Enter the Body by Joy McCullough

Enter the Body engages three tragic heroines of Shakespeare in a discussion of love, oppression, and what they might have done differently.

Enter the Body by Joy McCullough. Dutton (PRH), 2023, 320 pages.

Reading Level: Teen, ages 15-18

Recommended for: 16-up

Three tragic heroines talk it over

They all flowed from the same pen: Juliet, Ophelia, Cordelia, and one more. Lavinia was an early effort, the tragic heroine of a particularly bloody play. The author grew a bit more refined over the years, but many, if not all, of his tragic heroines met a violent end—strangled, poisoned, or stabbed. That’s the nature of tragedy. But do they ask for their fate, or are they victims of male oppression and indifference? To succumb or not to succumb—is that the question?

The author takes an interesting idea and does something other than the usual bash-the-patriarchy diatribe. To be sure, the feminist vibe comes through, along with the word “patriarchy,” which didn’t exist in Shakespeare’s vocabulary. But when Juliet, Ophelia, and Cordelia get together in the trap room beneath the stage, they share their backstories and debate their options with something more than rage. They loved their overbearing fathers–even raging Lear, even clueless Polonius. They love their volatile boyfriends, moody Hamlet and impetuous Romeo. And they also they had their supportive mothers or mother-figures (some of them invented by the author). Lavinia, the enigmatic presence, can’t share because she had her tongue cut out, but absorbs all their recollections as they wonder what she’s thinking. Is she a silent contradiction to the very idea of harmony with men?  

Love wins

Perhaps not, because of love: “What a disappointment./ What a revelation. What an endless breaking open of the thing inside/ that fights/ . . . to stay bound up tight.” They’ve all known love and can’t wish it away. But what if they could alter the script? Suppose Ophelia stands up to Hamlet, Cordelia recruits allies to her cause, and Juliet pacifies Tybalt to achieve a courtly dance for all and a happy ending. “They won’t dance forever. That would be fairy-tale torture. But for now they’ve been unburdened. Their hearts are light. And they’re not alone.”

Female solidarity doesn’t exactly save the day, but it can provide necessary oil to ease the sometimes grating relationships of men and women. The author takes a casual view of sex and does not look to any higher source of wisdom than her characters and what they are able to work out for themselves. Their occasional dialogues sound a little too contemporary and sometimes a bit preachy, but the reflections expressed in verse go deeper into human complexity and vulnerability. Though far from Christian, the conclusion is mostly positive, at least hopeful, and could make fruitful discussion material.

Considerations:

• A small amount of vulgar language.
• Two non-graphic sex scenes.

Overall rating: 4

• Worldview/moral value: 3.5
• Artistic/literary value: 4.5

Read more about our ratings here.

Also at Redeemed Reader:

• Reflection: See my thoughts on “When Is It Okay to Mess with the Classics?”
• Reviews: Modern-day Bard connections: The Wednesday Wars and Shakespeare Bats Cleanup.
• Resource: Megan’s hints about “Introducing Children to Shakespeare” recommends some helpful books.

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