Strange Dance Days
View/ Open
Author(s)
Green, Stephanie
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2010
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
This work is impelled by a proposition that the Gothic trope of the imprisoned madwoman holds resonance and power as a narrative device for exploring Australia's difficult past. Adapted from 'Bluebeard's Wife', this trope has long held potency for women writers (Williams, 1995; Gilbert and Gubar, 1979), epitomised by the incarcerated Caribbean wife, of Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea. The setting, a Gothic Revival Lunatic Asylum, is both emblem of power and site of surveillance (Foucault, 2001, p.37), invoking fears of hybridisation and dissolution.This work is impelled by a proposition that the Gothic trope of the imprisoned madwoman holds resonance and power as a narrative device for exploring Australia's difficult past. Adapted from 'Bluebeard's Wife', this trope has long held potency for women writers (Williams, 1995; Gilbert and Gubar, 1979), epitomised by the incarcerated Caribbean wife, of Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea. The setting, a Gothic Revival Lunatic Asylum, is both emblem of power and site of surveillance (Foucault, 2001, p.37), invoking fears of hybridisation and dissolution.
View less >
View less >
Journal Title
TEXT
Volume
14
Issue
2
Publisher URI
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2010. This is the author-manuscript version of this paper. It is posted here with permission of the copyright owner for your personal use only. No further distribution permitted. For information about this journal please refer to the journal's website or contact the author.
Subject
Creative Writing (incl. Playwriting)
Performing Arts and Creative Writing