Women Murder Women: Case Studies in Theatre and Film

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dc.contributor.authorMcCurdy, Marian Lea
dc.date.accessioned2008-12-11T23:10:22Z
dc.date.available2008-12-11T23:10:22Z
dc.date.issued2007en
dc.description.abstractThis thesis looks at two cases of women who murdered women - the Papin sisters (Le Mans, 1933) and Parker-Hulme (Christchurch, 1954) - and considers their diverse representations in theatre and film, paying particular attention to Jean Genet’s play The Maids (1947), Peter Jackson’s film Heavenly Creatures (1994) and Peter Falkenberg’s film Remake (2007), in which I played a part. What happens when two women (sisters, girl friends) commit violent acts together - not against a man, or a child, but against another woman, a mother or (as in the case of the Papin sisters) against women symbolically standing in place of the mother? How are these two cases - the Papin sisters and Parker-Hulme - presented in historical documents, reinterpreted in political, psychoanalytic and feminist theories, and represented in theatre and film? How might these works of theatre and film, in particular, be seen to explain - or exploit - these cases for an audience? How is the relationship between prurience - the peeping at women doing something bad - and the use of these cases to produce social commentary and/or art, better understood by looking at these objects of fascination ourselves? My thesis explores how these cases continue to interest and inspire artists and intellectuals, as well as the general public - both because they can be seen to violate fundamental social taboos against mother-murder and incest, and because of the challenge they pose for representation in theatre or film.en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10092/1938
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.26021/4434
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherUniversity of Canterbury. Theatre and Film Studiesen
dc.relation.isreferencedbyNZCUen
dc.rightsCopyright Marian Lea McCurdyen
dc.rights.urihttps://canterbury.libguides.com/rights/thesesen
dc.subjecttheatreen
dc.subjectfilmen
dc.subjectpoliticalen
dc.subjectpsychoanalyticen
dc.subjectfeministen
dc.subjectJean Geneten
dc.subjectThe Maidsen
dc.subjectHeavenly Creaturesen
dc.subjectRemakeen
dc.subjectFree Theatreen
dc.subjectwomenen
dc.subjectmurderen
dc.subjectPeter Falkenbergen
dc.subjectPauline Parkeren
dc.subjectJuliet Hulmeen
dc.subjectPapin Sistersen
dc.subjectChristchurchen
dc.subjecttabooen
dc.subjectexploitationen
dc.titleWomen Murder Women: Case Studies in Theatre and Filmen
dc.typeTheses / Dissertations
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Canterburyen
thesis.degree.levelMastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Artsen
uc.bibnumber1119869
uc.collegeFaculty of Artsen
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