Women in Edward Bond

Abstract

Restoration (1981) and Summer (1982) both see Edward Bond take on familiar theatrical forms only to subvert them for his own ends. The former draws on and reworks elements of the post-Restoration comedy of manners, while the latter bears a striking but ultimately superficial resemblance to a conventional Naturalistic drama in the mode of Ibsen. In both plays, Bond uses his adopted form to explore highly characteristic themes relating to social justice and historical restitution. Significantly, he also expresses some of the strongest ideas in each play through female characters. Like the men, the women in these plays are products of their social and political environment, representatives of their class or values, but in the case of three significant characters they also embody the play’s proposals as to how to move towards a more just future. Accordingly, in this chapter I combine a focus on the plays’ political arguments, and in particular the challenge they present to mainstream audiences, with an exploration of their presentation of gender.