Unfaithful: Textual/Sexual Infidelities of Women in World Literature

Slutty. Chaotic. Traitorous. Manipulative. Duplicitous. Murderous. There are countless ways to characterize disobedient women who transgress the boundaries of their designated social roles as wives, mothers, writers, translators, citizens and public figures. Such women are accused of engaging in unfaithful acts that endanger the stabilizing norms of their most intimate relationships. Often the simultaneous objects of virulent hatred and intense attraction, these women are portrayed as monstrous sirens capable of global treacheries—from destroying kingdoms to deceiving audiences around the world—as well as individual indiscretions: harboring taboo sexual desires, speaking ill of the wrong person, betraying a spouse. As punishment, they’re snubbed, berated, attacked and even killed. Resistant women can ban together to fight charges of treachery, yet sometimes, even in sisterhood, their devotion is called into question, or they’re ridiculed for betraying their own kind. This course asks a series of questions about a variety of unfaithful women. Who or what do they betray? What dangers do their betrayals pose? What possibilities do they create? Which betrayals merit punishment and/or celebration, by whom, and to what degree?