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E
UR
A
MERICA
Vol. 47, No. 1
(
March 2017
)
,
1-41
©
Institute of European and American Studies, Academia Sinica
http://euramerica.org“There is no tongue that moves”
—
Female Healers and the Therapeutic
Female Tongue in
The Winter’s Tale
Ying-chiao Lin
Division of Preparatory Programs for Overseas Chinese Students
National Taiwan Normal University
No 2, Sec. 1, Renai Rd., LinKou Dist., New Taipei City 24449, Taiwan
E-mail:
yclin@ntnu.edu.twAbstract
This reading of Shakespeare’s
The Winter’s Tale
focuses on the theme of female healers or medical
practitioners, both as we see them in the play itself
and as their history contributes to the cultural
background of the play. While the female healer,
Pauline, may be said to stand squarely within this
tradition, Queen Hermione is less directly
representative of it. More precisely, the reading
focuses on the central role played by the voices,
tongues, and forceful speeches of these two women.
Empowered by their words and wits, these two wise
women, in particular Paulina, the play’s central
female figure and my main focus, transform their
traditional gender roles, acting as female healers
whose wits and tongues remove blockages within the
Received June 5, 2015; accepted December 10, 2015; last revised February 2,
2016
Proofreaders: Alex C. Chang, Kuan-Wei Wu, TsaiYing Lu