphy, Michelle. “Shakespeare’s Women on Screen”. Web log post. Michelle E. Murphy: Musings of a Medieval Masters Student. WordPress, 20 Mar. 2016. Web. 2 Apr. 16.

Macbeth. Dir. Justin Kurzel. Perf. Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard. StudioCanal and Film4, 2015. Film.

Macbeth. Dir. Orson Welles. Dist. Films, Inc., 1948. DVD.

Macbeth. Dir. Roman Polanski. Perf. Jon Finch, Francesca Annis, and Martin Shaw. Columbia-Warner, 1971. DVD.

“Macbeth, Breaking Bad, Snowtown.” Interview by Ryan Lambie. Den of Geek. N.p., 28 Sept. 2015. Web. 15 Oct. 2015. <http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/macbeth/37095/justin-kurzel-interview-macbeth-breaking-bad-snowtown&gt;.

Mulvey, Laura. Visual and Other Pleasures. Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire, 1993. Print

Chaucer, Geoffrey, Stephen A. Barney, and Giovanni Boccaccio. Troilus and Criseyde, with Facing-page Il Filostrato / Authoritative Texts / The The Testament of Cresseid / by Robert Henryson / Criticism ; Edited by Stephen A. Barney. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. Print.

Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God: A Novel. New York: Perennial Library, 1990. Print.

Cary, Elizabeth. The Tragedy of Mariam, the Fair Queen of Jewry. Manchester: New Mermaids, 2010. Print.

Much Ado about Nothing. Dir. Kenneth Branagh. By Kenneth Branagh. Prod. Kenneth Branagh. Perf. Kenneth Branagh, Richard Briers, Emma Thompson, and Denzel Washington. Samuel Goldwyn Co., 1993. DVD.

Chillington Rutter, Carol. “Looking at Shakespeare’s Women on Film”. The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Film. Ed. Russell Jackson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Birkett, Dr Tom. “Viking Ships to Reading Lists- Collecting Cultures with the World Tree Project”. Research Seminar. University College Cork, Cork. 18 Nov. 2015. Lecture.

Dunne, Dr Derrek. “Shakespeare and Performance Workshop”. Workshop. University College Cork, Cork. 1 Feb. 2016. Lecture.

Power, Dr. Andrew J. “The Early Stages of Shakespeare’s Boy Players.” Research Seminar. University College Cork, Cork. 9 Mar. 2016. Lecture.

Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V. Digital image. Archive Us First. First Robotics, 17 Feb. 2015. Web. 3 Apr. 2016. <http://archive.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/blog-stop-build-day-once-more-unto-the-breach&gt;.

“Some are born great…” Digital image. Pinterest. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2016. <https://www.pinterest.com/pin/303641199852756001/&gt;.

Kurzel’s Witches. Digital image. The Muse. Jezebel, n.d. Web. 3 Apr. 2016. <http://themuse.jezebel.com/michael-fassbender-as-macbeth-is-an-impossibly-bleak-lo-1748696157&gt;.96/5

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Digital image. Londontown.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Apr. 2016. <http://www.londontown.com/LondonInformation/Entertainment/Shakespeares_Globe/8f9c/&gt;.

Imelda Staunton, Much Ado. Digital image. The Holy Shrine. WordPress, n.d. Web. 3 Apr. 2016. <https://theholyshrine.wordpress.com/2013/03/16/z-to-a-much-ado-about-nothing-1993/&gt;.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Death Becomes Her: UCC Inkwell Symposium

In September 2015 I was elected as the Postgraduate Representative in the UCC English Society. As part of my duties, I took on the responsibility of organising and hosting a symposium with a focus on Old, Medieval and Renaissance literature. Along with two colleagues, fellow Med Ren student Emer Murphy and soon to be MA student Joe McCarthy, we created the inaugural Inkwell Symposium. Aside from organising the event from scratch, I also undertook the challenge of presenting a paper at the symposium. Inkwell occurred one week after the Textualites mini-conference and I was now free of the constraints of Pecha Kucha. I initially  considered presenting a variation on my Textualities paper,  given how busy the month of March is. Yet our theme for the symposium was “Achieving Immortality: Life and Legacy After Death”. Instead, I wrote a new paper that looked at the correlation between death and a woman’s reputation in Early Modern Drama, which I shall briefly discuss in this post.

