SOURCE: "The Madwoman in the Spotlight: Plays of Maria Irene Fornes," in Making a Spectacle: Feminist Essays on Contemporary Women's Theatre, edited by Lynda Hart, The University of Michigan Press, pp. 76-85.

In this essay, Austin examines Fornes' "use of the madwoman figure and the image of confinement on stage. "

The madness of women has been a major concern in the work of feminist theorists such as Sandra M. Gilbert, Susan Gubar, Elaine Showalter, Héène Cixous, and Catherine Clément. Female madness is also a rather common image in drama and has been used by male playwrights for centuries. As Showalter points out, Ophelia was the major image of female madness in Victorian England.¹ The madwoman's use by female playwrights has been far less frequent, however, reflecting their much smaller numbers. But in the last decade, Maria Irene Fornes has used the image to great advantage in...