ELEMENTS OF FEMINISM IN PULITZER PRIZE WINNERS IN THE 2000s: A STUDY ON SELECTED PLAYS AHMAD KAMAL BASYAH SALLEHUDDIN CULTURAL CENTRE UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA KUALA LUMPUR University of Malaya 2018 ELEMENTS OF FEMINISM IN PULITZER PRIZE WINNERS IN THE 2000s: A STUDY ON SELECTED PLAYS AHMAD KAMAL BASYAH SALLEHUDDIN THESIS SUBMITTED IN FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY CULTURAL CENTRE UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA KUALA LUMPUR University2018 of Malaya UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA ORIGINAL LITERARY WORK DECLARATION Name of Candidate: AHMAD KAMAL BASYAH SALLEHUDDIN Matric No: RHA090005 Name of Degree: DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Title of Project Paper/Research Report/Dissertation/Thesis (“this Work”): ELEMENTS OF FEMINISM IN PULITZER PRIZE WINNERS IN THE 2000s: A STUDY ON SELECTED PLAYS Field of Study: PERFORMING ARTS - DRAMA I do solemnly and sincerely declare that: (1) I am the sole author/writer of this Work; (2) This Work is original; (3) Any use of any work in which copyright exists was done by way of fair dealing and for permitted purposes and any excerpt or extract from, or reference to or reproduction of any copyright work has been disclosed expressly and sufficiently and the title of the Work and its authorship have been acknowledged in this Work; (4) I do not have any actual knowledge nor do I ought reasonably to know that the making of this work constitutes an infringement of any copyright work; (5) I hereby assign all and every rights in the copyright to this Work to the University of Malaya (“UM”), who henceforth shall be owner of the copyright in this Work and that any reproduction or use in any form or by any means whatsoever is prohibited without the written consent of UM having been first had and obtained; (6) I am fully aware that if in the course of making this Work I have infringed any copyright whether intentionally or otherwise, I may be subject to legal action or any other action as may be determined by UM. AHMAD KAMAL BASYAH SALLEHUDDIN UniversityCandidate’s Signature of MalayaDate: 17/05/2018 Subscribed and solemnly declared before, Witness’s Signature Date: 17/05/2018 Name: Designation: ii ELEMENTS OF FEMINISM IN PULITZER PRIZE WINNERS IN THE 2000s: A STUDY ON SELECTED PLAYS ABSTRACT In this research, the researcher studies and analyses the elements of feminism in the plays that have won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize, ranging from the year 2000 until 2009, an era which is also known as Third Wave Feminism. First, the researcher identifies Pulitzer Prize-winning plays from 2000 until 2009, in order to locate elements of feminist ideas such as liberal feminism, cultural feminism and socialist feminism. Subsequently, the researcher analyses each selected feminist theory and how their ideas are incorporated in the themes and character and characterisation of the selected plays, where he later compares and contrast the influence of different feminist theories in the selected Pulitzer Prize winners in the new millennium. This is a qualitative research, where the researcher has conducted his research by studying the aspects of liberal feminism, cultural feminism and socialist feminism, as well as reading and comprehending the scripts of the case studies. The selected Pulitzer Prize winners in the ‘Drama’ category chosen by the researcher for this thesis are Proof by David Auburn, Doubt, A Parable by John Patrick Shanley, Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire and August: Osage County by Tracy Letts. It is found that cultural feminism has the biggest influence in these selected plays, followed by liberal feminism and socialist feminism. Keywords: Pulitzer Prize, third wave feminism, liberal feminism, cultural feminism, socialistUniversity feminism of Malaya iii ELEMENTS OF FEMINISM IN PULITZER PRIZE WINNERS IN THE 2000s: A STUDY ON SELECTED PLAYS ABSTRAK Di dalam kajian ini, pengkaji mengkaji dan menganalisis elemen-elemen feminisme yang terdapat di dalam drama-drama yang pernah memenangi anugerah unggul Pulitzer Prize dari tahun 2000 hingga 2009. Ini merupakan sepuluh tahun pertama di dalam abad baru, yang juga merupakan era Gelombang Ketiga Feminisme. Pertama, pengkaji mengenalpasti drama-drama yang telah memenangi anugerah berprestij ini untuk meneliti elemen-elemen feminisme liberal, feminisme budaya dan feminisme sosialis. Kemudian, pengkaji menganalisis setiap elemen-elemen ini untuk memperhatikan bagaimana idea-idea feminisme ini diperolehi menerusi tema dan watak dan perwatakan, di mana sesudah itu pengkaji membandingkan bagaimana elemen-elemen ini diperolehi di dalam drama-drama yang memenangi Pulitzer Prize. Ini merupakan kajian kualitatif, di mana pengkaji telah mempelajari aspek-aspek cabang-cabang feminisme yang dipilih, serta membaca dan memahami skrip-skrip yang dikaji. Drama- drama