In many texts, women who behave immorally or who are accused of such acts, are punished by death. I wanted to look at the instances where women who are wrongly accused suffer corporal punishment but whose reputations are restored after their untimely demise. For this, I looked at characters such as Lavinia in Titus Andronicus , Desdemona in Othello, Hermione in A Winter’s Tale, Hero in Much Ado About Nothing and Salome and Mariam from The Tragedy of Mariam. In this post I shall look at Desdemona and Mariam. One of the most prominent tragic heroines audiences’ associate with death and honour is Desdemona. For the presentation and indeed, this blog post, I chose certain images because we unwittingly associate her with her tragic end. Iago uses Othello’s jealousy and insecurity to plot the couple’s downfalls. One of the biggest ploys Iago uses is the fact Desdemona eloped with Othello without her father’s permission. Rather than see it as a sign of his wife’s unwavering loyalty, Othello soon sees it as a prelude to her infidelity. Sex and sexuality is deeply connected with death. When Othello smothers her, he claims it is an act of justice. He reconciles his crime with the idea that unfaithful, treacherous women must be destroyed for sake of society, crying out “Yet she must die, else she’ll betray more men” (5.2.3-6).

The tragedy of Othello is the fact that Desdemona was innocent of any wrong doing. Evidence was forged and constructed against her in an effort to destroy Othello. It is a perfect example of how women are mistreated. Worst of all, the truth comes out after she has been murdered. Othello’s excuse that she must die so no other men will be betrayed by her. His actions take the form of an honour killing.

Mariam is another woman who is killed at the behest of her husband and whose reputation is only restored after she is executed. Mariam is the wife of Herod, the King of Judea and the man responsible for the death of her brother and grandfather. Herod’s rage and jealously are the principle factors in her disobedience. In another blog post, I looked at the how Mariam is silenced for this disobedience. Salomé, Herod’s sister, plots to have Mariam executed and it is through this treachery that she succeeds. Mariam herself recognizes that she has brought her death on herself by refusing to live by the accepted female triad of virtues: she is chaste but manifestly not silent or obedient. A messenger recounts the details of Mariam’s noble death, and Herod runs mad with grief and remorse, persuaded at last of her innocence and inestimable worth. Another common trope that emerges here is the grieving husband, tormented by the knowledge he is single-handedly responsible.

In the examples I have chosen, death is used as a weapon against women who are deemed to be ruled by their sexuality. Female sexuality is apparently something to be feared and must be contained. Shakespeare and Cary dramatize the redemption and inconsolable loss that comes with wrongful death. While females death is said to redeem fathers, husbands and restore families and kingdoms, it is always at the expense of female suffering.

After the experience of presetingt at both Textualities and Inkwell, and even organsiging the latter, I have gained a huge amount of confidence in my pwn abilities. This confidence has translated into submitting an abstract for the UCC Bookends Conference. I decided to work in my current working thesis title: “Shakespeare’s Servants on Screen: The Representation of Female Servants in Shakespearean Films”. Should my proposal be accepted, you shall find a blog post detailing both my paper and the experience.

 

Shakespeare’s Women on Screen

At this point in time, I intend to pursue the topic of Shakespearean women on screen as part of my MA thesis. As such, it seems fitting to dedicate a blog post to the subject. I first became interested in the idea of female performance after reading a brilliant article by Carol Chillington Rutter titled “Looking at Shakespeare’s women on film“. Rutter argues that film offers women a chance to develop and expand Shakespeare’s character through their on screen performance. Her statement that “Film deprivelages Shakespeare’s words” but that it “…redistributes the balance of power between men’s and women’s roles: not only are there more women in Shakespeare films than playtexts but they have much more to perform” (Rutter) is an excellent observation and provided a firm basis for my own presentation.

For my Textualites presentation, I looked at how silences in Shakespearean drama are treated on screen. While I cannot go into the same level as detail as I did in my Textualities presentation, I would like to focus on one example from the presentation. Lack of dialogue can reveal the societal constraints placed on women, but film offers a chance for female characters to bring another layer of performance to the character. Emma Thompson is exemplary as Katherine in Kenneth Brannagh’s Henry V, demonstrating how a character can be bring a full performance while still following the text and remaining silent.

