Derbyshire, Henry ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1373-1166 (2019) “Four-square behind the sputum”: dramatic form, female characters and implacable politics in Restoration and Summer. In: Nicolás Román, Susana, (ed.) Women in Edward Bond. Transatlantic Studies in British and North American Culture . Peter Lang. ISBN 978-3631773659 (doi:10.3726/b15005)

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Abstract

Restoration (1981) and Summer (1982) both see Edward Bond take on familiar theatrical forms only to subvert them for his own ends. The former draws on and reworks elements of the post-Restoration comedy of manners, while the latter bears a striking but ultimately superficial resemblance to a conventional Naturalistic drama in the mode of Ibsen. In both plays, Bond uses his adopted form to explore highly characteristic themes relating to social justice and historical restitution. Significantly, he also expresses some of the strongest ideas in each play through female characters. Like the men, the women in these plays are products of their social and political environment, representatives of their class or values, but in the case of three significant characters they also embody the play’s proposals as to how to move towards a more just future. Accordingly, in this chapter I combine a focus on the plays’ political arguments, and in particular the challenge they present to mainstream audiences, with an exploration of their presentation of gender.

Item Type:	Book Section
Additional Information:	To be published in a forthcoming collection of essays on female characters in the plays of Edward Bond, edited by Susana Nicolas of the University of Almeria.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Edward Bond, Restoration, Summer, Caryl Churchill, Sarah Kane
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PR English literature
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences > School of Humanities & Social Sciences (HSS) Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences > Literature & Drama Research Group
Last Modified:	27 Oct 2020 16:09
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/17161

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