A Feminist Analysis of Cloud Nine Essay -- essays research papers fc

Feminist Analysis of becloud NineIn 1979, Caryl Churchill wrote a womens liberationist find entitled subvert Nine. It was the result of a workshop for the Joint Stock Theatre mathematical group and was mean to be about sexual politics. Within the writing she include a myriad of different themes ranging from homosexuality and homophobia to fe anthropoid objectification and oppression. Churchill clearly intended to raise questions of gender, sexual orientation, and race as ideological issues she accomplished this more often than not by cross-dressing and role-doubling the actors, thereby alienating them from the characters they play. (Worthen, 807) The play takes part in devil acts in the offset printing we see Clive, his family, friends, and servants in a squ atomic number 18d-toe British Colony in Africa the second act takes place in 1979 London, further only twenty-five years have passed for the family. The choice to contrast the Victorian and Modern era becomes vitally i mportant when analyzing this text from a materialist feminist view materialist feminism relies heavily on history. Cloud Nine is a materialist feminist play within it adept can find examples that choke all the tenets of materialist feminism as outlined in the Feminism exit (Bryant-Bertail, 1).The system of patriarchy allies itself to economic tycoon (Bryant-Bertail, 1). In the first act of the play, several references are made that allude to the economic power being held by the men. The play opens with the line Come heap up, sons of England, come gather in your pride (Churchill, 810) and in Clives opening speech he makes several fatherly references I am father to the natives here, and father to my family so dear (810). In the next song the line The forge of warfare shall weld the chains of brotherhood secure (810) can be found. It is raise to also note that intermixed with these lines are references to Queen Victorias sovereignty. several(prenominal) lines such as, we serve th e queen wherever we may roam and Oer countless numbers she, our Queen, Victoria reigns supreme (810) can be found. The author intended these lines to be ironic and humorous. Even though the male characters are the ones saying them, they really dont have some(prenominal) respect for her as a person, just as a figure. Women are hierarchized into classes (Bryant-Bertail, 2). In this story many of the women are in separate classes. I... ...up psychology is not isolated, merely considered in relation to larger institutions (Bryant-Bertail, 2). The entire play is aimed directly at this tenet. In spiel One, all of the characters think one way and act another. For example while Ellen may actually be a lesbian in love with Betty, she goes ahead and marries Harry because it is the discipline thing to do. However, in Act Two, the characters no longer face the need to hide what they are from each other. Overall we are left(p) to compare these competing mindsets not just to each other b ut to the larger institutional psychology Act One is blatantly Victorian and Act Two is set in the 1970s. The author purposefully chose these two eras because they so heavily contrast each other. The rigidity of Victorianism and the liberation of the late 70s when compared with the characters show us that times may change but what people think doesnt. Works CitedBarry, Peter. Beginning Theory An Introduction to literary and Cultural Theory. Manchester Manchester University Press, 1995Churchill, Caryl In Worthen, W. B. ed. The Harcourt Brace Anthology of Drama. Fortworth Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 2000.