In the final scene, Henry requests that Katherine stay with him. After a remorseful look she silently complies.To combat Henry’s dominance, she speaks coldly and ignores eye contact, performing as a cynical woman who is not willing to engage with Henry’s flirtatious attempts. As the conversation progresses the audience witnesses a transformation; she laughs at Henry’s appalling French, appearing youthful again. The shot shows the pair in profile, allowing Katherine to react to Henry and giving validity to her feelings.

Film also enhances the performance of minor or marginalised characters, particularly those with limited lines. In Kenneth Brannagh’s adaption of Much Ado About Nothing, Margaret,  a servant played by Imelda Staunton, is better developed and portrayed in a more sympathetic manner than in many stage productions. In earlier scenes, she is seen flirting and sexually engaging with Borachio and the omission of significant lines might cause the audience to only view her as promiscuous woman whose lewd behaviour causes havoc. Even though her promiscuous behaviour leads to Hero’s public humiliation and violent treatment, the film does eventually reconcile this view during the first wedding. As Claudio accuses Hero of wanton behaviour the camera briefly zooms in on Margaret’s face.

During this brief close-up, the audience see that she wears an expression of guilt but also one of remorse. A later shot shows Margaret rushing through the gathered guests with a look of determination, leading one to presume she is going to try and remedy the situation. This is a much more sympathetic portrayal and her performance offers an alternative to the archetypal character found in the text. Although she may have acted in a promiscuous manner, Margaret remains a loyal and kind-hearted woman. Instead of being defined by her sexuality, the performance allows her to depict a sympathetic character with good intentions.

The topic of female servants in Shakespearean drama and their transition to film is a topic I am hoping to fully explore in my literature review and thesis. To date, I have not found much critical work on the subject. Perhaps my own thesis can help rectify the matter as I consider this to be a worthwhile topic that is demands examination.

 

Works Cited

Henry V. Dir. Kenneth Branagh. Perf. Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Brian Blessed, Ian Holm, Robbie Coltrane, Judi Dench, and Emma Thompson. Curzon Film Distributors, Ltd., 1989. DVD.

Much Ado about Nothing. Dir. Kenneth Branagh. By Kenneth Branagh. Prod. Kenneth Branagh. Perf. Kenneth Branagh, Richard Briers, Emma Thompson, and Denzel Washington. Samuel Goldwyn Co., 1993. DVD.

Chillington Rutter, Carol. “Looking at Shakespeare’s Women on Film”. The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Film. Ed. Russell Jackson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Oldhollywoodtrailers. “Much Ado About Nothing Official Trailer.” YouTube. YouTube, 05 Oct. 2012. Web. 02 Apr. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGlmhwa0zjw&gt;.

More Than Just A Pretty Face: Shakespeare’s Boy Players

In our own modern day society, Shakespeare has managed to become a fixture in film and media as well as onstage. When high profile stars such as Emma Thompson, Judi Dench, Elizabeth Taylor or Marion Cotiallard bring Shakespeare’s women to life, we tend to forget that the iconic roles of Juliet or Cleopatra were once played by young boys. Costumes, make-up, clean-shaven faces and prepubescent voices were what made a woman on the Early Modern stage. In a recent research seminar given here in UCC, Dr Andrew J. Power examined the instances and circumstances involving Shakespeare’s boy players.

Power opened his presentation with comprehensive and detailed charts that depict the logistics of boy players’s roles. These charts accounted for the amount of scenes involved, how much time was pent onstage the amount of lines spoken and what percentage the spoken lines are in relation to the entire play. These charts are the result of painstaking and meticulous research. For the most part, the amount of time spent onstage correlated with the amount of spoken lines. However, there was one exception in Power’s research; Lavinia in Titus Andronicus. Lavinia’s tongue is cut out, and while she remains to be a haunting presence onstage, she does not speak for the remainder of the play.

Another fascinating aspect of the talk was Power’s research into the minimum boy players needed to stage a text. This ranged from two in Two Gentlemen of Verona whereas A Midsummer Night’s Dream required a minimum of ten boys to play female roles. Not only do the amount of boy players increase over time but so too does the demand placed on said players. Roles such as Titania in Dream, Cleopatra, Katherina in Taming of the Shrew or Juliet demand a huge amount of skill. Power questions what was happening in the playhouse that caused this phenomenon. How does a boy of twelve years of age become Juliet? There are some plausible theories. The first is that the boy players came from private companies. Given that a major boy role consisted of at least two thousand words it seems unlikely that the Early Modern equivalent of a child star could maintain such pressure, never mind ten.

