The Prevailing Discourse of the Scorned Woman: How the saying “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” contributes to the discursive portrayal of vindictive women in fictional narratives, and how the hegemonic discourse influences the perceptions of the archetypal scorned woman in Western Culture.
Author
Lindrup, Sara Stick
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2024
Submitted on
2024-04-25
Pages
58
Abstract
The well-known line 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned' comes from the 1697 play The Mourning Bride. It suggests that a woman whose feelings are hurt will seek especially fierce revenge. This thesis examines how that line, and the way people repeat and discuss it (the discourse), create a gendered bias in Western culture. It explores how the phrase shapes portrayals and judgments of women seen as vindictive, in both fiction and contemporary society. The project studies the original wording and context in the play and traces how the phrase and its ideas circulate in Western society. It aims to build a basis for arguing that this ongoing discourse actively influences modern depictions of revenging women and the archetype of the 'scorned woman.' The analysis draws on critical discourse analysis (CDA, an approach to studying how language shapes social ideas and power), early revenge narratives and literature, and theories of gender, gender performativity (how gender is performed in actions), female emotion, and archetypes (recurring character patterns).
Den kendte sætning 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned' stammer fra teaterstykket The Mourning Bride (1697). Den antyder, at en kvinde, der bliver forurettet, vil hævne sig særligt voldsomt. Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan sætningen og den måde, vi gentager og taler om den på (diskursen), skaber en kønnet skævhed i Vesten. Det belyser, hvordan sætningen præger fremstillinger og vurderinger af kvinder, der opfattes som hævngerrige, både i fiktion og i nutidens samfund. Specialet analyserer den oprindelige formulering og konteksten i stykket og følger, hvordan sætningen og dens idéer cirkulerer i vestlig kultur. Det søger at danne grundlag for at argumentere for, at denne vedvarende diskurs aktivt påvirker moderne billeder af den hævnende kvinde og arketypen om den 'forurettede kvinde'. Analysen bygger på kritisk diskursanalyse (CDA, en metode til at undersøge, hvordan sprog former sociale forestillinger og magt), tidlige hævnhistorier og -litteratur samt teorier om køn, kønsperformativitet (hvordan køn opføres gennem handling), kvindelige følelser og arketyper (genkendelige grundfigurer).
[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]