Women in Howard Barker’s Theatre: Object or Subject?
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, an object can be defined, amongst other things, as “the person or thing to which something is done, or on which something acts or operates”. Since classical antiquity, no form has been used as symbol, icon or image in European culture, more than the female...
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| הוצא לאור ב: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/ebc, |
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| מחבר ראשי: | |
| פורמט: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| שפה: | Anglais |
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Études britanniques contemporaines
2019
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| גישה מקוונת: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:ebc_6027 |
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openedition |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:ebc_6027 https://doi.org/10.4000/ebc.6027 urn:doi:10.4000/ebc.6027 en https://journals.openedition.org/ebc/6027 2019-04-05T02:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/fe8o https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Women in Howard Barker’s Theatre: Object or Subject? Études britanniques contemporaines Presses universitaires de la Méditerranée info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2271-5444 info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/1168-4917 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/ebc Finburgh, Clare According to the Oxford English Dictionary, an object can be defined, amongst other things, as “the person or thing to which something is done, or on which something acts or operates”. Since classical antiquity, no form has been used as symbol, icon or image in European culture, more than the female body: from Athena as emblem of military victory; to Medusa as figuration of horror, to Mary as incarnation of purity. However, these female figures have tended to affirm the general good—or bad—rather than to affirm their own identity, specificity or subjectivity. The idealised—or demonised—female form in art and culture is “the person or thing to which something is done, or on which something acts or operates”; in other words, an object. Here, I discuss Judith from Barker’s play of the same name (1990). I summarise the story of Judith from the Bible. I then show how successive generations of theological and moral ideologies have acted upon her body, desire and sexuality, transforming her into an object. By analysing Barker’s playtext and several productions of the play, I suggest that Barker enables Judith fleetingly to affirm her status as subject, before mythology straitjackets her back into an object for its discourses of order and power. Selon l’Oxford English Dictionary, un objet est, entre autres, “la personne ou la chose sur laquelle on agit ou on opère”. Depuis l’Antiquité dans la culture européenne, la forme la plus utilisée en tant que symbole, icône ou image, est le corps féminin: Athénée comme emblème de la victoire militaire; Méduse comme figuration de l’horreur; Marie comme incarnation de la pureté. Cependant, ces figures féminines affirment de manière générale le Bien—ou le Mal—schématiques, plutôt que d’affirmer leur propre identité, spécificité, ou subjectivité. La forme féminine idéalisée—ou diabolisé—dans l’art et la culture devient “la personne ou la chose sur laquelle on agit ou on opère”; autrement dit, un objet. Dans cet essai, j’explore Judith, personnage éponyme de la pièce de Barker (1990). Je résume l’histoire de Judith selon la Bible et ensuite, je démontre comment les générations successives d’idéologies théologiques et morales ont agi sur son corps, son désir et sa sexualité, pour la transformer en objet. J’analyse la pièce de Barker et plusieurs mises-en-scène, pour proposer que l’auteurr permet à Judith d’affirmer fugitivement son statut comme sujet, avant que la mythologie la contraint de nouveau à être un objet de ses discours d’ordre et de pouvoir. |
| collection |
OpenEdition Journal |
| language |
Anglais |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| description |
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, an object can be defined, amongst other things, as “the person or thing to which something is done, or on which something acts or operates”. Since classical antiquity, no form has been used as symbol, icon or image in European culture, more than the female body: from Athena as emblem of military victory; to Medusa as figuration of horror, to Mary as incarnation of purity. However, these female figures have tended to affirm the general good—or bad—rather than to affirm their own identity, specificity or subjectivity. The idealised—or demonised—female form in art and culture is “the person or thing to which something is done, or on which something acts or operates”; in other words, an object. Here, I discuss Judith from Barker’s play of the same name (1990). I summarise the story of Judith from the Bible. I then show how successive generations of theological and moral ideologies have acted upon her body, desire and sexuality, transforming her into an object. By analysing Barker’s playtext and several productions of the play, I suggest that Barker enables Judith fleetingly to affirm her status as subject, before mythology straitjackets her back into an object for its discourses of order and power. |
| author |
Finburgh, Clare |
| spellingShingle |
Finburgh, Clare Women in Howard Barker’s Theatre: Object or Subject? |
| author_facet |
Finburgh, Clare |
| author_sort |
Finburgh, Clare |
| title |
Women in Howard Barker’s Theatre: Object or Subject? |
| title_short |
Women in Howard Barker’s Theatre: Object or Subject? |
| title_full |
Women in Howard Barker’s Theatre: Object or Subject? |
| title_fullStr |
Women in Howard Barker’s Theatre: Object or Subject? |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Women in Howard Barker’s Theatre: Object or Subject? |
| title_sort |
women in howard barker’s theatre: object or subject? |
| publisher |
Études britanniques contemporaines |
| publishDate |
2019 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/ebc |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/ebc.6027 https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/ebc/6027 |
| _version_ |
1877241658740834304 |