Date of Graduation
5-2019
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in English (MA)
Degree Level
Graduate
Department
English
Advisor/Mentor
Joseph Candido
Committee Member
Robert Cochran
Second Committee Member
John DuVal
Abstract
This paper uses gender studies to understand the themes of gender performance further, and more specifically, femininity, in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. It also explores the many ways feminine gender performance has changed as society has changed. Thus, proving gender is performative rather than innate. It does this by examining first the text within the context of Elizabethan society. Moreover, by examining three pivotal performances of Lady Macbeth through history within the context of their social structures as well. The three performances are that of Sarah Siddons in the Late 18th Century, Ellen Terry in the 19th Century, and Judy Dench in the 20th century.
Citation
LeBert, P. (2019). “A Woman’s Story”: Lady Macbeth and Performing Femininity in the Early 1600s – Late 1900s. Graduate Theses and Dissertations Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/3164