Book Description

Weeping Widows and Warrior Women will consider the plays of Shakespeare's first tetralogy, which includes 1, 2, 3 Henry VI and Richard III, through a feminist critical perspective. It will assess the female characters of these plays through their speech and actions rather than giving credence to external evaluations of them, whether from other characters or a perceived stance of the playwright. The goal throughout is to divorce previously seldom-studied characters from oppressive patriarchal interpretations of their actions in order to bring them in line with a feminist understanding of fully individuated women. This thesis will explore issues of sexuality, witchcraft, war-mongering, widowhood, mourning, and scolding through the characters of Joan la Pucelle, the Countess of Auvergne, Eleanor Cobham, Margaret of Anjou, Elizabeth Grey, Anne Neville, and the Duchess of York. Feminist issues such as biological determinism, the difference between sex and gender, rejection of hegemonic patriarchal history and discourse, and patriarchal punishment for gender transgression will further develop discussion of the texts. By revisiting the plays of the first tetralogy through a specifically feminist critical discourse, this thesis will prove the existence of alternative readings of the plays that do not depend on patriarchal exploitation of female characters. The readings explained in this thesis could provide a basis for a resurrection of these early history plays by replacing a reactionist acceptance of the inherent misogyny of the genre with an exploration of the difficulties of female existence in a patriarchal society.