Deborah C. Payne is a dramaturg and an associate professor for the department of Literature at the American University in Washington, D.C. She has published other works regarding the Restoration Period such as The Cambridge Companion to Restoration Theatre (2000) and Four Restoration Libertine Plays (2005).
Her essay on Restoration actresses defines them as both reified objects and emergent professionals. In fact, Payne suggests that these are “mutually defining terms” (1995: 17). Her essay highlights how these actresses assume this definition as they had to present themselves in such a way that would allow them a place in theatre’s, and society’s, market economy. There have been many articles and essays discussing actresses in the Restoration
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While these “critics are right to show how objectification undoubtably diminished actresses” (1995: 15) Payne wants to draw the readers attention to how the “increasingly pronounced sense of the visual [meant that] objectification simultaneously amplified actresses, situating them at the next nexus of power” (16). This idea of a reclamation of power is similar to the driving force of neofeminism: the idea of owning your femininity and female body. The actuality of a Restoration society assuming “that a woman who displayed herself on the public stage was probably a whore” (Howe 1992: 32) draws parallels with the public’s response to Miley Cyrus at the VMAs in 2013: The Parents Council said her performance was over-sexualised (Lombardi, 2013). There are parallels between using the female body as provocative imagery in both Modern and Restoration media, the latter of which Payne doesn’t shy away from …show more content…
While most of these critics seem to agree with a more fetishised analysis, Laura J. Rosenthal suggests that this “whore representation […] takes on a life of it own, independent of the references to the women themselves” (1993: 4). This is highlighted in both Rosenthal’s and Payne’s awareness of Robert Gould and his plight against the actresses of the Restoration stage. Payne’s conclusion that “recent criticism has done more to advance [Gould’s opinion] than he ever managed during his own time” (1995: 22-23) shows how dominant male criticism can be when it comes to female objectification. Payne sheds light on how we apply historiographical justification to some works that are blatantly lampoon in nature. There is nothing wrong with adding critical value to this source but only if one is aware of the context surrounding these
To elaborate, Scott argues that as a picture interpreter, we must make a distinction between the “ideal and the real,” to understand the true meaning of an image. She argues how the Gibson Girl and the American Girl were two idealised visions of modern beauty and femininity which made women to try to be like them. These two girls became markers of their decade, ...
“Ah, the creative process is the same secret in science as it is in art,” said Josef Mengele, comparing science to an art. He was less of an artist and more of a curious, debatably crazy, doctor. He was a scientist in Nazi Germany. In general, there was a history of injustice in the world targeting a certain race. When Mengele was around, there were very few medical regulations, so no consent had to be given for doctors to take patients’ cells and other tests done on the patients’ bodies without their consent. This was the same time that Henrietta Lacks lived. Henrietta Lacks was an African American woman who went to the doctor because she had cervical cancer. Her cells were taken and are still alive in culture today (Skloot 41). Hence, her cells were nicknamed Immortal (Skloot 41). Although many, at the time, saw no issue with using a patient without consent issue with what?, on numerous occasions since then courts have determined that having consent is necessary for taking any cells. The story of Henrietta lacks is has similarities to an episode of Law and Order titled Immortal, which is an ethical conundrum. Despite this, the shows are not exactly the same and show differences between them. Both of these stories, one supposedly fictional, can also be compared to the injustices performed by Josef Mengele in Nazi Germany.
Pellegrini, Ann. “The Plays of Paula Vogel.” A Companion to Twentieth-Century American Drama. Ed. David Krasner. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2005. 473-84.
In the predominantly male worlds of Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own and Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s “Aurora Leigh (Book I)”, the women’s voices are muted. Female characters are confined to the domestic spheres of their homes, and they are excluded from the elite literary world. They are expected to function as foils to the male figures in their lives. These women are “trained” to remain silent and passive not only by the males around them, but also by their parents, their relatives, and their peers. Willingly or grudgingly, the women in Woolf and Browning’s works are regulated to the domestic circle, discouraged from the literary world, and are expected to act as foils to their male counterparts.
Todd, Janet. Women and Film. Vol. 4. New York, NY: Holmes and Meier Publishers, 1988.
Lois Tyson’s text, Critical Theory Today (2006), explains the various theories that are utilized to critique literature and explain plots, themes, and characters. With feminist literary theory, Tyson writes, “Broadly defined, feminist criticism examines the ways in which literature (and other cultural productions) reinforces or undermines the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women” (83). With Edna Pontellier, her place in the story relies on her husband’s social status; her husband, Leonce Pontellier, is a successful businessman in New Orleans and wants to maintain appearances of success and marital stability. With Leonce, a product of society, he sees and treats Edna as an object: “‘You are burnt beyond recognition,’ he added, looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage” (Chopin 44).
