Today's the day

Today is the day my PhD proposal is due. I've worked hard on it and now all I can do is submit it...which turned out to be very anticlimactic. The department has received tons of applications, and mine is just one of the many, but never say never, I guess. Plus, I am no worse off if I don't get funding than I was a month and a half ago. Just in case everyone is wondering what I've been freaking out about, here is my proposal in 550 words:



Though in the area of Medieval drama, liturgical drama, and specifically the mystery cycle plays of England have received much attention from scholars, up until recently there has been little written about the role of female characters. Recent sources attest to the presence of women’s contribution to this aspect of theatre as audience members and members of theatre production guilds, it is surprising that there has been little research into understanding how women were represented on stage.
My research will contribute to this neglected area of scholarship. My driving question is, what is the role and representation of women in Medieval drama? However, as a means of answering this question, I will draw upon a recent theme in Medieval drama scholarship which has been to analyze the virgin/whore dichotomy of female characters. The perceived Eve-Mary parallel in cycle plays has been seen as one example of this dichotomy, but my research will explore how the character of Eve is actually an exception to this dichotomy in that she is both ‘virgin’ and ‘whore’ simultaneously. On stage she is represented as being at the same being both the first sinner leading to expulsion from Eden, but also as the first mother, and indeed the mother of humanity. I believe that a closer examination of the character of Eve’s unique dual nature will make for a fascinating case study into how the roles and attitudes towards women in Medieval English society were portrayed on stage.
In her book, Gender and Medieval Drama, Katie Normington provides a wide context for the issues of performing gender and representing gender on stage. Her work raises many questions such as: How are the bodies of women represented on stage and what do they signify? How do medieval theology and the Catholic Church influence what is represented on stage? Does the body in place have any impact on how the woman is perceived; for example, what does the female body in place tell us about the theological ideas attached to the character?
These questions will serve as my framework for analyzing the character of Eve. As a means of finding answers to these questions I first and foremost want to concentrate of the plays themselves, namely the cycles of Chester, York, Wakefield, and N-Town. However, I believe a study of medieval theology (especially on gender issues) and feminist performance theory will also prove to be vital to my research.
My background in theater, history, and theology make we well suited for this particular topic. I am very comfortable with historical research methods as well as the hermeneutical and exegetical skills required of theological scholarship. I believe that undertaking this research at Exeter is particularly vital, as it will give me the opportunity to work with several members of faculty who are specialists in the field of gender and drama.
Overall, my research will contribute to a broader understanding of Medieval theatre, but more importantly, it will examine an area of scholarship that has long been neglected—the representation of women in Medieval theater. As scholars seek to create a picture of how and why society produces theater, my research will provide another vital piece to the already complex mosaic that has developed thus far.