Laura Tosi

From Romeo and Juliet to Rosaline & Benvolio: Refashioning Shakespearean Teenage Lovers

In this essay I analyse a number of narrative retellings of Romeo and Juliet for a Young Adult audience. I focus on three novels which, interestingly, replace the star-crossed lovers, with a couple of minor characters, Benvolio and Rosaline: Lisa Fiedler’s Romeo’s Ex. Rosaline’s Story (2006), Melinda Traub’s Still Star Crossed (2013) and Rachel Caine’s Prince of Shadows (2014). In thse versions Rosaline and Benvolio are given centre stage and narrative voices which open up new narrative possibilities; they end up playing a different and a bigger part than in the original play, but firmly refuse that of the victim to the old generation’s decisions and actions. By exploring motivation, establishing new links between the characters, and having narrators pass authoritative moral judgements, all these texts negotiate with well-established critical interpretations of the central characters, often challenging and channeling them into unexpected critical directions. In a way, these retellings “fix” the original “dangerous” characters Romeo and Juliet, by bringing in new characters as mediators, or expand existing secondary characters in order to make them fit into contemporary notions of teenage role models.

Alice and Pinocchio: National Stereotypes and International Classic Fantasy

ABSTRACT Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, and Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio are among the most famous, most translated books in the world: they are national and international classics. Despite the fact that Pinocchio is widely regarded as stereotypically Italian and Alice as stereotypically British, they have transcended their national origins. The books share generic elements and tropes of international fantasy traditions modulated by their creative moments the Italian Risorgimento and the British high-Victorian period. In their globalization (or glocalization) through translations, adaptations, and Disneyfication, the national characteristics of these books have either been lost, or have been developed into caricatures and stereotypes (Pinocchio, like the Italians, is wild, emotional, and unreliable; Alice, like the English is calm, unemotional and self-assured). This article discusses the ways in which the national stereotypes and national characteristics (inherent or perceived) in these books are absorbed into, or conflict with, international concepts of fantasy.

Mirrors for Female Rulers: Elizabeth I and the Duchess of Malfi

What does a female ruler see or want to see when she looks at herself in the mirror? Perhaps a mighty monarch, a beautiful woman, or a glimpse of her future self through the investigation of her first wrinkles and white hairs. In Kapur’s film Elizabeth (1998) the Queen is seen to practise the public speech where she will ask her Parliament to pass the Act of Uniformity, to ensure that it is effective and persuasive. The camera becomes a sort of mirror as we contemplate her attempts and frustration: one wonders whether the real Elizabeth would have used mirrors in a similar way to monitor her public speaking and oratorical strategies.