Butler, Judith. Ed. Case, Sue-Ellen. "Performative Acts and Gender Constitution." Performing Feminisms: Feminist Critical Theory and Theatre. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990.
Showalter, Elaine. "Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism." William Shakespeare: Hamlet. Ed. Susanne L. Wofford. Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism. Boston: St. Martin's, 1994. 220-240.
I chose these four journal writings because I believe they are the strongest pieces I have written from the second half of the semester. The main focus of these journals was based on readings under the women as objects topic. The oppression of women has led to females being objectified and used as gratification for men. A woman’s body and appearance have become a commodity, especially in the media. Films, television shows, music and advertisements use women’s bodies to attract their audience and sell products. The movie watched in class “Killing Us Softly 4,” highlights this fact while presenting how women are represented throughout the media. The media has set and perpetuated a particular standard of beauty that is restrictive, but for some many women completely unattainable. The women represented in the media are young, thin and have western or European characteristics. Where does that leave the majority of women that do not fall under this category? This leads to women developing eating disorders to achieve an ideal body image that is manufactured through Photoshop and other picture editing systems. Women of color, women with disabilities or any woman that does not follow this standard is not represented within the media. When a few women do break this mold and become famous, they are set at a different standard. These women’s differences become the highlighted feature of their fame. However, the one constant in the media when it comes to women is the objectification and sexualization of women. This sexualization can lead to aggression or violence against women and the perpetuation of rape culture. The images viewed in the media directly impact how women view themselves and how others view women. By examining the issues women f...
As women's studies programs have proliferated throughout American universities, feminist "re-readings" of certain classic authors have provided us with the most nonsensical interpretations of these authors' texts. A case in point is that of Kathleen Margaret Lant's interpretation of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire in her essay entitled "A Streetcar Named Misogyny." Throughout the essay, she continually misreads Williams' intention, which of course causes her to misunderstand the play itself. Claiming that the play "has proved vexing to audiences, directors, actors, readers, and critics" (Lant 227), she fails to see that it is she herself who finds the play vexing, because it does not fit nicely into the warped feminist structure she would try to impose upon it.
These women authors have served as an eye-opener for the readers, both men and women alike, in the past, and hopefully still in the present. (There are still cultures in the world today, where women are treated as unfairly as women were treated in the prior centuries). These women authors have impacted a male dominated society into reflecting on of the unfairness imposed upon women. Through their writings, each of these women authors who existed during that masochistic Victorian era, risked criticism and retribution. Each author ignored convention a...
Throughout the 21st century we have been immersed in a world in which is almost wholly dominated by the media. It is appropriate to say that many ideologies have been indeed challenged by the media, including the ideology of feminism, which I aim to focus on in this essay. Firstly, it is necessary to think about what the founding concepts of feminism actually are and how the ideologies of post feminism and antifeminism are using the contemporary media to question feminism. Texts such as Bridget Jones’ Diary and Desperate Housewives are fitting examples of how post feminism has penetrated through the media challenging feminism. Similarly elements of anti-feminism are evident when looking at films such as the new adaptation of Cinderella .
middle of paper ... ... Women, Madness and the Responsibilites of Feminist Criticism’ page 113 in Martine Coyle (ed) ‘New Case Books: Contemporary Critical Essays” (C Palgrave 1992) [3] Elaine Showalter ‘ Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness and the Responsibilites of Feminist Criticism’ page 114 in Martine Coyle (ed) ‘New Case Books: Contemporary Critical Essays” (C Palgrave 1992) [4] Vieda Skultans, ‘English Madness: Ideas on Insanity 1580-1890’ (London, 1997) in Elaine Showalter ‘Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness and the Responsibilites of Feminist Criticism’ page 118 in Martine Coyle (ed) ‘New Case Books: Contemporary Critical Essays” (C Palgrave 1992) [5] Rebecca Smith, ‘A Heart Cleft in Twain: The Dilemma of Shakespeare’s Gertrude’ page 82 in Martine Coyle (ed) ‘New Case Books: Contemporary Critical Essays” (C Palgrave 1992)
Angela Carter’s “The Bloody Chamber,” is a visually intricate and feminist text; this feminism is portrayed through gender roles. The narrator is a young child who transitions into a woman searching for identity, and her husband’s masculine power defines it. In other words, this short story depicts gender roles and personal identity through the use of objectification of women. The deeper meaning behind the roles the men and women have may reflect Carter’s deconstruction of gender norms. The narrator enables the deconstruction by acting as a link; she conjoins two opposing ideas, like masculinity and femininity. These two opposing ideas create the deconstruction of gender norms that Carter elaborates on throughout her short story.
16.)Utt, Jamie. "Navigating The Difference Between The Appreciation of Beauty and Sexual Objectification." Everyday Feminism 18 Apr. 2013: n. pag. Web. 19 Apr. 2014. .