<The Queens> of Normand Chaurette is a play based on the history of England and inspired by <Henry VI> and <Richard III> of Shakespeare, but the author reinterprets history through his own imagination, making this play very different from those of Sha ...
<The Queens> of Normand Chaurette is a play based on the history of England and inspired by <Henry VI> and <Richard III> of Shakespeare, but the author reinterprets history through his own imagination, making this play very different from those of Shakespeare. <Henry VI> and <Richard III> are known for describing a struggle of power between the Lancastrians and the Yorkists. First of all, <Herny VI> describes the dethronement of Henry VI of the Lancastrians by the struggle of power of the two families, his return to the throne and his assassination by Richard. <Richard III> describes the desire for power of Richard, the younger brother of Edward IV. In the plays of Shakespeare, feminine characters do not stand out except for Queen Margaret, wife of Henry VI. But Chaurette highlights the feminine characters who were hidden behind the history and their desire for power. The play describes the women of the Lancastrians and the Yorkists, in particular, the queens or the women who wanted to be the queens.
The play begins on Thursday, 20 January, 1483 when Edward IV (1442-1483) passed away, but the imagination of the author presents Anne Dexter (1439-1476), daughter of the Duke of York who was dead already. The author describes George (1449-1476), assassinated several years before, as being also alive. The real time is ignored and the memory of the past is mixed with the present. Not only is there the confusion of time but the mixing of reality and fiction also comes into play. For example, there is an allusion of the incest between Anne Dexter and George. In reality Anne Dexter is the older sister of George. In the play they are presented as lovers. This arouses the anger of Duchess of York and they are silenced and Anne becomes disabled. Even if they did not become mute or disabled in history, in this play George doesn’t speak and Anne is inhibited to speak and her hands are amputated. And furthermore, the Duchess of York considers that Anne is not born. In this way, this play mixes the historical reality, the plays of Shakespeare and the imagination of the author.
In this article we will examine this play on four elements: First of all, the characters. In this play which introduces <Henry VI> and <Richard III> of Shakespeare, only feminine characters are present. The author wants to reveal the desire for power of the women who were hidden behind the men. There are six women and they all want to become queen except for Anne Dexter, the mute and amputated. The difference Anne has with the five other women who pursue power, is that Anne is attached to George by pure love.
Secondly, we will examine the episodic plot. Instead of the traditional plot where a principal action is developed through dramatic conflicts, this play is composed of eleven episodes. The episodic plot focuses on the inner conflicts of each character and matches with the inner monologue.
The third element is the time and the space. In appearance, the time is fixed to 20 January 1483. Meanwhile, the characters transcend real time because of the memory of the past and the fantasy. The coexistence of reality and fantasy complicates the time of this play. The action happens during one day and in one location, but this play is very different from classical theatre which strictly observes the three unities. These women who cannot advance toward another place and rest in the same place show the limits of women who cannot possess power themselves and are dependent on the men. Therefore, their closed space has a symbolic significance rather than a verisimilitude.
The fourth and final element is the inner monologue in poetic and symbolic language. This is one of the major characteristics of this play. The monologue is written in verse with a lot of metaphors, symbolism and ambiguous pronouns.