AAA-ARBEITEN AUS ANGLISTIK UND AMERIKANISTIK, vol.34, no.1, pp.79-102, 2009 (AHCI)
Timberlake Wertenbaker, who is put next to Caryl Churchill in the literary canon, is one of the most important and prolific women dramatists in contemporary British theatre. Having managed to gain international recognition in mainstream theatres, Timberlake Wertenbaker has developed a theatre of her own, which discusses a variety of subjects but is also rich in feminist debate. Yet, surprisingly, Wertenbaker has neither accepted to be categorised as a feminist dramatist nor has she ever regarded any of her plays as feminist. This study will analyse Timberlake Wertenbaker's The Love of the Nightingale (1988), which deals with the silencing of women by patriarchal power and elevates the radical feminist idea of sisterhood. It will thus try to reveal the playwright's (radical) feminist stance in her early career.