Like a sculpture engraved in bas-relief, the plot of The Tempest is depicted on a raised stone, but the substance of the story depends entirely on a kingdom of negative space. To grasp the discourse on gender present in Shakespeare's drama, one must appreciate the space that exists between the surface and the substrate, both in the plot and in the characters. In the sunken, dark, neglected regions of the text, audiences can find the moments that shape the discussion of gender identity – namely female identity. In their subtleties, Miranda's interactions with the other men on the island help to expose Shakespeare's vision of the "good relationship" between men and women. A close examination of Miranda's silence and her speech reveals a woman whose inner content often eludes casual readers. The essential landscape of his character is of a dual nature: sometimes submissive, sometimes dynamic, both obedient and rebellious. At first glance, she embodies Goethe's vision of the "Eternal Feminine," a figure whose dull, empty purity has "nothing to do with explosions" or "meaningful action." Soon, however, the careful reader recognizes that the essentially isolated education (and untouched by female authority), to some extent uninfluenced by the norms and customs of the 17th century, enabled him to acquire a certain "generative power » capable of turning the world upside down. traditional masculine design and masculine expectations of femininity. There are, for attentive readers, strong moments in the text where Miranda asserts herself as unapologetically as her male counterparts - and these instances contrast sharply with the more docile, tame behavior that satisfies the first perception of her as a “good wife”. child." During these powerful moments, it is almost as if she has forgotten her agenda, for the effectiveness of her subversion depends on her cautious and reserved flavor. In her cautious and calculated compliance with Prospero, we see that Miranda is a woman who threatens institutional norms by speaking Emily Dickinson's "truth": what she says has invisible connotations, "skewed" meanings that hold real, active, and unexpected power In her surprisingly egalitarian romantic relationship with Ferdinand. , we see how Shakespeare's vision makes this "truthful" technique unnecessary. Say No to Plagiarism Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"?Get the original essayOur first meeting with Miranda a. place in Act I, scene two: she is the first to speak, upset at the idea of ​​drowning travelers at the hands of her scheming father She declares that if she had “been a god of power”, she would have “. sunk the sea” in order to save the men aboard King Alonso’s ship (I.ii.9-11). It is here that we first detect Miranda’s “active” imagination. She envisions having power comparable to her father's, but knows it's not practical. She has come to believe that these faculties are beyond her, but hints of a desire for influence inhabit her noble dream of sinking the sea itself. When Prospero orders her "to be collected" (I.ii.14), keep quiet, we become aware of his subordinate status, and find out when he says "you do not know what you are" (I.ii.17 ). ) that this status depends on the fact that she is unaware of her past and the female presence at the beginning of her life. Despite her daydreams of action and influence, Miranda knows her “place,” and in the next line, we learn it. method to both fulfill and transcend this role. When she states, "Learning more has never disturbed my thoughts," we should note the passive tone andthe submissive attitude that simply serves as a disguise for less than passive and submissive intentions. You have often begun to tell me what I am, but you have stopped, And left me to a useless inquisition, Concluding: "Stay, not yet" (I.ii.33-36).The passive tone with which she promises: “More information has never interfered with my thoughts,” almost paradoxically, belongs to the same active and curious voice that one moment later complains of “useless inquisitions.” Even while trying to learn herself and her history, Miranda is subject to her father's choice to tell her or leave her in the dark. As Richard Stoddard's "A Woman's Poem" explains, male actors shape and shape the female world, framing for female reality itself, placing it within the confines of "four white walls" that calculate their value and determine their potential. Despite this captivity (or perhaps because of it), Miranda knows that she has the responsibility to “play [her role]” (Gilbert and Gubar, 813) and to appease her father. In their essay “The Madwoman in the Attic,” Gilbert and Gubar expand on the “angel/monster” argument, theorizing that “even positive images of women in literature express negative energies and desires on the part of male writers » (Rivkin and Ryan, 812). Miranda is both "angel" and "monster", supposedly possessing "unhealthy energies and powerful and dangerous arts", skills that allow her to play a role. Act. Certainly, she does it masterfully: when Prospero explains how they came to live on the island, he repeatedly asks her, belligerently and unhelpfully, if she is listening, shouting "you have no part in it!" (I.ii.82). She responds coolly with lines like, “Your story, sir, would cure deafness” (I.ii.106), refuting his assertion while complimenting his