O silenciamento de uma rainha: uma leitura feminista da Cléopatra Shakespeariana em Antônio e Cleópatra

Abstract

This dissertation approachcs gender issues that discuss in the play Antony and Cleopatra, produced by William Shakespeare (1606), through the translation of the scholar and drama critic Barbara Heliodora (2001). This study focused on analyze the composition of the female character in Shakespeare: Cleopatra, at time silenced, at others extremely sexualized. It is intended to emphasize this silencing process experienced by the queen, because it is believe that silence does not mean the absense of speaking (Kuhner, 1998), based on this aspect to understand what is the space reserved for the queen. The choice of this theme is justified through the reflections according in which in the literature the female character was for a long time portrayed by male authors and in a patriarchal society, factors that collaborated to the recurrent depiction of female characters as subjugated and put in a secondary role in comparison to the male characters. In this specific play, it is observed that although most of the Scenes take place in Egypt, Cleopatra is presented as a co-protagonist (HELIODORA, 2001) in her own territory. Focused on studies presents in the feminist criticism based mainly on feminist reading, of this dissertation is to understand the Shakespearean Cleopatra, sexualized and silenced, reflecting on the role of women in Ancient Egypt and the Renaissance. Theoretical perspections include made use of Heliodora (2001), Branco and Brandão (1989), Culler (1997), Scott (1999), Butler (2016), Bloom (1998) and Bradley (2009) among other authors.