Staging Women: Masochean Masochism and the development of female agency in Restoration Comedy, 1670-1700

女性舞台：受虐狂和复辟喜剧中女性能动性的发展，1670-1700

• 批准号: 2726273
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Birmingham
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2726273
• 关键词: Staging; Women; Masochean; Masochism; development

The project explores both male and female Restoration playwrights' depictions of sex and marriage and the growth of female sexual agency through the application of Gilles Deleuze's theory of Masochean masochism (1971). Applying this psychological construct of erotic fantasy and the pleasure of denial to Restoration comedy 1670-1700 exposes this period's prevalent male anxieties around virility and perceived female dominance: specifically exploring how unreciprocated libertine desire creates a male sexual identity crisis. In the plays of the period, men are feminised and rendered submissive while women are granted sexual agency to inflict mental pain through humiliation and emasculation. I will combine Deleuze's conceptual vision with meticulous historical research to consider whether this submissiveness becomes a fetishistic desire that satisfies men's sexual fantasies, ultimately affirming masculinity.My research will challenge recent historically inflected scholarship, primarily based on performance history 1660-1685, that the hypersexual comedy of the period merely reflects patriarchal attempts to diminish female agency. Instead, I will explore the hypothesis that the period demonstrates differing representations of matriarchal ascendency in the theatre which evolved to reflect the socio-moralistic attitudes of Charles II's reign and the post-1688 period. I intend to investigate these fluctuating portrayals of ascendency and its wider implications for male and female spectatorship. Focusing my research on the period between 1670-1700 allows me to chart these representations within a wider socio-historical perspective. 1670 saw an influx of fresh dramatic voices, including Aphra Behn and William Wycherley, and the beginnings of a more nuanced humour and rounder characterisation; over the decades, this led to a new direction in comedic theatre, which evolved in response to the turbulent historical events of the period up to 1700.My thesis will explore how Restoration comedy acted as a mirror and counterpoint to societal change increasingly deriding the instability and hypocrisy of sexual morality. I will examine the works of celebrated playwrights Behn, Wycherley and John Vanbrugh alongside lesser-known dramatists such as Thomas D'Urfey. I will demonstrate how these plays challenge the dominant constructions of gender in their characterisation of women: particularly through the subversion of patriarchal control and misogynistic attitudes. I will develop Jeremy Webster's (2005) scholarship on the interplay between theatrical fiction and the realities of the royal court, and David Roberts' (1989) research on how the licensing of actresses and female spectatorship altered traditionally masculine spaces. My study will further Diana Solomon's (2013) work on the link between the rise of actresses and theatre's popularity, investigating how female characterisation evolved to portray unconscious and subversive sexual empowerment I intend to expand research on Restoration comedy; for example, Annette Kreis-Schnick's (2001) argument that comedies maintained a positive view of masculine sexual superiority, and Pat Gill's (1994) suggestion that comedy was detrimentally altered in both concept and focus by patriarchally-led portrayals.

该项目探讨了男性和女性恢复剧作家的性和婚姻，并通过吉尔德勒兹的受虐狂理论（1971年）的应用女性性机构的增长。将这种色情幻想和否认的快感的心理结构应用于1670-1700年的复辟喜剧，暴露了这一时期普遍存在的男性对男子气概和感知到的女性统治地位的焦虑：特别是探索了无回报的放荡欲望如何创造了男性的性身份危机。在这一时期的戏剧中，男性被女性化并变得顺从，而女性则被赋予性行为，通过羞辱和阉割来造成精神痛苦。我将把联合收割机德勒兹的概念视野与细致的历史研究结合起来，考虑这种顺从是否会成为满足男性性幻想的恋物癖欲望，最终肯定男性气质。我的研究将挑战最近的历史扭曲的学术研究，主要基于1660-1685年的表演历史，这一时期的性欲亢进喜剧只是反映了父权制试图削弱女性能动性。相反，我将探讨的假设，这一时期表现出不同的代表性的母系优势，在剧院演变，以反映查理二世的统治和后1688年期间的社会道德态度。我打算调查这些对优势的波动描绘及其对男性和女性观众的更广泛影响。把我的研究集中在1670-1700年之间，使我能够在更广泛的社会历史视角下绘制这些表征。1670年，包括阿芙拉·贝恩和威廉·怀切利在内的新的戏剧声音涌入，开始出现更微妙的幽默和更全面的人物塑造;几十年来，这导致了喜剧戏剧的新方向，它是为了回应1700年之前动荡的历史事件而发展起来的。我的论文将探讨复辟喜剧如何日益成为社会变革的一面镜子和对应物嘲笑性道德的不稳定和虚伪。我将考察著名剧作家贝恩、怀切利和约翰·万布鲁的作品，以及托马斯·德乌尔等鲜为人知的剧作家的作品。我将展示这些戏剧是如何在塑造女性的过程中挑战性别的主导结构的：特别是通过颠覆父权制控制和厌恶女性的态度。我将发展杰里米·韦伯斯特（2005年）关于戏剧小说与皇家宫廷现实之间相互作用的研究，以及大卫·罗伯茨（1989年）关于女演员和女性观众许可如何改变传统男性空间的研究。我的研究将进一步戴安娜所罗门（2013年）的工作之间的联系，女演员的崛起和戏剧的流行，调查如何女性角色演变描绘无意识和颠覆性的性权力，我打算扩大研究恢复喜剧;例如，Annette Kreis-Schnick（2001）认为喜剧保持了男性性优越的积极观点，以及帕特·吉尔（Pat Gill，1994）的观点，即喜剧在概念和焦点上都被父权主导的描绘所改变。