Game, Set, Match
Routinely reviled by contemporary critics as a celebration of misogyny, ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ is among Shakespeare’s most misunderstood plays.
Marilyn Simon
Marilyn Simon is a Shakespeare scholar and university instructor. She is working on a book titled, ‘Shakespeare's Gift: Reclaiming the Joy in Erotic Possibility.’
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30 articles
Marching Backwards
Mary Harrington’s proposed solution to the excesses of modern feminism is an overcorrection.
The Eyes of Another
Dostoevsky’s masterpiece, ‘Crime and Punishment,’ offers a radical reinterpretation of guilt and redemption.
Adult Fantasy of Youth
A look back at Bertolucci’s 2003 film, The Dreamers.
Fatal Vision: Joel Coen’s ‘Macbeth’
In Shakespeare’s play, the Weïrd Sisters undoubtedly spur Macbeth toward evil by tempting him toward his dark ambition.
The Language of Sex
While we fuss over definitions and pontificate on freedoms, sex and lust and desire and passion and bodies coming together, remain largely undomesticated.
Identity and the Self in 'Hamlet'
Explore identity and the self in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, showing how the prince’s inner conflict mirrors modern questions of authenticity and role.
In Defense of Shame
In reducing sex to a basic mechanical function in the service of health, we have covered the uniquely human parts of ourselves that should be engaged during sex and lost precisely what makes sex sexy—what transforms its mechanics into mystery.
The Attack on Beauty
The new beauty contest has less to do with our physical vanities and more to do with our moral ones.
My Own Private Château—Pauline Réage’s ‘Story of O’ Revisited
Our culture makes a well intentioned but dangerous error in taking every thought experiment, every utterance, every representation, every fantasy of sexual expression seriously.
Long-Distance Love during Lockdown
Love, it turns out, remains an enduring mystery.
No, COVID-19 Is Not a 'Disaster for Feminism'
It often seems like it’s mostly feminists who disparage female work and praise so highly the world of corporate and professional success.