Feminist Performance and the Silence of Isabella in Measure for Measure

Feminist Performance and the Silence of Isabella in broadsheet for touchstone In a chapter entitled When Is a face Not a fount? Alan Sinfield presents the argument that the female person figures in Shakespe atomic number 18s plays are not in reality characters at all, since they do not cause continuous and psychologically reconciled interior lives. Although much(prenominal) roles as that of Desdemona, Olivia, and brothel keeper Macbeth are written so as to suggest the presence of ceaseless interior consciousness, this impression collapses chthonian the pressure of the plots military campaign toward closure, which reveals the figures to represent nothing to a greater extent than a disjointed sequence of positions that women are conventionally supposed to vex(53). In order to preserve a textual organization that sustains a particular gender hierarchy, female characters suddenly shift from one conventional version of femininity to another without transparent linkages b etween them. For instance, despite their volubility throughout the early acts, at the conclusions of the plays, as Sinfield notes, Shakespeares women often settle down silent at moments when their speech could precisely undermine the plays attempt at ideological glueyness (73). Thus, the point at which the text falls silent is the point at which its ideological project is let out (74). One of the nearly prominent of such silences appears at the end of Measure for Measure, where Isabella, the bold woman silenced most spectacularly when marriage is proposed (74), fails to contradict verbally to the Dukes two offers of wedlock. consort to Sinfield, this lack of response occurs because Isabella is hang up between two conventional female roles, and the disjunction between them makes obvious the agenda of the text... ... The Stratford Season, 1992. Shakespeare Quarterly 44 (1993) 477-83. Riefer, Marcia. Instruments of Some More Mightier atom The Constriction of Female Power in Measure for Measure. Shakespeare Quarterly 35 (1984) 157-69. Shakespeare, William. The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Ed. David Bevington. 4th ed. untried York Harper Collins, 1992. -----. Measure for Measure. The Arden Shakespeare. Ed. J.W. Lever. capital of the United Kingdom Routledge, 1965. Sinfield, Alan. Faultlines Cultural Materialism and the Politics of contestant Reading. Berkeley U of California P, 1992. Sundelson, David. misogynism and Rule in Measure for Measure. Womens Studies 9 (1981) 83-91. Weil, Herbert S., Jr. Stratford feast Canada. Shakespeare Quarterly 37 (1986) 245-50. Williamson, Marilyn L. The Patriarchy of Shakespeares Comedies. Detroit Wayne State UP, 1986. Feminist Performance and the Silence of Isabella in Measure for MeasureFeminist Performance and the Silence of Isabella in Measure for Measure In a chapter entitled When Is a Character Not a Character? Alan Sinfield presents the argument that the female figures in Shakespeares plays are not really characters at all, since they do not possess continuous and psychologically consistent interior lives. Although such roles as that of Desdemona, Olivia, and Lady Macbeth are written so as to suggest the presence of uninterrupted interior consciousness, this impression collapses under the pressure of the plots movement toward closure, which reveals the figures to represent nothing more than a disjointed sequence of positions that women are conventionally supposed to occupy(53). In order to preserve a textual organization that sustains a particular gender hierarchy, female characters abruptly shift from one stereotypical version of femininity to another without coherent linkages between them. For instance, despite their volubility throughout the early acts, at the conclusions of the plays, as Sinfield notes, Shakespeares women often fall silent at moments when their speech could only undermine the plays attempt at ideological coherence (73). Thus, the point at which the text falls silent is the point at which its ideological project is disclosed (74). One of the most prominent of such silences appears at the end of Measure for Measure, where Isabella, the bold woman silenced most spectacularly when marriage is proposed (74), fails to react verbally to the Dukes two offers of wedlock. According to Sinfield, this lack of response occurs because Isabella is suspended between two conventional female roles, and the disjunction between them makes manifest the agenda of the text... ... The Stratford Season, 1992. Shakespeare Quarterly 44 (1993) 477-83. Riefer, Marcia. Instruments of Some More Mightier Member The Constriction of Female Power in Measure for Measure. Shakespeare Quarterly 35 (1984) 157-69. Shakespeare, William. The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Ed. David Bevington. 4th ed. New York Harper Collins, 1992. -----. Measure for Measure. The Arden Shakespeare. Ed. J.W. Lever. London Routledge, 1965. Sinfield, Alan. Faultlines Cultural Materialis m and the Politics of Dissident Reading. Berkeley U of California P, 1992. Sundelson, David. Misogyny and Rule in Measure for Measure. Womens Studies 9 (1981) 83-91. Weil, Herbert S., Jr. Stratford Festival Canada. Shakespeare Quarterly 37 (1986) 245-50. Williamson, Marilyn L. The Patriarchy of Shakespeares Comedies. Detroit Wayne State UP, 1986.