Liminality and Gender Fluidity in Shakespearian Dramaturgy: A Postmodern Perspective

Abstract

The article seeks to compare and contrast the critical canon based on transvestism with deliberations upon androgyny. The postmodern approach explores the liminal spaces in Shakespearian dramaturgy where rigid, hide-bound compartmentalization of dichotomies in gender fuse with a fluid, liminal space of hybrid interface. The earlier readings of misogyny and chauvinism into Shakespearian heroines’ assumption of the male identity open vistas in the liminal space where these characters are conferred a privilege to navigate spaces beyond conventional fixities. By subjecting gender binaries to artistic rendition and critical canon, Shakespearian dramas offer insight into the socio-political debate around gender roles and responsibilities. By breaking free with the status quo, Shakespeare's female protagonists emerge more empowered and emancipated in their deft handling of crisis where cross-dressing only serves as an expedient measure to earn them the requisite mobility to the echelons of power. On the other hand, it is on account of their intellectual acumen that poised on a critical juncture they are able to trigger a denouement of the dramatic complication.