Character Analysis Of Hedwig's Song 'Wig In A Box'

Hedwig’s story starts with her younger self described as a ‘slip of a girlyboy’. Eventually, young Hedwig falls in love with an American soldier, Sgt Luther Robinson. While the two are in love and wish to marry, in order to do so, their couple must consist of a man and a woman. Already, we see an obstacle between Hedwig and her would-be-love; Hedwig who at this point is completely physically male is unable to unify with Robinson because of her maleness. Once the operation is completed, albeit unsuccessfully, the two attempt to live together as man and wife which eventually ends with Robinson leaving Hedwig for a man. It can be argued that Hedwig’s intersection between male and female caused their relationship to feel incomplete, neither fully man nor fully woman. The failed relationship causes Hedwig to deign to live her life fully as a woman. While one can infer that Hedwig feels incomplete in her gender due to the unfortunate status of her genitalia, the song ‘Wig in a Box’ describes how she is able to lose herself in her elaborate drag persona, ending with the resolve that ‘I ain’t never,I’m never turning back’. Unable to reconcile what she lost to get where she is now, she …show more content…
Indeed, Yitzhak is played by a female actress, dressed as a man, who longs to present as a woman. For most of the musical, Yitzhak presents as male in a stereotypical rock and roll manner. He dons long hair, a surly attitude, a bearded stubble and a penchant for aggression. However, out of the watchful eye of Hedwig, Yitzhak yearns after her beautiful wigs and clothing. Perhaps in reaction to her own angst and confusion about her gender, Hedwig has forced Yitzhak to play the man in their relationship in a very literal way. She has no regard for Yitzhak’s actual gender identity. Similar to Hedwig, Yitzhak’s gender is only a performance and conflicts with what he feels on the