ISSN 2320-5407 International Journal of Advanced Research (2016), Volume 4, Issue 3, 342-353 342 Journal homepage: http://www.journalijar.com INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVANCED RESEARCH RESEARCH ARTICLE The Re-creation of the Past in Edward Bond’s The Woman Amany El-Sawy Manuscript Info Abstract Manuscript History: Received: 14 January 2016 Final Accepted: 22 February 2016 Published Online: March 2016 Key words: Edward Bond, revolutionary theatre, New historicism, sexual politics *Corresponding Author Amany El-Sawy. The author intended in this paper to examine the reasons why Edward Bond in The Woman has focused upon historical, mythical themes and characters. Moreover, the author highlighted how Bond demythologized particular notions of gender by examining social and political issues from a historical perspective. The paper began with some critics‟ theoretical viewpoints concerning history and drama. Then the author discovered by means of close examination of the character relationships and settings how Bond chose to situate the historical characters and events within a network of power, politics, or social choices. Finally, the author clarified how Bond demonstrated in The Woman his interest in a theatre of social change, and how he compels his audience to ask questions about their own time through the issues he raised. . Copy Right, IJAR, 2016,. All rights reserved. Introduction:- Several of Edward Bond‟s plays investigate particular periods of history that have crucially influenced the way contemporary culture operates. For example, in The Woman: Scenes of War and Freedom (1978), Bond delves into the roots of Western civilization, drawing on Classical Greek literature to examine contemporary social and political problems of aggression, oppression, and injustice. These problems, he believes are due to the explosion of particular myths which encourage and justify a competitive, aggressive, and self-destructive society. Such myths which promote competition and aggression become codified values for a repressive and oppressive capitalistic society; moreover, they are, according to Bond, irrational and consequently give license to irrational actions and behavior. i Bond believes that theatre is obligated to investigate the causes of suffering and sources of strength in humanity and society, and emphasizes that theatre must rewrite history to make sense of the future. Thus this paper tries to show how Bond, in The Woman, juxtaposes contemporary issues with issues from the past, not to expose specific historical facts, but to reveal how past heritage lives on and misinforms the present. Bond‟s method of exploring past legacies characterizes his search for and revelation of historical truths; he describes his history plays as “inevitably about my own time. They were an attempt to discover process rather than product” (Bond, Letter). Bond‟s search for the roots of injustice and oppression in social relations makes him a ke y figure among recent British playwrights who are seeking to create a transformational and revolutionary theatre, encouraging the investigation of models for change and, in some cases, promoting new images of cultural practices. Historical Drama and Bond’s Myth:- Recent historians such as Hayden White have brought attention to the problem of understanding historical works as verbal structures in the form of narrative prose discourses. His studies have concentrated upon the poetic elements in historiography and the philosophy of history. In considering history as a mixture of science and art, he suggests that it has slighted the artistic component of historical writing (Metahistory 11-13). In debating the proper role of history as a discipline, White sees historical writing as being: