AHookesian Feminist Reading of August Wilson's Feneces
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31185/eduj.Vol64.Iss2.5039Keywords:
Bell Hooks, Feminism, August Wilson, Fences, oppressionAbstract
The paper presents a feminist analysis of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by August Wilson, Fences (1986), in the theoretical perspective of Black feminist thought presented by bell hooks. The paper deals with the marginalisation of feminist readings based on the feminine by exploring the character of Rose Maxson not as a peripheral character but as a site of emotional work, internalised patriarchy, and later feminist rebellion. The study employs a solid theoretical framework based on the seminal works of hooks, such as Feminist Theory: From Margin to Centre (1984) and All About Love (2000). The main thesis claims that the path of Rose, as a submissive wife to a self-determining woman who reestablishes her maternal power, is a manner of feminist praxis that is in line with the views of Hooks on patriarchal domination as well as her reformulation of care as a place of resistance. Results show that a Hooksean approach can help one understand the subtle gender politics of the play, how devastating the masculinity of patriarchy represented by Troy Maxson becomes, and how the main female character in the play revolts silently yet silently.
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