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.

该项目通过应用吉尔斯·德勒兹（Gilles Deleuze）的《男性受虐理论》（1971）探索了男性和女性恢复剧作家对性和婚姻的描述以及女性性代理的成长。运用这种色情幻想的心理结构以及拒绝恢复喜剧的乐趣1670-1700揭示了这一时期的普遍围绕着具有雄性和感知的女性优势的男性焦虑：专门探索未注册的自由主义者欲望如何造成男性的性认同危机。在这一时期的戏剧中，男性是女性化的，并赋予了服从性的，而妇女被授予性代理人通过羞辱和模拟来造成精神痛苦。我将把德勒兹的概念愿景与细致的历史研究相结合，以考虑这种顺从的愿望是否成为满足男人性幻想的恋物癖欲望，最终确认了男性气质。我的研究将挑战最近基于表现历史记录1660-1685的历史上的奖学金，这是基于1660 - 1685年的绩效，这是该时期的高度伴随女性的养生型女性的热情，以表现出女性的态度。取而代之的是，我将探讨以下假设：该时期在剧院中表现出不同的母系上升的代表，该剧院进化起来反映了查尔斯二世统治时期和1688年后时期的社会道德态度。我打算调查这些关于上升的波动刻画及其对男性和女性观众的更广泛影响。将我的研究集中在1670 - 1700年之间的时期上，使我能够在更广泛的社会历史视野中绘制这些表示形式。 1670年，包括Aphra Behn和William Wycherley在内的新鲜戏剧性的声音涌入，以及更加细微的幽默和更圆形的特征的开始。在过去的几十年中，这导致了喜剧剧院的新方向，该剧院的发展是根据该时期动荡的历史事件的响应，直到1700年。我将研究著名的剧作家Behn，Wycherley和John Vanbrugh的作品，以及众所周知的戏剧家，例如Thomas D'Urfey。我将展示这些戏剧如何挑战性别在女性的特征中的主要结构：特别是通过颠覆父权制控制和厌恶女性的态度。我将培养杰里米·韦伯斯特（Jeremy Webster，2005）的奖学金，涉及戏剧小说与皇家法院现实之间的相互作用，以及戴维·罗伯茨（David Roberts）（1989年）的研究如何改变了女演员和女性观众的许可如何改变传统上男性化的空间。我的研究将进一步戴安娜·所罗门（Diana Solomon）（2013）的工作，讲述了女演员的兴起与剧院的受欢迎程度之间的联系，并研究了女性的特征如何演变为描绘我打算扩大对恢复喜剧的研究的昏迷和颠覆性赋权。例如，安妮特·克雷斯·史尼克（Annette Kreis-Schnick，2001年）的论点是，喜剧保持了对男性性优势的积极看法，帕特·吉尔（Pat Gill）（1994）的建议是，喜剧在概念上都会有害，并以父权制的刻画对喜剧的重点进行了改变。