Abstract

Redressing the Past argues that early English-Canadian women's drama expresses the conflict between equality feminisim and maternal feminism: on the one hand these works represent women's social and political emancipation; on the other, they affirm patriarchal structures and the status quo. This study calls into question what traditionally constitutes drama by treating plays written in non-canonical forms, mounted in non-professional venues, and published by marginal presses - or not at all - as important literary, theatrical, and historical documents.