The topography of female agency on the Restoration stage, 1660-1714

Abstract

In this thesis, I analyse a series of plays from the Restoration stage to argue that the impact
of the actress on the representation of female agency can be understood better if put in
relation to the spaces used as settings. The plays reflect the ongoing spatial negotiation that
takes place once the actress is introduced, and my thesis contends that four spaces − the
playhouse, the coach, the tavern, and the park − form a topography characterised by a
fluctuation of active and passive female agency. Drawing from contemporary sources which
indicate the prominence of these specific spaces, I consider how these are depicted in relation
to the female-centred narrative.
I begin with the space that first welcomed the actress, the playhouse. This sets the term
for the exploration of the Restoration repertory through its engagement with spaces of
cultural importance, by suggesting that its representation reveals the contemporary opinion
on women who participated in the practices of the theatre. I proceed with a chapter focused
on chairs and coaches, to suggest that as symbols of social and sexual power, these are used
on the stage to represent women who challenge the patriarchal control of lovers, husbands,
and brothers. With a chapter on the tavern, I argue that the drinking practices associated
with it are connected to the male realm and exclude female participation by extending to
other spaces too. The last chapter, on the park, suggests that the park culture, founded in the
early years of the Restoration, persists throughout the repertory and is staged as a space that
enables women to fight male control.
Developing Restoration drama scholarship which connects the agency of female
characters to the representation of space, I provide a case study for each of the four spaces.
Focussing on the interactive relationship between repertory and the audience, I ultimately
argue that the spatial female representation, by alternating between the condemnation of
active women and the emphasis on more socially (and sexually) driven women against
submissive ones, indicates the mixed contemporary reaction to the actress.

Date of Award	1 Sept 2019
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	King's College London
Supervisor	John Lavagnino (Supervisor) & Lucy Munro (Supervisor)