Summary of The Vagina Monologues
The play, The Vagina Monologues, was written by Eve Ensler in 1996. Rather than following a traditional story line, Ensler uses interviews that she conducted with hundreds of women to create a handful of monologues that create the play. All of the monologues focus on women’s sexuality, particularly how women feel about their own vaginas.
Some of the monologues are quite funny. Ensler asks questions like, “What do you think your vagina would wear?” and “If it could talk, what would your vagina say?” The answers to these questions range from a silk teddy to a comfortable hoodie. Another piece in the play explores the variety of discomforts that vaginas must endure, such as uncomfortable tampons and OBGYN exams. Yet another monologue lists all the different names that people use to refer to vaginas, as well where these names come from.
Several of the monologues are emotional and even disturbing. One deals with rape, and another tells the story of Ensler’s granddaughter’s birth in great detail. Yet another tells the story of a woman who refers to her vagina as a “coochie snoorcher.” The story begins when the woman is about five years old, and her mother tells her to stop scratching herself. Later she sustains a significant injury while jumping on the bed, and another when a boy at school kicks her between the legs. Ultimately, she is raped by a friend of her father’s, and her father shoots him in front of her. Several years later, as a teenager, the girl meets an older woman and they have a sexual relationship. Looking back, the woman feels the sexual relationship helped her to heal emotionally.
The Vagina Monologues goes into great detail about women’s bodies as well as their sexuality. The play is funny, moving, disturbing, and shocking. The main idea of the play is Ensler’s hope that by encouraging women to talk openly about these things, we can break down the secrecy and shame associated with all aspects of the vagina.
Works Cited
Ensler, Eve. The Vagina Monologues. New York: Villard, 2001. Print.