Power’s suggestion that the playhouse was a training ground for young actors is one that I found fascinating. For all my interest in female performance within Early Modern drama, I have spent little time examining the implications of young boys playing these roles. Transvestism is certainly present in many Shakespearean texts, with women dressing up as boys. I even covered some of these instances in an earlier blog post. Power elaborated on this theory by suggesting that boys were apprenticed to the manager of the playhouse where they received formal training. When examining certain plays, such as Two Gentlemen of Verona or A Comedy of Errors, there appears to be female roles that require little interaction with other characters or with the audience. Luce (later called Nell) in A Comedy of Errors speaks her lines from behind a closed door, avoiding the gaze of the crowd. Ursula is a maid in Two Gentlemen of Verona who steps onstage to provide a mirror but does not speak. These roles could be seen as training roles for young boy actors so that they might one day progress to major ones.

My own question to Power was on the age of boy players. During the presentation he stated that boy players were between the ages of twelve and twenty two. My own thoughts were that boy players stopped playing female roles once their voices broke. Perhaps this scene from Shakespeare in Love is to blame for my preconception. Power answered that there are records of “boys” playing female roles up until their twenties. While Cleopatra’s fears of being played by a pipsqueak boy are well-founded, it seems the more demanding roles were not exclusive to prepubescent boys. I was initially surprised by this assertion but upon reflection, it makes sense. Richard Burbage, one the great actors in the Early Modern period, played Romeo, a teenager, right into his forties. Based on this information, why shouldn’t an older boy play female major roles? Realism may be desired but it is reassuring to hear skill remained paramount in performing Shakespeare’s work.

 

 

Life’s a Drag

While sheltering from a series of alphabetized terrors this Christmas season, I enjoyed binge watching several Shakespearean cinematic adaptions. A personal favourite was Baz Luhrman’s 1996 Romeo and Juliet, often stylized as Romeo + Juliet. A young Leonardo DiCaprio and even younger Claire Danes star as the titular “star crossed lovers”. While the setting, soundtrack and imagery is a masterpiece of modern escapism, there is one performance that never fails to delight me: Harold Perrineau Jnr. as Mercutio. His interpretation of Mercutio brings a manic delight to the character. His “Queen Mab” speech is iconic with its perfect blend of wit, teetering on the edge of insanity. But possibly the most compelling piece of evidence is his costume for Capulet’s party. Scantily clad in a white, glittering bra and skirt, complete with suspenders and a white Afro wig, he performs to Kim Mazelle’s “Young Hearts Run Free”.

Transvestism is far from unusual in Shakespearean drama; all female characters were originally performed by prepubescent boys. Portia in A Merchant of Venice, Viola in The Twelfth Night and Rosalind in As You Like It adopt male attire and the personas of Balthazar, Ganymede and Caesario respectively. Formerly constructed as a social transgression, transvestism has slowly become part of popular culture. The term is broad and can be found in cosplay, drag and Hollywood, either as an art form, a performance or as a comedic trope. The series “RuPaul’s Drag Race” predominantly features homosexual cisgender men who compete against one another for a cash prize. The show has brought drag into the public eye and become a firm part of pop culture. An article written by John Magness for the University of Maryland student newspaper explores the current phenomena.

Luhrman’s version of Mercutio has an interesting brand of transvestism. Visually, the sight of a muscular Black man gyrating and high kicking in barely any clothing is compelling, entertaining and quite impressive. His performance would probably be defined as a drag act; he does not appear in female clothing for the remainder of the film and the performance is purely for entertainment. Given his audience’s reaction, this is a not secretive, shameful action either. What purpose does Luhrmann have for making this significant choice? Many critics have proposed the theory that the character of Mercutio is gay. His loyalty for Romeo, cynicism of romantic love and misogynistic statements regarding women combined with an exuberant personality are all factors for this theory. Depending on the staging and intonation of his lines, the homo-eroticism exuded by Mercutio and Romeo can be anything from non-existent to overwhelming. Does Luhrmann deliberately create a gay caricature that the audience are forced to accept his homosexuality? It certainly offers an alternative interpretation of the character. Perhaps there is a more though provoking, purposeful motive. Luhrmann has inflated the campness to an extreme level; the audience might automatically assume his homosexuality without anything other than visual proof, thus revealing our own prejudices regarding gender, sexuality and performance. Merctutio’s potential homosexuality is hotly debated among critics. He is unquestionably loyal to Romeo but that loyalty does not automatically equate attraction. There are certainly other characters in Shakespearean drama who display stronger homoerotic tendencies. Achilles and Patroclus in Troilus and Cressida are heavily implied to be lovers.

