In the most recent Abbey Theatre (Dublin) production of The Tempest, I
found Miranda unbearable. I know some of the lines attributed to Miranda
in some versions are given to Prospero in others. It's not just the
lines though: it's how far you're willing to push them, or hide within them.
In this production, Miranda was directed to be a ninny. I would imagine
that the fact women's roles were played by young boys had the effect of
shrinking them: women's roles in Shakespeare already come shrunken, in
terms of lines to be spoken. So there's a shrink within a shrink. In
other words, if you're paid by the word, few people playing women's roles
in Shakespeare are going to make a killing. But there's no need to go to
Shakespeare, who was one of the greatest Irishmen ever. Women's roles in
most contemporary movies are similarly shrunken, and actresses are
similarly directed to be ninnies, e.g., the mom in E.T.
Mairead
On Sun, 9 Jul 2000, Jon Corelis wrote:
> Something sent here recently implied that Keats's female characters
> were defective because they weren't created by a woman.
>
> Would the same thing be argued of Shakespeare?
>
> This is a serious question. I'd really like to know if any woman has
> looked at Ophelia or Miranda or Cleopatra or Rosalind or Mistress
> Quickly and said, "No, he's got it wrong."
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