Love’s Labour’s Lost? Separation as a Constraint on Displays of Transnational Daughterhood

This article develops sociological knowledge on daughterhood through an analysis of how separation shapes the emotional and moral dynamics of transnational daughterhood. Building on Finch, we look at daughtering as a set of concrete social practices that constitute kinship and carry the symbolic dimension of displaying the family-like character of relationships. Within this framework, we analyse how Latin American women living in Barcelona discuss their transnational family lives and filial responsibilities. We see family as finite, evolving in the past, present and future, and develop a threefold understanding of filial love as an institution imbued with formal expectations, a strong and complex emotion, and reciprocal embodied caring. We consider persisting physical separation in migration as a circumstance that demands not only practical solutions but also ongoing moral labour that sustains transnational bonds and notions of being a ‘good enough’ daughter.

The Linguistic Mix of Names in Lll

The names in Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost present a delightful linguistic mix. The names of major characters are Anglicized names of actual French nobles, which emphasizes the thematic parallelism of historical and fictive events. Other names broaden the international landscape, including Nathaniel, a biblical association, Forester (which is French as well as English), and Armado, a Spanish tag. The length of this paper does not allow room to describe many names in detail. However, the cross-cultural puns make this play especially interesting; e.g., Moth has at least two meanings in English, but pronounced mot in French means ‘word,’ ‘remark,’ ‘cue,’ or ‘answer to a riddle’ – which points most clearly to a thematic meaning. A full analysis of this play will appear soon in my book Names as Metaphors in Shakespeare’s Comedies (Vernon Press).

Black skin matters : the significance of color in early modern England

This book explores the impact of stereotypical concepts associated with black skin color in representations of black people during the English Renaissance, namely Shakespeare's Othello (Othello), Aaron (Titus Andronicus), Caliban (The Tempest), Rosaline (Love's Labour's Lost), and the "dark lady" (Sonnets). Ultimately, this book demonstrates how Shakespeare, and texts of select English Renaissance authors, retaliate against traditional stereotypical, mythical, or colonial representations of black people -- representations stemming from distinct resentments for black skin color, hegemonic notions of black inferiority, and opportunistic ambitions deriving from collective concepts of white superiority. These very early postcolonial-minded authors foreshadow modern postcolonial philosophers as they factually assess psychological patterns associated with early modern black people who endure racial discrimination, subjugation, and assimilation. Their literature contrasts previous and contemporary colonial works which fail to reference or utilize fact over racial myth when creating representations of black individuals.