vagina as a symbol
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Vagina is not a word heard in everyday conversation. But Eve Ensler, an outspoken New York playwright, changes all of this with her groundbreaking production of The Vagina Monologues. Beginning merely as a piece of performance art created from hundreds of interviews with women from all walks of life, it gained recognition because of its taboo subject material and humorous execution. This sudden success catches Ensler off guard, but is not completely unexpected. She explains, "when women realized they had permission to scream about having a clitoris, they went crazy" (Peyser 1). Ensler liberates our confining view of the vagina from a medical term to a surprisingly necessary part of being a complete woman. With her simple stage setting, her dynamic word choice, and her variety of tone Eve Ensler emphasizes the vagina as being an all-encompassing symbol of womanhood.
Ensler uses scarcity of stage setting to bring emphasis to what she is really trying to say. She sits on a stool, center stage. The stage is totally dark except for a spotlight illuminating her...