Thesis
I just need some space!: space, invasion, and gender relations in restoration drama
Washington State University
Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
2009
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/101519
Abstract
This work is interested in how men invade the physical and cognitive space of women by means of deception and lying in Thomas Shadwell's The Libertine, while women are trying to maintain their physical and cognitive space by means of disguises and eavesdropping in Aphra Behn's The Rover; also important are the conceptions of physical rape, cognitive rape, and seduction. Male characters in The Libertine are too interested in male dominance and controlling women who only want personal space. Conversely, The Rover, although not an explicit response to The Libertine, provides a nice counterpoint to it: The Rover suggests that women use the same tricky means that the men had been using on women in The Libertine. The important difference here is that men in The Libertine use deception to control other people, while the women in The Rover use deception to gain control over their own lives. Behn followed her own advice that she gives in The Rover to take control over her own life and tried to make a way for herself; she had some measure of success, and even though she faced some opposition, she ultimately became a central figure in Restoration theatre culture and worked with most of the major names of the day.
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Details
- Title
- I just need some space!
- Creators
- Lisa Mae Sikkink
- Contributors
- Todd Wayne Butler (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- English, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; Pullman, Wash. :
- Identifiers
- 99900525127901842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis