Discuss “The Heidi Chronicles” from whichever angle you please. You may consider the art/gender issue we have discusses which Heidi is concerned with, e.g. in connection with the above two artworks. Briefly put: does gender determine art? Any notes on the WSU performance?
The two mentioned art works depict a segment from the deuterocanical Book of Judith in which Judith beheads Holofernes. From a historical standpoint, Judith was a Jewish widow of noble rank in Bethulia, a town besieged by the army of the Assyrian general Holofernes. To defeat her captor, Judith seduced Holofernes with her beauty and successfully got him drunk. After Holofernes fell asleep, Judith and her maid Abra beheaded Holofernes with his sword. Judith brought the head back to Bethulia which sent the leaderless Assyrians in fleet. The event marked the Hebrew’s victory.
The paintings are significant to “The Heidi Chronicles” because they illustrate a female heroine who was ultimately rewarded for passionately acting on her beliefs. The paintings glorify Heidi’s lifestyle in which she made sacrifices to advance the interest of the women’s movement. Heidi was a female heroine in that she passionately acted on her values, instead of the expectations of women imposed by society. She forfeited the traditional duties of a wife by never marrying, she advocated for equitable representation of women in the art world, and she empowered her sex by conveying that women are not obligated to conform to social expectations. She expressed that women should aim for their 10 and in fighting to ensure women could without restraint; she lost sight of what her 10 represented. In the end Heidi won as she realized that her efforts had opened doors for women and that her daughter would learn from the mistakes of her mother.
Does gender determine art?
In answering the question I could only wonder if “The Heidi Chronicles” would be any less meaningful if a man had written it. I believe that the play would be less meaningful; hence, while gender does not determine art, it greatly influences it. Until men and women are equal in every aspect there will be a difference, even if it is slight, between art produced by a woman and art produced by a man.
The WSU performance?
I was impressed by the WSU performance. It was a great opportunity to see an entirely different perspective and interpretation on “The Chronicles of Heidi.” When I initially read the play I interpreted the ending as a sorrowful moment in which Heidi seemingly gave up on the pursuit of her happiness and was dissatisfied with Scoop. The WSU performance sold me on their jovial interpretation of the ending in which Heidi appeared satisfied and content with her current position in life.
Image Above:
Judith Beheading Holofernes (1598-1599)
Michelangelo Caravaggio
Seeing the background to the Judith Beheading Holofernes painting was very interesting. However, I'm not sure I agree with your interpretation--this painting definitely does embody the brave heroine who was rewarded for her deeds, but it was a mistake in Heidi's lecture. In the WSU production, Heidi seemed nervous when the picture came up, like she was afraid of showing it to her class and being associated with such a strong heroine.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree--gender does influence art. Stereotypes be damned, you cannot deny human nature.
I liked your interpretation of the ending of the play. I mentioned in my blog that Wasserstein leaves too much open to interpretation through the episodic nature of the work, which made it very difficult to nail down my beliefs about the last scene. To me, the baby could either be a symbol of her failure to self-actualize herself as a woman in our society, or a sign that she was being independent and did not need a man in her life (for adopting the baby I believe, would still be relatively uncommon for a single woman in 1989).
ReplyDeleteInteresting way to think about gender in art! I think, too, that gender does affect art, and I would definitely agree that the play would have an entirely different meaning if a man wrote it! Good post :)
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