Performativity and Gender in Julie Taymor’s The Tempest

Julie Taymor’s The Tempest is typical of Taymor’s work in that there is a meticulous attention to detail and a heightened sense of symbolism. Slight shifts from the original play add new contexts and connotations that bring the text to renewed cultural relevance. Arguably, the most notable shift in Taymor’s adaptation is the repositioning of Prospero to Prospera. Prospero’s original thirst for power and complete control of the world around him is reframed and re-understood through the casting of Helen Mirren. In doing so, the director creates a feminist adaptation in which Prospera seeks to regain power after being accused of witchcraft. Yet unlike many other female Shakespearean heroes, Prospera is powerful without using her sexual agency or being emotionally unstable. Her power is emphasized by the marvelous costuming (designed by Sandy Powell), which carefully heightens Prospera’s power while remaining androgynous.

When we first see Prospera at 3:26, it is not initially apparent that she is female. Her short hair and blustering cape extend in a diagonal that almost bisects the round, texturized outcrops of rock which flank her on either side. The shot is intentionally dark, so that the colors of these rocks and Prospera’s gown match in tone and texture. This choice emphasizes the unity and tension with the island. Prospera commands the island, though she is still a foreigner. As the camera angle shifts, we see that her clothing is actually scaly and luminescent, unlike the craggy lava rock that it appeared to embody in the moment before. This is also the moment when it becomes clearer that she is a feminine figure. Already, a power dynamic takes shape, in which Prospera is perpetually a fish-out-of-water so to speak. Her womanhood somewhat alienates her from her surroundings, yet grants her an alien-like and magical power. 

Consequently, at 5:25, when she is a domestic setting with Miranda in a cave, Prospera’s costume softens to a more terrestrial, earthy garb. Notably, she remains mostly covered up, which is a departure from most Shakespearean women, who are often heavily sexualized. Her knotted and worn shoulder pads mimic the walls of the cave around her, suggesting that perhaps she is much more at peace when she is at home with her daughter, and can partially surrender to the landscape, as she and Miranda discuss their strong ties to the island. 

At 1:33:06, a very deliberate and dramatic change of costuming takes place. Prospera has Ariel cinching her corset tightly, and she breathes in tightly in pain. Her garb is changed to a black Elizabethan gown that more closely resembles the ones worn by the men around her. Yet, she still is burdened and pained by the confines of being a woman, which is underscored by the emphasis on the laced corset. This small moment serves to heighten the drama of a woman who is going to a battle of sorts. As she faces the men who have wronged her, she is reminded once again that her womanhood was used against her to leverage power. The zippers around her neck remind the viewer that she is tough, but permeable when she chooses to be, such as in her more intimate moments with Ariel and Miranda. Her skirt flows and reflects in a manner reminiscent of flowing lava, which is a marked switch from the hardened and sharp costume she wears at the beginning of the film. Thus, her acts of forgiveness show a softening of the hard rock and emphasize change and personal growth. Like the magical landscape of an explosive volcano, Prospera is powerful in part because she is capable of evolution. 

 There are many beautifully crafted costumes worn throughout the film, all of which deserve being discussed at greater length in more than 2.5 pages. Taymor uses costume to bring added dimension to her characters and express psyche and performativity. 

Works Cited

Taymor, Julie, Robert Chartoff, Lynn Hendee, Julia Taylor-Stanley, Jason K. Lau, Chris 

Cooper, Djimon Hounsou, Helen Mirren, Russell Brand, Reeve Carney, Tom Conti, Felicity Jones, Alan Cumming, Alfred Molina, David Strathairn, Ben Whishaw, Mark Friedberg, Stuart Dryburgh, Françoise Bonnot, and William Shakespeare. The Tempest. Montréal: Alliance Vivafilm, 2011.