"You Know the Rules": A Dramatic Experiment in Aromantic Literary Theory

Authors

• April Chronowski, Clark UniversityFollow

Publication Date

5-6-2025

Document Type

Honors Thesis

Faculty Sponsor

Elizabeth Blake

First Advisor

Elizabeth Blake

Second Advisor

Justin Shaw

Degree

English

Course

Honors Thesis

Major

English

Abstract

This paper proposes a new literary theory framework based on the zine "an aromantic manifesto" by yingchen and yingtong, as well as the work of Erving Goffman, using theater as a device to examine romantic relationships. Blending English and sociology, I focus each chapter on a different literary period and examine two plays each: early modern (Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus and William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing), modern (Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Djuna Barnes' "To The Dogs"), and contemporary (Caryl Churchill's Cloud 9 and Margaret Edson's W;t). In tandem with analysis of formal elements---like soliloquy and stage direction---I also draw connections between the plays and conventions of marriage, gender, and romance from each time period. Additionally, each chapter analyzes an alternative relational structure: Queer Platonic Partnerships, spinsterhood, and relationship anarchy. This analysis strives to conceptualize how we may use literature to deconstruct social norms and abolish the oppressive structures of romance and marriage in order to build a world better suited to our needs.

Keywords

aromantic, queer, drama, plays, theater, sociology, Erving Goffman

Recommended Citation

Chronowski, April, ""You Know the Rules": A Dramatic Experiment in Aromantic Literary Theory" (2025). English. 8.
https://commons.clarku.edu/undergraduate_english/8

Rights

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.