A Feminist Perspective of Paulina in The Winter's TaleFeminist criticism explores gender themes in literature, evaluates the value of female characters, promotes unknown women writers, and interprets the canon of a political point of view. -loaded perspective. Shakespeare has proven more difficult to categorize than other white male masters of writing, precisely because of the humanity of his female characters. Critic Kathleen McLuskie urges feminists to “assert the power of resistance, subverting rather than co-opting the dominance of the patriarchal bard” (McLuskie 106). Yet many feminists find strength in Shakespeare. Irene Dash, for example, proclaims that “Shakespeare’s female characters testify to his genius…. they learn the meaning of self-sovereignty for a woman in a patriarchal society” (Dash 1). Paulina from The Winter's Tale supports Dash's argument. With courage and passion, Paulina defends Hermione against chauvinistic paranoia and upholds feminine virtue. Perhaps the best testament to Paulina's power is the historical reaction from male critics. In 1733, editor Lewis Theobald condemned Paulina as "too crude and brutal" for daring to call the king "downright a fool" (Dash 135). In 1863, the scholar Charles Cowden Clarke complained that Pauline was excessive: "...she actually plays the tattoo on his skull with astonishing vividness and after he is on the ground too...Paulina cannot give up the gratification of striking him in his melancholy distress” (Clarke 356), Fitzroy Pyle recognized Paulina’s “goodness” but applied the label “militant” to her (Pyle 41). more overtly hostile language, the fictional King Leontes mistreats his adversary Paulina with sexist insults...... middle of paper ......ti. Webster's first new intergalactic English-language villain. Press, 1987 Dash, Irene. Courting, Marriage, and Power: Women in Shakespeare's Plays. New York: Columbia University Press, 1981McLuskie, Kathleen. Cultural Materialism. Jonathan Dollimore and Alan Sinfield, editors. London: Cornell Univ. Press, 1985Neeley, Carol Thomas. "The Winter's Tale: Women and Problems" (1985). Reprinted in the Signet Classic edition of The Winter's Tale. New York: Penguin, 1988. Pyle, Fitzroy. The Winter's Tale: A Commentary on Structure. New York: Routledge & Paul, 1969. Schweickart, Patrocinio. “Reading ourselves.” Speaking of gender. Elaine Showalter, editor. New York: Routledge, Chapman and Hall, 1989.