Intro to Literary Study (2005)


2 Mar 2005
Lenninger, "The Miranda Trap: Sexism and Racism in Shakespeare's Tempest"

(Handed out in class Feb 28)

Thus in The Tempest, written some fifty years after England's open participation in the slave trade, the island's native is made the embodiment of lust, disobedience, and irremediable evil, while his enslaver is presented as a God-figure. It makes an enormous difference in the expectations raised, whether one speaks of the moral obligatons of Prospero-the-slave-owner toward Caliban-his-slave, or speaks of the moral obligations of Prospero-the-God-figure toward Caliban-the-lustful-Vice-figure.... This kind of symbolism is damaging because it deflects our attention away from the fact that real counterparts to Caliban, Prospero, and Miranda exit -- that real slaves, real slave owners, and real daughters existed in 1613 for Shakespeare's countemporaries and have continued to exist since then. (290-92)

Leininger, Lorie Jerrell. "The Miranda Trap: Sexism and Racism in Shakespeare's Tempest." The Woman's Part: Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare. Eds. Carolyn Ruth Swift Lenz, Gayle Greene, and Carol Thomas Neely. Urbana: U of Illinois P, 1983. 285-94.

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Comments

Hello, I'm assuming this is a website for a classroom. I attend Fresno State Univ. and I'm looking for a copy of the article written by Leininger that is mentioned on this page. I'm having trouble obtaining a copy and this page came up on my google search. If there is anyway I could perhaps recieve an e-mail of this article I would be extremely appreciative (yvonnewg@mailcom). I thought I'd just take a chance, if not, thankyou anyhow and have a nice weekend. Yvonne

Posted by: yvonne schreefel at April 30, 2005 12:58 AM

Sorry, Yvonne, but I didn't use an electronic copy. Our library happens to own a copy of the book.

Posted by: Dennis G. Jerz at April 30, 2005 01:02 AM

A student from another university just called me on the phone to ask me to fax her a copy of this article.

I suggested that she check with her own university library, who can probably arrange to get the book sent via inter-library loan.

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