Abstract
This paper discusses Ann-Marie MacDonald's play, "Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)" and shows how MacDonald uses gender bending and variations on sexuality to challenge and ultimately undermine gender stereotype. In particular, the paper focuses on the character of Constance and how she rises to her full human potential in this play, and in so doing, undermines the gender stereotypes which often function to deny a fully rounded personality to people.

From the Paper
"In conclusion, what MacDonald seems to be saying in this play is that the choice made by Constance is open to all of us - and without alchemy. All that is needed is for us to probe into the powerful depths of our sub-conscious, and in this way choose powerful personal attributes that will enable us to rise to our full human potential. The crucial point is that women may choose supposedly male attributes such as courage, because the gender binary that says most personal attributes are gendered is culturally constituted and illusory. We can have it all, regardless of gender. Thus, MacDonald's play powerfully undermines gender stereotypes."

Tags:personality, masculine, passive

Abstract
This research paper compares the character of Iago in William Shakespeare's tragedy "Othello" and in Ann-Marie MacDonald's 1988 comedy "Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)." To better understand the similarities and differences in both plays, a brief description of each character is given first. The writer claims that there is no doubt that "Othello" is a tragedy of intrigue in spite of the fact that it contains many of the elements of Shakespearean comedies -- the central theme of love, the conflicts between men and women, and the handkerchief, of course, may be seen as a comedic prop. In MacDonald's work, the author uses Shakespeare's work to reflect on her own relationships.

From the Paper
"In MacDonald's play the central character is Constance Ledbelly, an associate professor whose research involves trying to decipher an arcane text that she believes may have been the source for Shakespeare's "Othello" and "Romeo and Juliet." Constance's passion for her literary theory is only surpassed by the crush she has on Professor Claude Night, for whom she has become a factotum, ghostwriting his speeches and papers and doing his research."

Tags:literature, love, conflict, iago, tragedy, comedy

Abstract
This paper provides an analytical review of the novel "Good Night Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)" by Ann-Marie MacDonald. In this paper, the central issue of fate in Shakespeare's Othello is also used in Goodnight Desdemona (Good morning Juliet), as Desdemona becomes the central character in MacDonald's interpretation of events from the original play. The paper concludes that Shakespeare has it fated that Iago will succeed in fooling Othello into killing his wife, since he has been gullible and mistrustful of Desdemona.

Tags:Shakespeare, Othello, wife, kill

Abstract
This paper examines how MacDonald uses gender bending and variations on sexuality to challenge and ultimately undermine gender stereotype in her play, "Goodnight Desdemona." According to the paper, she does this primarily through the character of Constance, who is the focus of this essay. As will be shown, Constance rises to her full human potential in this play, and in so doing, undermines the gender stereotypes which often function to deny a fully rounded personality to people.

From the Paper
"In her play Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) MacDonald uses gender bending and variations on sexuality to challenge and ultimately undermine gender stereotype. She does this primarily through the character of Constance, so this character will be the focus of this essay. As will be shown, Constance rises to her full human potential in this play, and in so doing, undermines the gender stereotypes which often function to deny a fully rounded personality to people. As the play opens, we have no reason to suspect that Constance Ledbelly will soon be undermining gender stereotypes. On the contrary, she is..."

Tags:macdonald, gender, stereotypes

Abstract
Compares similarities & differences of the character of Iago in Shakespeare's great tragedy OTHELLO & in Ann-Marie McDonald's 1988 minor comedy GOODNIGHT DESDEMONA (GOOD MORNING JULIET). Common themes of intrigue & love. Brief description of each play. Symbols & style of each. Iago's motivations; his villainy.

From the Paper
"This research paper compares the character of Iago in William Shakespeare's tragedy "Othello" and in Ann-Marie MacDonald's 1988 comedy "Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)." To better understand the similarities and differences in both plays, a brief description of each needs to be given. There is no doubt that "Othello" is a tragedy of intrigue in spite of the fact that it contains many of the elements of Shakespearean comedies -- the central theme of love, the conflicts between men and women, and the handkerchief, of course, may be seen as a comedic prop.


During the course of Shakespeare's play, Iago commits a series of wicked and deceitful acts that culminate in violence. Iago is an ensign to the general Othello, a black Moor who is serving under the Venetian Senate. He becomes jealous when///"

Abstract
The paper discusses how in comparing, contrasting and discussing the issue of gender and its significance in "Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)," "Orlando," and "The Sun Also Rises," it is evident that gender issues were perceived and portrayed very differently by writers such as Virginia Woolf and Ernest Hemingway. The paper explains that this is because of their personal agony over gender and its psychological implications. The paper points out that differences in their fictional portrayals of rigid gender identity and values is not particularly surprising, for Virginia Woolf was not inclined to shoot wild game animals in Africa or attend bullfights and Ernest Hemingway was not a exactly a charter member of the early feminist movement in fiction and literature.

