Intersectionality, Tragedy, and William Shakespeare Anna Flores Union College - Schenectady, NY

Union College Union | Digital Works Honors Theses Student Work 6-2015 “Listen to Many”: Intersectionality, Tragedy, and William Shakespeare Anna Flores Union College - Schenectady, NY Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalworks.union.edu/theses Part of the Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, and the Literature in English, British Isles Commons Recommended Citation Flores, Anna, "“Listen to Many”: Intersectionality, Tragedy, and William Shakespeare" (2015). Honors Theses. 302. https://digitalworks.union.edu/theses/302 This Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Work at Union | Digital Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of Union | Digital Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. “Listen to Many”: Intersectionality, Tragedy, and William Shakespeare Anna Flores EGL 401/402 Honors Thesis, Department of English Union College March 2015 _____________________________ Jillmarie Murphy Department of English Supervising Professor _____________________________ Patricia Wareh Department of English Second Reader 1 Abstract “Listen to Many”: Intersectionality, Tragedy, and William Shakespeare Anna Flores, BA English Union College, 2015 Supervisor: Jillmarie Murphy Centuries after his own lifetime, William Shakespeare dominates the Western canon and continues to have a profound effect on Western society. As the values of that society shift and social movements progress, so too must critical reception of Shakespeare's work. The purpose of this thesis is to reexamine Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida (1601), Othello (1604), and Antony and Cleopatra (1606) through a feminist lens in order to expose the larger societal issues addressed within the play. This thesis draws on Intersectionality, a modern branch of feminism, to discuss sexism, racism, classism, and homophobia within Shakespeare’s texts and the way in which they function to create the tragic ending of each play. 2 Table of Contents Table of Contents……………………………………….. Acknowledgments………………………………………. Introduction……………………………………………... Chapter 1: “What May You Be?”: The Construction of Self-Hatred in Shakespeare's Othello………………………………………………… Chapter 2: “False, false, false!”: Sexual Economics and Gender Performance in Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida……………… Chapter 3: “Easy Ways to Die”: Bodied Politics in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra……………………………………………… Coda…………………………………………………….. Bibliography…………………………………………….. Endnotes………………………………………………….. 3 Acknowledgments First and foremost, I would like to thank my parents for their endless love and support, and their heartfelt interest in my education. They never let me forget how proud they are, and it means the world. I would also like to thank my brothers for always asking, “What are you doing this weekend?” even though they knew the answer was, “Thesis.” I would like to thank my best friend, Erin Franklin, for remaining my best friend during this trying time. I sincerely thank Professor Jillmarie Murphy, my thesis advisor, for her support, encouragement, and positive energy. I cannot put in to words how wonderful she is, but I am certain the other thesis classes were robbed. I am also very grateful to Professor Patricia Wareh, my second reader, for her patience, kindness, and expertise. Finally, I would like to thank Thomas Arcuri, Henry Clayton, Melissa Harvey, Meghan Hill, Caitlin Lentlie, and Ethan Pearce. I am truly indebted to each of them for making this project a rewarding experience. 4 Introduction William Shakespeare's Othello, Troilus and Cressida, and Antony and Cleopatra feature the destruction of their lead characters. This destruction comes about at the hands of individuals, but it is also symptomatic of a larger, societal failing. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the power structures at work within these plays, particularly the systems of oppression inherent in patriarchal societies. Patriarchal societies are comprised of a male-dominated social order, the values of which permeate both organized society and individual relationships. Each of the plays under consideration demonstrates the destructive effects of patriarchal values, which result in the debasement and marginalization of all those who are not part of the dominant group. Shakespeare's plays use European structures in which wealthy, white males are the dominant figures and all others fall into various degrees of subordination and oppression. The way this systematic oppression works is through socialization begun at birth in order to inculcate toxic masculinity in males and passive femininity in females. Similarly, racial, gender and class prejudices are social constructs, the creation of which results in tragedy. Rather than the genre, I have chosen to focus on Jan Kott's definition of tragedy: “the annihilation of laughter” (140). Regardless of how these plays are categorized, by the end of the plays, all humor is eliminated. The unequal treatment of women, minorities and lower classes within these plays demonstrates the danger of a patriarchy and cries out for social reform. In order to substantiate my argument that the values instilled in a patriarchal society cause the tragic ending of these plays, I employ intersectionality, a branch of feminist theory. The term intersectionality was coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw in the 5 1990s in her article, “Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color”. Her article provides insight into the origin and application of intersectionality, a feminist approach founded by women of color who felt underrepresented in mainstream feminism (Collins 450). Crenshaw uses this method to draw women of color and other marginalized women into feminist discussion and analyze violence specifically against women of color. Catharine A. MacKinnon provides a tidy definition of intersectionality, explaining that this method “both notices and contends with the realities of multiple inequalities as it thinks about 'the interaction of' those inequalities in a way that captures the distinctive dynamics at their multidimensional interface” (1019). Intersectionality can be defined as a method that acknowledges that inequality does not exist in a vacuum and that people are many things at once. Therefore, the female experience cannot be boiled down to the experience of any one woman, or even any particular group of women. Furthermore, while intersectional feminism is primarily concerned with women, this method applies to all groups marginalized under a patriarchal order. Intersectionality also contends with the fact that oppression is not the same for every subjugated group. Those whose identities are composed of multiple oppressed or marginalized groups face oppression greater than the sum of its parts. So while experiences of oppression and marginalization overlap, the different aspects of a person's identity combine to form a unique experience. Intersectionality is a method of viewing the world in a way that reveals connections that are frequently overlooked. Intersectionality has only recently been adopted into feminist criticism, and therefore is a relatively new theoretical methodology within feminism. By integrating 6 intersectional feminism into Shakespearean criticism, I endeavor to shift the way feminists view Shakespeare's works. Since Shakespeare's influence is widespread and he is considered to be part of the Western canon, the way his works are viewed affects academia and feminist criticism as a whole. If any author is accredited with shaping Western culture, it is Shakespeare. Therefore, because Shakespeare is such a major figure in the shaping of Western culture, my aim is to help shift the academic discussion of the female characters within these three plays. Chapter 1, “'What May You Be?': The Construction of Self-Hatred in Shakespeare's Othello,” focuses on the creation of a patriarchal society in Othello, since the play initially begins with Othello as a successful and well-respected general. Iago introduces the concepts of 'Other' as well as racial and gender stereotypes. These concepts become internalized within the characters, eventually turning them into the very things Iago accused them of being. For Othello, this is a sexual predator and an abuser toward his wife, while for Desdemona it is a submissive woman without a voice. Therefore, Othello demonstrates that there are many ways in which a male-dominated society can be formed and, more importantly, how that society affects those oppressed by it. Othello and Desdemona's great tragedy is one of miscommunication. While the two begin the play in perfect synchronization, as their relationship deteriorates, so does their ability to understand one another. Desdemona is in a similar position, as she begins the play with a strong voice and steadily loses it as Othello is turned against her. This play is an important part of the thesis because it will involve not only the way social, political, and economic hierarchies work against Desdemona, but it will integrate a reading of her character with a reading of Othello's. Critics rarely address both characters with equal 7 attention, rather choosing one as their focus. Intersectionality, however, demands that attention be paid to Othello's status as a minority within Venetian society and how that affects the tragedy. Chapter 2, “'False, false, false!': Sexual Economics and Gender Performance in Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida” contends with a

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