Beyond Words Visual and Aural Subplots of Wendy Wasserstein’s The Heidi Chronicles

Abstract

The text discusses the visual and aural sublots of Wendy Wasserstein’s The Heidi Chronicles by analyzing the ways in which the deliberate presentation of paintings by various women artists over time, such as Sofonisba Anguissola, Clara Peetrs and Lily Martin Spencer, foretells and exemplifies the plot-struggle of American women in the 60s, 70s and 80s in both public and private realms, as depicted by Wasserstein’s play. Since the drama also contains a list of songs (to be used for the subsequent performances), the analysis will also look into how these refurnish the plot in a similar manner to that of the previously mentioned paintings.