ABSTRACT
In screwball comedies from the 1930s and early 1940s dreams of social progression are only available to male characters through marriage, notably where the woman is the one who pursues the typically resistant man. Women, by contrast, only gain the American Dream of wealth and family through criminal, albeit comically criminal, exploitation of aristocrat men. The female characters are granted narrative agency in the films and are never punished for their narrative powers. The male protagonists in contrast are usually portrayed as highly susceptible, dimwitted or unable to progress in their careers or life goals without the help of their future brides. Through an examination of the films Bringing Up Baby, My Man Godfrey and The Lady Eve this chapter argues that the films empower female characters and reward female desire with either romantic love and/or class advancement. Additionally, I will explore the star personas of Katharine Hepburn, Carol Lombard and Barbara Stanwyck and how the media connected the actresses to their screwball roles, thereby portraying them as adventurous go-getters who persuaded their desires and tamed men in the process.
