Abstract
REVISIONISM IN FEMINIST WRITING: ANN-MARIE MACDONALD’S RECONSIDERATION OF SHAKESPEAREAN HEROINES IN GOODNIGHT DESDEMONA (GOOD MORNING JULIET)
The second half of the 20th century marked an increase in revisionist writings, not only in historical material, but also in feminist literary output. The feminists, writing during this era known as the Second Wave of Feminism (1960-1990), started to rewrite traditional male-authored fairytales and plays that depicted women as helpless victims and established stereotypical passive images of women. The woman/victim in male-authored tragedies falls prey to the treachery and wickedness of her patriarch or the society in which she lives. As a result, death becomes inevitable, either through suicide or murder. The feminist writers’ reevaluation of these traditional images is part of their feminist agenda to change the public view towards women as damsels in distress, who are often in need of being rescued by a powerful patriarch. Their new woman characters are adventurous, powerful and independent. This research focuses on Ann-Marie MacDonald’s debut drama Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) as an example of this trend of revisionism in feminist writing.
Keywords
Desdemona, feminism, Juliet, rewriting, Shakespeare, women.
