b'Women writers thinking against the grain.Camille GibsonCamille Gibson discusses three plays by women for the ways in which they have challenged womens roles and socialisation. We have selected passages from the longer discussion of all three plays.To rise in the world, and have the liberty of running from pleasure to pleasure, [women] must marry advantageously, and to this object their time is sacrificed, and their persons often legally prostituted. (Wollstonecraft,2013 [1792]: 72)Since Mary Wollstonecrafts pioneering critique of womens roles in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), female dramaturgs have reimagined womens socialisation and place in a patriarchal society. For centuries, female playwrights achievements were nearly invisible, entrapped by womens societal expectations. Their role was to stay at home whilst it was the mens duty to strive for the economic and social success of their lives. This essay explores how women have relentlessly confronted the constraints of the patriarchal state while also examining how female playwrights have successfully broken down the confines of the male-dominated mould that sought to define them. Susanna Centlivres A Bold Stroke for a Wife (1718), Susan Glaspells Trifles (1916), and Elizabeth Robinss Votes for Women! (1907) each offer a unique lens through which to examine how Adak, H. and Altnay, R.E. (2018). Introduction: Theatre and Politics in Turkeywomens roles are constructed and contested and transformed. These plays reject and Its Diasporas. Comparative Drama, 52(3-4), pp.185214.the idea of women as passive followers of societal rules and instead show their Akbulut, N. (2018). Memet Baydurun Limon Adl Oyununda Aydn Sorunu vestrength and persistence to resist.Tiyatro Teknii [The Intellectual Problem and Theatre Technique in Memet Baydurs Play Limon]. Dokuz Eyll niversitesi Gzel Sanatlar Fakltesi Der- This essay argues that these plays use the theatricality of the stage as a tool to gisi [Journal of the Faculty of Fine Arts, Dokuz Eyll University], (20), pp.8796.advocate for improved womens rights, liberation from the constraints of marital Baydur, M. (2022). Toplu oyunlar 1 [Collected Plays 1]. Krmz Kedi: Istanbul. laws and the freedom of their valuable voice. By engaging with themes such as marriage, domestic labour, and political activism, these playwrights critique Harris, G.S. (2011). Military Coups and Turkish Democracy, 19601980. Turk- societal norms and provide alternative visions for womens emancipation. The ish Studies, 12(2), pp.203213.essay will begin by examining A Bold Stroke for a Wife, Centlivres satiric fairy tale (Hull, 1991), which portrays marriage as a transaction, move on to Glaspells Karacan, E. (2016). Remembering the 1980 Turkish Military Coup dtat :breakthrough play Trifles and its comment on domestic oppression and Memory, Violence, and Trauma. Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wies- suffocation; and conclude with Votes for Women!, written by activist playwright baden.Elizabeth Robins and its dramatisation of political awakening, highlighting thePrasad, P. (2018). Crafting Qualitative Research beyond Positivist Traditions.importance of the female voice in society. Furthermore, the essay will highlight [online] New York London Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. Available at:how the performative nature of theatre enables these works to go against the https://doi-org.uoelibrary.idm.oclc.org/10.4324/9781315715070 [Accessed 1grain of societal expectations and tie in with Wollstonecrafts advocation of May 2025]. womens freedom. A Bold Stroke for a Wife centres its plot around the female protagonist, Mrs Anne Lovely and Colonel Fainwells endeavour to take her hand in marriage. Mrs 12 13'