STEREOTYPES OF WOMEN IN CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN DRAMA: 1958-1978.
Item
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Title
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STEREOTYPES OF WOMEN IN CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN DRAMA: 1958-1978.
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Identifier
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AAI8023705
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identifier
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8023705
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Creator
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GONSHER, DEBRA ANN.
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Contributor
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Stanley Waren
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Date
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1980
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Theater
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Abstract
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This study analyzes the representation of female roles in contemporary American drama. In the "Introduction," the purpose and scope of the study are discussed. The second chapter, "Theatre and Society," offers a brief look at the status of women--socially, politically and economically--over the past twenty years. Chapter 3, "Stereotypes of Women," develops the criteria for discerning female stereotypes, defined as, one-dimensional, unimaginative, and often unrealistic portrayals. Fifty plays of the contemporary period are evaluated according to the criteria established. In Chapters 4 and 5, "The Ideal Wife" and "The Black Magician and The Great American Bitch," four plays for each are analyzed which contain such recurring stereotypical presentations. Chapter 6 explores four plays that contain female characters that do not seem to project stereotypical behavior. Chapter 7 concludes the study.;This dissertation reveals that in the popular drama of the last twenty years, more than three-quarters of the female roles have been stereotypes. These stereotypical presentations portray women solely in relation to men: as companion, destroyer, and mother. Only recently do non-stereotypical presentations of women appear more frequently in popular drama. Yet, the majority of playwrights, perhaps owing to the economics of theatre, mainly rely on the familiar, though unrealistic and artificial presentations.;This dissertation hopes to bring to playwrights and critics an increased awareness of how the female has been portrayed in drama, and to urge the development of more complex and multi-dimensional female characters.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Theatre