Patroclus and Achilles in a production by UC Follies

Antonio and Bassiano in The Merchant of Venice also display homoerotic behavior, most notably in the 1973 film directed by John Sichel. In The Twelfth Night, Olivia is attracted to Viola in the guise as Caesario while Rosalind and Orlando in As You Like It share some intimate moments while she is disguised as Ganymede. Shakespeare has no qualms of transgressing the social norms of gender and sexuality. Had he intended to characterise Mercutio as gay, it seems he would have made it more obvious. However, the transgressive behavior surrounding transvestism and homosexual attraction is resolved in The Twelfth Night, As You Like It and The Merchant of Venice and hetero-normative conventions prevail. In the case of Achilles and Patrolochus, their illicit relationship is excused because of their connection to the pagan world and the Other. As the TV series Father Ted explains, the Greeks invented gayness. Perhaps Mercutio’s gender bending antics do not matter and the audience are expected to accept the performance of face value. It can’t be that shocking to think a performance can be superb, memorable and entertaining without the need to question a character’s sexuality.

Works Cited

Romeo+Juliet. Dir. Baz Luhrmann. 20th Century Fox, 1996. Film.

Shakespeare, William. As You Like It. The Norton Shakespeare Second Edition. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt et al. London: W.W. Norton & Company, 2008.

Shakespeare William. The Twelfth Night. The Norton Shakespeare Second Edition. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt et al. London: W.W. Norton & Company, 2008. Print.

Shakespeare, William. Troilus and Cressida. The Norton Shakespeare Second Edition. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt et al. London: W.W. Norton & Company, 2008. Print.

Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. The Norton Shakespeare Second Edition. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt et al. London: W.W. Norton & Company, 2008.  Print.

Through the Eye of the Beholder

As I conduct my own research for an essay on the mutation of the literary figure Cressida I have been exploring a lot of feminist theory. Based on my previous blog entries and my previous academic work, it is hardly surprising that I have taken such an interest in this area. An idea that has come up is the theory of “the male gaze” which can be mainly found in film and other visual mediums although can be applied to some aspects of literature.

The theorist Laura Mulvey developed the idea of “The Male Gaze” in her 1975 essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”, which I found in Visual and Other Pleasure . The theory is primarily concerned with how women are viewed in film or other forms of media. The camera angle often plays to a the appeals of male character or a heterosexual male audience. Once you become aware of this theory, it is next to impossible to ignore it. During heterosexual sex scenes, the camera will often linger over the female form for a longer period of time and can slowly move up or down. After doing a quick search, I believe every Bond Girl is introduced through a scene that is rife with sexual desire and objectification.

While it can be understandable for the camera to represent the desires of a character, it becomes problematic when the male gaze is the only gaze we are privy to. Here is an overused but accurate example of the male gaze found in cinema and how it can distort the view or impression of the audience. Hollywood has a notorious history of disregarding anyone outside the “straight white male” prerogative. The few characters of colour or LGBT are often crude stereotypes. Think Rupert Everett as Julia Robert’s overtly camp best friend/fake boyfriend in My Best Friend’s Wedding, Stacey Dash as the sassy Black best friend in Clueless or the countless Black actors who are brutally murdered before the opening credits in any slasher film.

The idea of male gaze can and does appear in literature. While lacking visual imagery, texts that present female characters solely through the the view of a male character to play to the expectations of a predominantly male audience. This is quite a frequent occurrence in early to late medieval texts. Narrator’s such as the one found in Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde, often report on the appearance of female characters as the male protagonist cast their gaze upon them. By constructing any female character through the male gaze, they are denied sexuality aside from the one bestowed upon them. They reassure men of their sexual power and dominance over the female form. Another prime example of the male gaze in literature can be found in Thomas Hardy’s novel Tess of the D’Ubervilles. The titular character Tess is constantly constructed through the gaze of the characters Alec and Angel. Alec pictures her as a temptress, a witch while Angel considers her a thing of pure, natural beauty. Tess’s appearance has not changed between meeting either men yet the reader is not permitted to see her except through their eyes.

