ETS192DanishGirlMeetsTheoryPaper.doc

ETS 192 Dr. Smyth

Reading a Literary Text through a Theoretical Lens Due: 2/25/19

“It’s hard for a man to be looked at by a woman. Women are used to it, of course. But for a man to submit to a woman’s gaze—it’s-unsettling. Although I believe there is some pleasure to be had from it. Once you yield.”

– Gerda Wegener

“We act as if that being of a man or that being of a woman is actually an internal reality or something that is simply true about us, a fact about us, but actually it's a phenomenon that is being produced all the time and reproduced all the time, so to say gender is performative is to say that nobody really is a gender from the start.”

-Judith Butler

The Danish Girl (2015), directed by Tim Hooper, portrays a relationship between a married couple (Einar & Gerda Wegener), which raises many questions about gender in the mind of the viewer.

For this assignment, I would like you to consider how gender works in this text, The Danish Girl, using at least two of the theoretical texts we read in our first unit. In an effort to examine how gender stereotypes are reinforced /deconstructed in The Danish Girl, you will need to place the texts in conversation with each other, and consider how portrayals of gender contribute to the meaning of the work as a whole.

Close reading of this visual text and revisiting your earlier readings will help you craft your response. Please use direct quotations and avoid mere plot summary. The paper should be 2-3 pages in length, carefully edited, and should include accurate and consistent MLA citations. It should reflect your perspective, your voice, and your active, engaged presence.

Guidelines

Craft a creative title.

Adhere to MLA guidelines.

Be sure to ground your reading in theory.