2000 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Contradictory Aspects of Madonna : De/Centering Femininity in Early English Drama
| Project/Area Number |
10610452
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
英語・英米文学
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| Research Institution | Iwate University |
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Principal Investigator |
SAKAINO Naoki Iwate University, Faculty of Education, Associate Professor, 教育学部, 助教授 (90187005)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1998 – 2000
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| Keywords | Heywood, Thomas / English plays / romance / historical plays / comedy / feminism |
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| Research Abstract |
Symbolically shown in the Bible with the name of Maria as both the mother of Christ and as the prostitute, the double nature of Madonna (i.e., represented as the symbol of Charity at the same time of sexual license, of non-carnal fruitfulness at the same time of sexual indulgence without procreation) shows the two extremities concerning female "value" in male-centered cultural milieu. The same moral extremities paradoxically promote de-centering of femininity-just as prince Hamlet remarks during his conversation with Ophelia on female beauty and chastity. This paradox can be traced in the convention of Romantic Comedy in which a protagonist must move the heart of his lady whose virtue should only be guaranteed by not moving. Such a contradictory nature of Romance is gradually extended as a symptom of the rise of civilization and the fall of feudalism. Through close readings of non-canonical works on electrical texts or facsimiles, the (lack of) moral development in the episode of Jane Shore shows the secularization of romantic violence as a means of wish-fulfillment in male (and cunningly, female) desire, instead of such female victims' liberation from the ominous dichotomy, even at the end of 20th century.
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Research Products
(6 results)