To conclude, the male gaze in itself is not always detrimental. On occasion, particularly during sex scenes, it plays a legitimate role. The problem occurs when it is the only gaze the audience are permitted to and the female in question is stripped of all agency.

 

Works Cited

Mulvey, Laura. Visual and Other Pleasures. Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire, 1993. Print.

Hardy, Thomas, and Clare West. Tess of the D’Ubervilles. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2008. Print.

Chaucer, Geoffrey, Stephen A. Barney, and Giovanni Boccaccio. Troilus and Criseyde, with Facing-page Il Filostrato / Authoritative Texts / The The Testament of Cresseid / by Robert Henryson / Criticism ; Edited by Stephen A. Barney. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. Print.

 

A Maid of Quality?

Aphra Behn

When I first started this humble little blog of mine I was filled with optimism; each week I would publish a new post, improve my writing skills, my research skills and earn hundreds of Twitter followers in the process. Alas that plan did not transpire. In an effort to remedy the situation I shall be discussing a performance I recently attended in the Granary Theatre here in Cork City.

After a recommendation from one of my lecturers, Dr Edel Semple, I wandered through the drizzle and rain late one Thursday evening to see a second year Drama and Theatre Studies production of The Rover by Aphra Behn. As one of the earliest female writers to make a living from writing, Aphra Behn is a fascinating character. Aside from possibly producing the first novel, Oronooko, Behn also spent some time acting as a spy for Charles II in the Netherlands (Todd). While I was familiar with Behn before attending the production, I had not read the text. As such, I was taken aback by the treatment of women. While the actors were capable of engaging with the comedic scenes, the lack of serious engagement with some of the more concerning themes left a less than positive impression.

The principal character is Florinda, a woman of noble birth who wishes to marry the English Colonel Belvile, against both her father and brother’s wishes. During the fourth act, she is accosted by Belvile’s companions on two separate occasions; first in a garden by a drunken Willimore and later by Blunt and Frederick. Their behavior is permitted due their belief that Florinda is a prostitute. The most violent encounter is at Blunt’s hands. He physically assaults her and is fully prepared to rape her after his humiliation by the prostitute Lucetta. Florinda pleads with him for assistance, declaring she will “be ruin’d, if you do not grant it” (Behn, IV, ii). Rather than grant sanctuary from her pursuers, Blunt envisions a violent treatment so that he “will be revenged on one whore for the sins of another” (IV, ii). Both his language and the staging left me dismayed. Blunt pushes Florinda to the floor, crying out he will “beat thee…rob thee…strip thee stark naked, thenhang thee out at my window by the heels”. Up until this point Blunt has acted as the fool; easily beguiled and manipulated. Why Behn employs this sudden change is unknown. Perhaps it is a commentary of how all men view women, even if they will not admit to it. The only thing that puts a stop to Blunt’s actions is Florinda’s declaration that she is in fact a noble woman and Belvile’s beloved. While he is dubious, both he and Frederick agree “’twou’d anger us vilely to be truss’d up for a rape upon a maid of quality, when we only believe we ruffle a harlot.”. Upon discovering the truth of Florinda’s identity, all men are quick to apologise for their behavior. Horrifically, Florinda gaily forgives all of them. At this point, I began to question Behn’s intent. Does she use comedy as a method to question the rhetoric, “she was asking for it”? Or is she following the patriarchal statues quo where violence against whores is not criminal because they are criminals themselves? Regardless of her intent, the production had an opportunity to use this scene to open a dialogue about female sexuality and moral conduct. With incidents like Steubenville and Maryville, the topic of sexuality, rape and behaviour is pertinent in our own society. Sadly, it failed to do so.

Works Cited

Behn, Aphra. The Rover. 1677. Ebook@Adelaide. University of Adelaide. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.

Todd, Janet. “Behn, Aphra.” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. N.d.Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.

