Enter the Body

McCullough, Joy.  Enter the Body.  Dutton Books, 2023.

Pages:  320

Age Range: 14-18

Genre: historical fiction

Setting: below the trapdoor, underneath a stage

Themes: Shakespeare’s themes and actions - betrayal, suicide, death, mutilation, sexual desire, portayal of women as object or pawn, a chance to retell a story or change an outcome

Merits:

The concept of having Shakespere’s women share a venue is truly interesting.  These women tell their tales since they don’t know each other, but since they will always be put back on the stage they also seem familiar with each other.  They’re not friends, and their disdain for each other is palpable, yet there is also some respect.  Empathy grows as their tales are shared.  

Unique Quality: 

The way this book is written is so very unique.  Being that it portrays Shakespeare’s women, there is a dramatis personae, pages that look like play dialogue, and also verse novel.  The concept of many of Shakepeare’s women all together beneath the trapdoor of a stage is so very interesting, and hearing them talk to each other - and sometimes taunt each other - is far for the norm when discussing Shakespeare.  These women recount their stories but also talk of what their stories should have been.  

Detractors: 

Shakespeare’s women were not portrayed positively in general.  They were pawns or objects.  That continues in this book.  Their use of feminine wiles is discussed at length at times.  This is a part of Shakespeare.  Juliet’s love is shown as lust, and the word “rutting” appears somewhere.  However, nothing is graphically shown.  Violence is a part of this book as well and could be seen as inappropriate at times. Ophelia’s suicide is discussed; however, there is question of whether she jumped or not.  Lavinia’s mutilation is described briefly.  Juliet readjusts the knife that she uses to stab herself.  That portrayal is almost comical.  

Main Characters:

Lavinia – 19, daughter of Titus Andronicus, has her tongue cut out and hands removed

Cordelia - 17, daughter of King Lear, has bruising around her neck

Juliet - 13, daughter of Lord Capulet, wife of Romeo, has a knife in her chest

Ophelia - 15 - daughter of Polonius, wet from drowning

Plot:

Each of Shakespeare’s four women named above tell their stories.  Other Shakespeare feminine characters are also beneath the Trap Door underneath the stage. There they all await their next return to the stage.  Their lives don’t really intersect on the stage, so they feel compelled to tell each other what has happened to them.  It seems as though they must outdo each other as to who has suffered the most.  Lavinia cannot speak; however, her physical appearance tells her tale.  At one point, the women realize these are tales, and the thought is to retell their story but change how they are portrayed.  Oddly, they have difficulty in making their lives better.  Juliet tries her best, desperately wanting a happy ending, and she brings the other three into a happy image near the end of her verses.  They dance.  They briefly release their burdens and draw in the others.  It may be a brief respite, but it is one where they can all be free of their burdens.