Comparison Of 'Scotland, PA And The Merchant Of Venice'
Virtues of Women in Genre
Valerie Traub discusses that women of Shakespeare’s time, during the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras, desired four virtues which were ‘obedience, chastity, silence and piety’ (2001, P130). If we relate this idea to ‘Scotland, PA’, it is clear that Pat does not comply herself to this ideology of women, meaning she is not obedient, chaste, silent and pious. For instance, Pat is very outspoken, speaking freely what is on her mind. This is evident throughout the film as she continually uses slanderous language and profanities to make her-self heard, but also to masculinise and give herself an authoritative role (Morrissette, 2001). As a contrast, Portia’s representation portrays obedience and chastity because of her father’s …show more content…
It is evident that both Portia and Pat are represented similarly. However, as a result of the differing genres, they have different fates allocated to them due to genre conventions. In comedy, Portia’s intelligence, wit, beauty and manipulation work out in her favour because of the conventions of the comedy genre. For example, the marriages that take place at the conclusion of the production result in a happy ending. However, in tragedy, Pat’s intelligence, wit, beauty and manipulation does not work in her favour because of the conventions of the tragedy genre. Therefore, it results in the death of both Pat and Mac at the conclusion on account of the ill decisions they made. Though these women have contrasting conclusions, these productions demonstrate the diminishing of stereotypes in relation to the representation of women in the twenty-first century compared to Shakespeare’s time, where women were seen as obedient, chaste, silent and pious. Furthermore, the way that Portia and Pat are represented within their respective genres as strong and intelligent women, blurs the lines of gender specific genres. Therefore, Portia and Pat develop and impact the comedy and tragedy genres because of their distinct characteristics and identities as well as the power and effect that they have on the leading men in each
Valerie Traub discusses that women of Shakespeare’s time, during the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras, desired four virtues which were ‘obedience, chastity, silence and piety’ (2001, P130). If we relate this idea to ‘Scotland, PA’, it is clear that Pat does not comply herself to this ideology of women, meaning she is not obedient, chaste, silent and pious. For instance, Pat is very outspoken, speaking freely what is on her mind. This is evident throughout the film as she continually uses slanderous language and profanities to make her-self heard, but also to masculinise and give herself an authoritative role (Morrissette, 2001). As a contrast, Portia’s representation portrays obedience and chastity because of her father’s …show more content…
It is evident that both Portia and Pat are represented similarly. However, as a result of the differing genres, they have different fates allocated to them due to genre conventions. In comedy, Portia’s intelligence, wit, beauty and manipulation work out in her favour because of the conventions of the comedy genre. For example, the marriages that take place at the conclusion of the production result in a happy ending. However, in tragedy, Pat’s intelligence, wit, beauty and manipulation does not work in her favour because of the conventions of the tragedy genre. Therefore, it results in the death of both Pat and Mac at the conclusion on account of the ill decisions they made. Though these women have contrasting conclusions, these productions demonstrate the diminishing of stereotypes in relation to the representation of women in the twenty-first century compared to Shakespeare’s time, where women were seen as obedient, chaste, silent and pious. Furthermore, the way that Portia and Pat are represented within their respective genres as strong and intelligent women, blurs the lines of gender specific genres. Therefore, Portia and Pat develop and impact the comedy and tragedy genres because of their distinct characteristics and identities as well as the power and effect that they have on the leading men in each