Tags:gender, in, literature

Abstract
This paper discusses Jean Rhys' novel, "Good Morning, Midnight," which takes the reader through the psyche of a woman named Sasha Jansen. The paper describes the plot of the story and the relationship between Jansen and the other characters. The paper discusses how through a type of enigmatic style, Rhys constantly takes the reader from present events to past memories, over and over again.

From the Paper
"What happens after Rene walks out of Sasha's life is a real heart-breaker. Sasha sits in bed fantasizing about Rene reading her thoughts and coming back to the hotel and making love to her, which turns out to be what she really wanted before her fears got the best of her. When the door to her room begins to open it is a mystery as to who it is. Did Rene really come back for her, or was it still part of her fantasy? Unfortunately it was not part of her fantasy. A man had come into her room with the intention of making love to her, but it wasn't at all the man she wanted in any way, shape, or form. It turns out to be the "white dressing-gown", which the man who was in the room next to her had worn all the time. The man in the white dressing-gown was an odd character who Sasha really had no good feelings towards. Sasha looks "straight into his eyes and despises another poor devil of a human being for the last time." After this thought she "pulled him down on to the bed, saying: 'Yes - yes - yes'" (190). Sasha's final actions are the ultimate example of settling for less. She had no interest in this man at any point, yet he is the one she ends up sleeping with while in Paris. We will never know if Rene could have ended up being a savior for Sasha, breaking her self-conscious ways and helping her fall in love again. What is obvious is that Sasha had the opportunity to make herself happy, but she let the past creep into her thoughts again and ruin her future."

Tags:fantasy, depression, style

Abstract
The paper describes how Jean Rhys uses flashbacks to set both the tone and the pace of "Good Morning Midnight". The paper portrays how the character of Sasha Jensen was more than simply depressed; she was nearly pathologically self-destructive, a woman trapped by the cruel vagaries of society, at a loss for how to escape the demons of the past.

From the Paper
"Jean Rhys uses flashbacks to set both the tone and the pace of the story. Rhys, in fact, opens with a flashback to the previous night, when Sasha finds herself crying over a memory brought to the surface by a woman humming to the score of a song: "Gloomy Sunday." From this memory, Sasha blinks briefly into the present only to revisit the past again. Through these memories we learn that she envisions herself as being better than the circumstances in which she currently lives and that her life has changed despite her friend assigning her to that "atmosphere" of existence. Even her name, Sasha, does not belong to her (Rhys 12). Sasha has molded herself into her current image and finds herself trapped there, by society and by her friends."

Tags:depression, alcoholism, cruelty, misery, memories, flashbacks

Abstract
The paper discusses how Jean Rhys was not a happy woman in her own life. The paper discusses how the reader, regardless of any knowledge of this fact, can feel the authenticity of the misery that Rhys' characters experience. The paper describes how Sasha is not a "mere" alcoholic; she is a complex woman with a confused and confusing mind and she is shaped by her past, which juxtaposes those experiences with her present, leading to the novel's unhappy conclusion.

From the Paper
"Jean Rhys is not an author known for her choice of uplifting storytelling. Her books tend to focus on darker, deeply psychological topics, rather than simple tales that create a pleasant diversion with which to pass the time. The reader should not be surprised, then, at Sasha Jensen's depressed state of mind in her novel, "Good Morning, Midnight". Sash, however, is more than simply depressed. She is nearly pathologically self-destructive, a woman trapped by the cruel vagaries of society, at a loss for how to escape the demons of the past. Jean Rhys uses flashbacks to set both the tone and the pace of the story..."

Tags:rhys, midnight, sasha

Abstract
In this paper, Romeo provides a set of moral and ethical problems in relation to his love for both Rosaline and Juliet. By being indecisive as to his physical attractiveness to Rosaline, Romeo betrays his easily seduced mentality in regards to physical love. The paper shows that in this regard, Romeo behaves more as an immature man filled with sexual desire for women, rather than a man that would later kill himself in honor of Juliet. Through these means, Romeo loses credibility in his love for Juliet, as related through his prior and simultaneous relationship with Rosaline in the play.

From the Paper
"This drama study reflects the issues of fidelity within the characters Romeo and Rosaline in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. By examining the critical aspects of the play, one cane realize Romeo's lack of romantic loyalty in relation to Juliet. Throughout the various issues that arise between Romeo's love for Rosaline, the problem of his fidelity demeans and lowers his credibility as a lover in relation to the greater tragedy of loving Juliet. Romeo is infatuated with Rosaline, and there can be no doubt as to how he presents a two-sided question as to his fidelity to Juliet. Act One of Shakespeare's play reflects Romeo's romantic heart, as it swoons for Rosaline before he has the chance to get truly involved with Juliet."

Tags:romeo, juliet, shakespeare