Friday, November 2, 2007

Anthony and Cleopatra - Shakespeare

Ah, classic Shakespeare misogyny. Guy is driven from all that is good by girl. Guy feels no problem at all marrying someone else while still in love with/sleeping with girl. Guy then behaves badly because of girl (not really her fault). Girl tries to be forgiven by pretending to commit suicide. Guy commits suicide because he realizes he was wrong about girl. Despondent girl then commits suicide as well. I mean, honestly, one of the most powerful female figures in hisotry is treated like a harlot. Which maybe she was, but still... Men are allowed plenty of sexual freedom in these stories. Usually I can get around this kind of stuff in Shakespeare, but this one just rubbed me the wrong way for some reason. Must be especially crabby now or something.

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