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Women of Will: Following the Feminine in Shakespeare's Plays

by Tina Packer
Knopf. Apr. 2015. 336p. bibliog. ISBN 9780307700391. $27.95; ebk. ISBN 9780385353267. LIT
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With an exceptional career as an actress, director, and founder of Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA, Packer (coauthor, Tales from Shakespeare) is one of the country's foremost experts on the English Renaissance dramatist. Here she tackles Shakespeare's relationship to the feminine, and how this relationship transforms throughout his plays. In this impressive collection of essays, the author's analysis spans from Shakespeare's early to later works, closely examining his female characters and how they relate to the concepts of authority, sexuality, and finding their own voice. A pattern emerges, and questions such as what happens to women when they want the same power as men are explored. Packer has effective insight and presents strong arguments.
VERDICT While Shakespeare scholars will appreciate the ambitious scope of this work, general readers might find the material less appealing. All readers, however, will appreciate the author's observations into the mind and life of the Bard and how this is reflected in the women of his plays. [See Prepub Alert, 10/27/14.]
Reviewed by Lyndsie Robinson, Milne Lib., SUNY Oneonta , Mar 15, 2015
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