ABSTRACT
In Chapter 9, “Tempestuous powers: Gendered relations breed agency in unceded land,” gender intersects with diverse identities to affect agency among human and divine cisgender female and gender-fluid characters. This Shakespeare original incorporates elements from classical Mediterranean tales. Medea’s magic in Ovid’s Metamorphoses anticipates Sycorax and Prospero’s power over others. The gender-fluid Ariel recalls a pilfering Harpy in Virgil’s Aeneid. The goddesses and the sailors’ wives and lovers conjure the Madonna/Whore stereotype. Michel Montaigne’s Of Cannibal reveals generous Barbarian wives whose domestic and decorative artistry alters perceptions of civilization and colonization in the Age of Exploration. As Miranda’s assertiveness as the Neapolitan Queen apparent increases and Prospero gives up power, human and magical characters of all identities acquire greater agency. Reexamination of consent-based communication shows how cisgender female and gender-fluid characters move from non-consent toward increased equity, diversity, and inclusion in re-civilized society.