yang terpilih untuk kajian ini termasuklah Proof hasil tulisan David Auburn, Doubt, A Parable hasil tulisan John Patrick Shanley, Rabbit Hole hasil tulisan David Lindsay-Abaire dan August: Osage County hasil tulisan Tracy Letts. Hasil kajian mendapati elemen feminisme budaya mempunyai pengaruh paling besar di dalam kajian ini, diikuti dengan feminisme liberal dan feminisme sosialis. KataUniversity kunci: Pulitzer Prize, gelombang ketiga of feminisme, Malaya feminisme liberal, feminisme budaya, feminisme sosialis iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are no words to write that could properly capture the gratitude and love I have for all the incredible people who have been a part of this journey with me, pushing me to another level with the love and belief you have in my research. In reality, life is bigger than all of us and I’m beyond proud and blessed to say: IT’S DONE! Thank you to my parents, Sallehuddin Mohd Mashor and Maiza Ismail, for being patient with me, and for being so supportive and helping me to be who I am. To my sisters, Nor Salleizah, Norainul Asyikin and Nor Aqmar Aizura – thanks for being with me every step of the way. My love to your respective family members. To Dr. Rosdeen Suboh – thank you for embarking on this roller coaster ride with me. Thank you to everyone at Cultural Centre, University of Malaya; Faculty of Applied and Creative Arts, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS); Faculty of Film, Theatre and Animation, Universiti Teknologi MARA; INTEC Education College; my former students from the American Degree Foundation Program and American Credit Transfer Program (batch ATU 13 to ATU 20 and ACT 1 to ACT 6); my former and current students – Diploma Creative Technology and Bachelor of Creative Arts, FiTA UiTM. Thank you to Steve Massa at Theatre on Film and Tape Archive, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center in Manhattan, New York for his assistance. To my extended family – Francissca Peter, Bibiana Peter, Sarena Hashim, Chew Kai Jun, Larry Yusof, Tengku Muhammad Fauzan Tengku Afandi, Carishma Menon, Jad KhalidanUniversity Norazian, Mohamad Khairil Hisham of Osman Malaya and his lovely wife Nurul Adibah Roslan, the Inner Circle of Sherry, Ahmad Alif Ashraf Rozali, Syaza Nazura Noor Azmi, Faisal Syafiq Abd Razak…and everyone I have met in my entire life – friends, fans and foes. This thesis is dedicated to my parents…and to my mentor, the late Datuk Sharifah Aini Syed Jaafar – thank you for giving me the opportunity to shine. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract iii Abstrak iv Acknowledgements v Table of Contents vi List of Tables ix List of Appendices x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Statement of Problem 2 1.3 Objectives of Study 9 1.4 Research Scope 9 1.5 Rationale of Study 14 1.6 Limitation of Study 16 1.6.1 Proof 18 1.6.2 Doubt, A Parable 19 1.6.3 Rabbit Hole 21 1.6.4 August: Osage County 23 CHAPTERUniversity 2: LITERATURE REVIEW of Malaya 26 2.1 Introduction to Feminist Theatre 26 2.2 The Evolution of Feminism in Theatre 30 2.3 Pulitzer Prize Winners: Drama 36 vi CHAPTER 3: METHODLOGY 52 3.1 Research Methodology 52 3.2 Theoretical Framework 55 3.2.1 Liberal Feminism 59 3.2.2 Cultural Feminism 64 3.2.3 Socialist Feminism 68 CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS 73 4.1 Liberal Feminism 73 4.1.1 Ideas of Individuality and the Right to Seek Self-fulfilment 73 4.1.2 Promote a Positive Self-image for Being a Woman 96 4.1.3 Free to Take Action Beyond Physical Aggression 121 4.1.2 Having Access to Increase Opportunities 138 4.1.3 Suppressing Male’s Sexual Desire towards Female 141 4.2 Cultural Feminism 145 4.2.1 Injecting Harmony, Maternal or Feminine Values into Everyday Lives 146 4.2.2 The Capability to Relate to Life and Nature 155 4.2.3 Celebrate the Elements of ‘Woman-Ness’, Especially as Caregivers and Nurturers 160 4.2.4 Intra-Feminine – Emphasis on Mother/Daughter Relations or University Sisterhood of Malaya 178 4.2.5 Contesting the Patriarchal Organisation of Society 194 vii 4.3 Socialist Feminism 213 4.3.1 The Idea of Living in A Utopian World 213 4.3.2 Emphasis on Collaboration between Members of Society Towards Achieving Harmony 214 4.3.3 Overcoming Oppression Based On Race, Economy, Status and Nationalities 223 4.3.4 Diversity of Gender, Class, Sexuality and Ethnicity 225 4.2.5 Overcoming Alienation of Gender Stereotypes in Achieving Equality………………………………………………………………. 228 4.4 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………….229 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 234 5.1 Summary 234 5.2 Conclusion 237 References 240 Appendix 245 University of Malaya viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1: Pulitzer Prize Winners and Finalists – Drama (2000-2009) 10 Table 3.1: Analysis Method 72 Table 5.1: Liberal Feminism 235 Table 5.2: Cultural Feminism 235 Table 5.3: Socialist Feminism 236 University