The Scottish Film

From the early days of film right up to the present day, Shakespeare’s works and words have appeared in a variety of genres. Whether it be a modern take on a timely story of boy-meets-girl with a tranvestite twist or the idea of two lovers from opposing feuding families , the great Bard provides directors and studios with a wealth of material. The most recent adaptation of Shakespeare is Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotilliard. The latest instalment is one of the few film adaptations that was actually shot in Scotland. As such, the audience are privy to magnificent wide shots of mountainous landscapes.

I wish to focus on the representation of the Weird Sisters and compare them to other cinematic counterparts.  The audience first encounter the three witches as they watch the funeral of the Macbeths’ child from afar. Visually, the Weird Sisters appear to be more human than supernatural. Rather than the terrifying, faceless witches in Orson Welles’ Macbeth, these women are unremarkable in appearance and speak in normal tones. If anything, they are more akin to Roman Polankski’s witches who live on the outskirts of society. Varying in ages, Kurzel’s witches are predominantly dressed in black and appear to exist on the borders of the violent, masculine world that Macbeth inhabits. Whenever they appear there is a physical seperation between them and society. During the Battle of Ellan, Macbeth sees the witches standing in fog, away from the action. In other scenes they appear in or at the edge of the forest. The spaces they occupy seems gendered as only women and children are permitted to remain there. After delivering their first prediction, they leave through the fog before disappearing. Despite his initial attempt to uncover more information, Macbeth cannot follow them past a certain point.

Perhaps the most important feature of Kurzel’s witches is their lack of supernatural power. While Welles’ witches controlled Macbeth through a voodoo doll, these witches seem to have little or no interest in causing malicious or devious harm. They simply deliver their predictions and allow the characters to make their own choices. Their iconic and perhaps clichéd, speech of “Double, double toil and trouble” is notably absent in Kurzel’s film, another decrease in their supernatural abilities. During an interview, Kurzel remarked that “we were interested in having them appear on the battlefield, perhaps as observers and watchers of his [Macbeth]tragedy. […] A simple use of them, as opposed to them being these supernatural manifestations” (Lambie, Macbeth, Breaking Bad, Snowtown). From a visual perspective, the witches are certainly more benign than supernatural. There are no warts or other unattractive physical ailments. Instead, their foreheads are marked with papal crosses. It is interesting that it is a religious icon that marks the witches. Within the film, there are an abundance of scenes shot within churches; Lady Macbeth questioning Macbeth’s masculinity, Macbeth’s coronation and Lady Macbeth’s “Out damned spot” soliloquy. Yet religion offers little comfort in this stark, violent world.
They are also closely associated with children. The three witches are accompanied by a young girl who never speaks but is dressed in similar attire. Later in the film, one witch carries a baby in her arms. In the initial meeting with Macbeth, the oldest witch takes his face in her hands, an almost maternal gesture. But perhaps the most notable example is when Fleance flees his father’s murderers and, upon making eye contact with the youngest witch, is apparently spirited away into the witches domain. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth seems to seek solace with the witches as she wanders the wilderness after her “Out damned spot” soliloquy. Unlike the play, the audience are not informed as to how Lady Macbeth perished; whether it was suicide, accidental or if the witches played a part in her demise. The last moment we see Lady Macbeth alive is in the company of the witches. Based on their previous actions, my own interpretation is that the witches merely offer comfort and perhaps Lady Macbeth’s spirit exists in their gendered space after death.

While I was disappointed by the dramatic reduction of the witches’ lines in the adaptation, Kurzel does offer the audience a fascinating portrayal of the Weird Sisters. Their influence may not be as prominent as it is within the original play but they are far from irrelevant.

Works Cited

Macbeth. Dir. Justin Kurzel. Perf. Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard. StudioCanal and Film4, 2015. Film.

Macbeth. Dir. Orson Welles. Dist. Films, Inc., 1948. DVD.

Macbeth. Dir. Roman Polanski. Perf. Jon Finch, Francesca Annis, and Martin Shaw. Columbia-Warner, 1971. DVD.

“Macbeth, Breaking Bad, Snowtown.” Interview by Ryan Lambie. Den of Geek. N.p., 28 Sept. 2015. Web. 15 Oct. 2015. <http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/macbeth/37095/justin-kurzel-interview-macbeth-breaking-bad-snowtown&gt;.