seriousness. She desperately needs to know herself and her sexuality, and is willing to soothe and soothe in order to achieve these goals. As the king in Shakespeare's King Lear claims about his daughters, the women appear to be well above the waist ("up to the waist"). "), but beyond this point, their sex, their femininity and their genitals make them "all demons". Using feminine expectations to their advantage, these women play on the "male gaze". They thus benefit from 'a freedom of action that men would never have voluntarily granted them, through a kind of subversive subordination, Miranda can be what is expected of her, satisfying Prospero's expectations of a servant and a daughter, while at the same time. allowing themselves the opportunity to ask questions and assert their opinions As Shakespeare suggests in the writing of the play, intelligent women circumvent the oppression imposed on them After all, it is in “Circuit”. where "Success" lies A particularly clear articulation of Miranda's duality can be found in William Hogarth's scene in The Tempest. But more importantly, this image helps delineate the landscape of Miranda's sexuality. Flanked by male figures, Miranda sits on a throne-like structure draped in blood-red cloth while Prospero, Caliban and Ferdinand look on. Miranda herself is dressed in a blue and white costume traditionally symbolic of the purity, chastity and innocence of the Virgin Mary. However, upon closer inspection, the painting exudes a certain delicate sensuality: Miranda's presence exudes an air of eroticism that manifests itself in details like the subtle exposure of her breast. Interestingly, as Ferdinand approaches from the left corner, she looks in his direction, dropping a cup of milk intended for her pet lamb – aanother obvious symbol of innocence and virginity. Distracted by the presence of an attractive man, it's almost as if she forgets to care about that innocence. This painting is interesting because, like Shakespeare's play, it alludes to Miranda's double mind and sexuality. At the same time as her robes are painted blue and white, her flesh – namely her nipple – is partially exposed, and although we know she once took care of her "pet lamb", it seems that the energy sexual activity aroused by Ferdinand steals his attention. Miranda's sexuality can easily go unnoticed in The Tempest. Our first encounter with this force occurs in the second half of Act I, scene two, when the audience is first introduced to Caliban. Prospero reproaches his slave-monster for having sought to "violate the honor" (I.ii.349) of his daughter, when Caliban responds indignantly by saying: that if the rape had taken place, he could have "populated [the] island of Calibans”. The next moment has been a point of contention in 19th and 20th century theater, as the fury with which Miranda intervenes has often been considered unusual for those who imagine her character as an insubstantial servant. As Judith Halberstam writes in her essay “Female Masculinity,” female strength, agency, and assertiveness are “generally perceived by heterogeneous and homonormative cultures as a pathological sign of misidentification and maladjustment, as a desire to be and have power.” it’s still out of reach. It is for this reason that this speech has historically been reattributed to Prospero; although Shakespeare must have intended for Miranda to make this speech, critics thought her conviction and determination were too much for a woman to bear. Abhorred slave... I pitied you, I took care to make you talk, I taught you every hour This or the other. When you did not know, savage, that you knew your own meaning, but wanted to gossip like a most brutal thing, I endowed your purposes with words that made them known (I.ii.350-57, emphasis added ). This passage is fascinating because Shakespeare references Miranda's role as an educator on the island. She teaches Caliban the language before he knows its "own meaning", a phrase reminiscent of Prospero's earlier sentence: "Thou knowest not what thou art." In the social hierarchy of Shakespeare's island, a woman has more power and influence than a quasi-male slave like Caliban. She pities him, teaches him, and therefore feels comfortable expressing without pause her anger and resentment at having been forced to engage in sexual activity against her will. Because she is more linguistically competent than Caliban, she is able to “endow” her “objectives with words which made them known” (I.ii.356-57); Miranda gives meaning to Caliban, his “male gaze” and his sexual urges. The only obstacle to Miranda's "power" is Prospero's ability to do magic. In Act I, Scene Two, he uses his powers to put her to sleep, limiting her free will with "a good stupidity" (I.ii.86) which renders her incapable of making a decision in the situation that arises next : Ferdinand, who is also, very importantly, under a spell, enters the room, and he and Miranda are entranced by each other. Because both characters are spellbound, unable to channel their organic motivations, the relationship that develops between them must be a reflection of what Shakespeare imagined the ideal man and woman in love to be. The affair of Miranda and Ferdinand belongs to Prospero, but more specifically to Shakespeare; he is the sorcerer-writer who dictates the nature of their bond. The wedding, 1998.