Staging Female-initiated Divorce: The Zhu Maichen Story in Twentieth-Century Drama from Opprobrium through Approbation

Abstract

Traditional theatre narratives in China have altered to accommodate changing gender attitudes over the last century. One such narrative, the Zhu Maichen story, revolves around a female-initiated divorce. Though traditionally a reviled figure, in recent and contemporary theatre Zhu’s story is reoriented to make the transgressive woman either more of a victim of feudal society, or blameworthy for reasons unrelated to the divorce. What is called ‘traditional theatre’ and thought of as conservative performance of heritage scenes is nevertheless highly responsive to social shifts.