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Journals / Eurasian Journal of English Language and Literature / 2026 / Volume: 8 Issue: 1

Subverted Roles: Analysing Gender Constructs in Wertenbaker’s Love of the Nightingale and Churchill’s Cloud 9

Cemile Abdussemedoğlu(KARABUK UNIVERSITY)0009-0008-4609-7000
Asım Aydın(KARABÜK ÜNİVERSİTESİ)0009-0007-2557-4659
Pages
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Publication Date
2026-06-30
DOI
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

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⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

Keywords: Gender performativity; theatrical subversion; feminist dramaturgy; gender intelligibility; silence and voice; Butlerian critique.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

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Objective & Hypothesis:Abstract This paper contends that theatrical form serves as a locus for the material constitution and political contestation of gender.
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Key Findings & Data:This research analyses Caryl Churchill’s Cloud 9 and Timberlake Wertenbaker’s The Love of the Nightingale through Judith Butler’s theory of performativity.
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Conclusion & Impact:Keywords: Gender performativity; theatrical subversion; feminist dramaturgy; gender intelligibility; silence and voice; Butlerian critique.
🔬Design:Research Article
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:gender performativity · theatrical subversion · feminist dramaturgy

Abstract

Abstract This paper contends that theatrical form serves as a locus for the material constitution and political contestation of gender. This research analyses Caryl Churchill’s Cloud 9 and Timberlake Wertenbaker’s The Love of the Nightingale through Judith Butler’s theory of performativity. Cloud 9 employs parody and structural fragmentation to illustrate that gender is citational and historically contingent. In contrast, The Love of the Nightingale emphasises bodily violation and enforced silence to uncover the violent constraints of performative reconstruction. The paper illustrates that theatre, through the juxtaposition of metatheatrical alienation and tragic materiality, not only mirrors gender stereotypes but also actively constructs and critiques the regulatory structures that uphold them. Keywords: Gender performativity; theatrical subversion; feminist dramaturgy; gender intelligibility; silence and voice; Butlerian critique.

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Cite This Article

Abdussemedoğlu, C., Aydın, A. (2026). Subverted Roles: Analysing Gender Constructs in Wertenbaker’s Love of the Nightingale and Churchill’s Cloud 9. Eurasian Journal of English Language and Literature, Volume: 8 Issue: 1. https://ajindex.com/articles/1482027

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