Ebook: Feminist Drama: Definition and Critical Analysis

A few years ago an upsurge of feminist activity in the United States led to the formation of feminist theatre groups in several cities. Reading about these groups, I became interested in the idea of feminist drama and how one might determine what is feminist about a play. Of course, these theatre groups were and are producing what they call feminist drama. But I felt that other plays might also qualify as feminist drama, although their authors might not be politically active feminists. Such drama might, nevertheless, express feminist thinking. The definition of the feminist impulse to be employed in this work will be: the impulse toward woman’s autonomy in a society in which women, as a group, are powerless. The socio-sexual hierarchy is the scene in a feminist drama. In the present work, six contemporary American plays chosen from wide reading in this area will be examined. Also included is a selection of the work written by feminist theatre groups in the past few years. The plays examined at length were chosen because they demonstrate the range and limits of the expression of the feminist rhetorical impulse. The plays vary in style, subject, and conclusions. [From Author’s Introduction]