The Sweet Girl Graduate by Sarah Curzon focuses on this specific representation of
gender where the heroine of the play is attempting to comply to societal norms by cross-dressing
in order to receive a higher education. The heroine is obliging to the gender hierarchy that exists,
and as a result, this portrays the heroine as someone who is attempting to break away from male
dominance, while at the same time accepting it as women were expected to. The representation
of gender roles in The Sweet Girl Graduate creates a contradictory perception of what
women are meant to achieve in the play, and this is due to the portrayal of the heroine as a
free individual; however, at the same time she is subjected to follow the status quo forced …show more content…
As Peter Goldsmith asserts, some men did not ignore the intellectual capabilities of
women; however, they still believed that women should suppress themselves in the private
sphere, because that is where they belonged. Finally, Laurence Senelick 's The Changing Room:
Sex, Drag, and Theatre, reinforces all these concepts by providing important background
information on theatre and how gender hierarchies worked within it.
Annotated Bibliography
Bird, Kym. Redressing the Past: The Politics of Early English-Canadian Women 's Drama, 1880-1920. Montreal: McGill-Queen 's UP, 2004. Print.
This book explains Kim Bird 's study of the male centred focus in theatre and drama. The
arguments presented by Bird focus from the late eighteenth to the early nineteenth century,
around the same time when women desired to be acknowledged for the intellectual potential. The
content mainly focus on several plays by women which display the feminist movement 's of the
generation. To point out specifically, the desire for higher education is presented through the
commentary on The Sweet Girl Graduate. Bird refutes the gender hierarchies present, where …show more content…
The book
displays that certain plays reveal ambivalence as they attempt to represent women as free
individuals, but at the same time subject them to follow the male dominated status quo.
Sangha 3
Derksen, Celeste. “Out of the Closet: Dramatic Works by Sarah Anne Curzon, Part Two: Re-dressing Gender Inequality: The Sweet Girl Graduate.” Theatre Research in Canada 15.2 (1994): Web.
This article examines Sarah Curzon 's use of “closet drama” and gender inequality in The
Sweet Girl Graduate. The main argument that the article presents is that of the importance of
cross-dressing and how it played an important political role in progressing a women 's education.
Celeste Derksen also explains the role of the male gaze and how it exploits the need for power
and control that men desire. In turn this results in women searching for acceptance from these
men for their actions, which is unjust. This source will contribute to my research and my paper
by helping me in portraying how the men in the play reinforce gender hierarchies through their
gaze of women. The article correlates with the play in exploiting the power of men when
gender where the heroine of the play is attempting to comply to societal norms by cross-dressing
in order to receive a higher education. The heroine is obliging to the gender hierarchy that exists,
and as a result, this portrays the heroine as someone who is attempting to break away from male
dominance, while at the same time accepting it as women were expected to. The representation
of gender roles in The Sweet Girl Graduate creates a contradictory perception of what
women are meant to achieve in the play, and this is due to the portrayal of the heroine as a
free individual; however, at the same time she is subjected to follow the status quo forced …show more content…
As Peter Goldsmith asserts, some men did not ignore the intellectual capabilities of
women; however, they still believed that women should suppress themselves in the private
sphere, because that is where they belonged. Finally, Laurence Senelick 's The Changing Room:
Sex, Drag, and Theatre, reinforces all these concepts by providing important background
information on theatre and how gender hierarchies worked within it.
Annotated Bibliography
Bird, Kym. Redressing the Past: The Politics of Early English-Canadian Women 's Drama, 1880-1920. Montreal: McGill-Queen 's UP, 2004. Print.
This book explains Kim Bird 's study of the male centred focus in theatre and drama. The
arguments presented by Bird focus from the late eighteenth to the early nineteenth century,
around the same time when women desired to be acknowledged for the intellectual potential. The
content mainly focus on several plays by women which display the feminist movement 's of the
generation. To point out specifically, the desire for higher education is presented through the
commentary on The Sweet Girl Graduate. Bird refutes the gender hierarchies present, where …show more content…
The book
displays that certain plays reveal ambivalence as they attempt to represent women as free
individuals, but at the same time subject them to follow the male dominated status quo.
Sangha 3
Derksen, Celeste. “Out of the Closet: Dramatic Works by Sarah Anne Curzon, Part Two: Re-dressing Gender Inequality: The Sweet Girl Graduate.” Theatre Research in Canada 15.2 (1994): Web.
This article examines Sarah Curzon 's use of “closet drama” and gender inequality in The
Sweet Girl Graduate. The main argument that the article presents is that of the importance of
cross-dressing and how it played an important political role in progressing a women 's education.
Celeste Derksen also explains the role of the male gaze and how it exploits the need for power
and control that men desire. In turn this results in women searching for acceptance from these
men for their actions, which is unjust. This source will contribute to my research and my paper
by helping me in portraying how the men in the play reinforce gender hierarchies through their
gaze of women. The article correlates with the play in exploiting the power of men when