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gentle gender?

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Date Issued:
2008
Summary:
Twelve years separate the plays Titus Andronicus and Macbeth and yet the similarities between Tamora and Lady Macbeth seem to indicate that the former served as a model for the latter female revenge character. Despite the many characteristics that connect the two powerful women, Shakespeare not only intensifies Tamora but questions her maternal traits, exaggerates her competition with the male characters, and replaces her motives for madness in order to create Lady Macbeth. While it is often assumed that a female's identity is defined through her male counterpart, the opposite is true of the male characters in Titus Andronicus and Macbeth who are defined through the strength and personality of Tamora and Lady Macbeth, respectively. Analyzing the characteristics of these two women offers a new perspective on the characters, challenging the traditional observation that they are cruel and evil. Rather than viewing them as supernatural, controlling beings, my analysis allows the characters to simply be considered as driven, yet flawed women equal to the tragic heroes they encounter in the plays.
Title: The gentle gender?: Shakespeare's Tamora and Lady Macbeth as models of revenge.
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Name(s): Fitzgerald, Jenna.
Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Thesis
Issuance: multipart monograph
Date Issued: 2008
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Physical Form: electronic
electronic resource
Extent: v, 59 leaves.
Language(s): English
Summary: Twelve years separate the plays Titus Andronicus and Macbeth and yet the similarities between Tamora and Lady Macbeth seem to indicate that the former served as a model for the latter female revenge character. Despite the many characteristics that connect the two powerful women, Shakespeare not only intensifies Tamora but questions her maternal traits, exaggerates her competition with the male characters, and replaces her motives for madness in order to create Lady Macbeth. While it is often assumed that a female's identity is defined through her male counterpart, the opposite is true of the male characters in Titus Andronicus and Macbeth who are defined through the strength and personality of Tamora and Lady Macbeth, respectively. Analyzing the characteristics of these two women offers a new perspective on the characters, challenging the traditional observation that they are cruel and evil. Rather than viewing them as supernatural, controlling beings, my analysis allows the characters to simply be considered as driven, yet flawed women equal to the tragic heroes they encounter in the plays.
Identifier: 298974766 (oclc), 77665 (digitool), FADT77665 (IID), fau:1485 (fedora)
Note(s): by Jenna Fitzgerald.
Thesis (B.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, Honors College, 2008.
Bibliography: leaves 55-59.
Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, FL : 2008 Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Subject(s): Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616
Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616
Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616
Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616
Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616
Women in literature
Held by: FBoU FAUER
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/77665
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Host Institution: FAU

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