By Any Other Name Summary, Characters and Themes
By Any Other Name, Jodi Picoult’s 2024 novel, skillfully interweaves the lives of two playwrights separated by centuries but united in their struggle for recognition. Melina Green, a contemporary playwright in New York City, and Emilia Bassano, a forgotten talent from Elizabethan England, both face the limitations imposed by gender.
Emilia secretly writes many of Shakespeare’s plays, while Melina contends with a male-dominated theater industry. As their stories unfold, Picoult explores themes of identity, authorship, and the challenges women face when trying to claim their creative voices in a world reluctant to acknowledge them.
Summary
In By Any Other Name, the stories of Melina Green and Emilia Bassano unfold across different centuries, linked by their passion for playwriting and their shared fight for artistic recognition in male-dominated worlds.
In present-day New York, Melina Green, a college student and aspiring playwright, struggles to gain credibility for her work.
Her first attempt at public recognition goes awry when she submits a play critiquing her professor’s inappropriate behavior, only to face rejection from both him and a powerful critic, Jasper Tolle, who dismisses her work as immature.
Disheartened but determined, Melina moves to New York City with her best friend, Andre, to pursue her career. As she begins to explore her family’s history, she stumbles upon the story of her ancestor, Emilia Bassano, a woman who lived in Elizabethan England and, as Melina uncovers, secretly penned many of William Shakespeare’s famous plays.
Inspired, Melina embarks on writing a play about Emilia’s life, titling it By Any Other Name.
Meanwhile, the novel traces the life of Emilia Bassano in 16th-century England. Born to a family of Italian musicians and hiding her Jewish heritage due to religious persecution, Emilia is forced into becoming the mistress of Lord Hunsdon at just 13 years old.
Though initially resentful of her situation, Emilia gradually finds her footing, with Hunsdon supporting her interest in writing poetry. Despite the societal limitations placed on women, Emilia forms a friendship with playwright Christopher Marlowe, who helps her secretly write and produce plays.
Unable to publish under her own name, Emilia strikes a deal with William Shakespeare, allowing him to take credit for her work while she remains in the shadows.
In New York, Melina faces a dilemma when Andre submits her play to a contest under a male pseudonym, knowing that the competition director only produces work by men.
To complicate matters, Jasper, the critic who previously dismissed her, is also involved in the production.
As Melina grows closer to Jasper, she begins to understand his bluntness is not cruelty but rather a reflection of his neurodivergence. Their evolving relationship complicates her plans to reveal the ruse and forces her to reconsider how much of herself she’s willing to sacrifice for success.
Back in Elizabethan England, Emilia’s life becomes increasingly difficult. Married to a cruel man named Alphonso and raising their son, she continues to write plays while enduring abuse.
Though she briefly rekindles a romance with the Earl of Southampton, she ultimately prioritizes her son’s safety and survival over her personal happiness. Over time, Emilia accepts the harsh reality that while her writing may endure, it will do so without her name attached to it.
Years later, Melina reconnects with Jasper after their relationship soured due to a misinterpreted article.
Now the artistic director of a theater that champions women and nonbinary playwrights, Jasper offers Melina the chance to produce her play at last. The novel concludes with the successful staging of By Any Other Name, paying tribute to Emilia and finally giving her the recognition she deserved.
Characters
Melina Green
Melina Green is a young playwright in contemporary New York City, grappling with issues of identity, recognition, and self-expression. Throughout the novel, Melina’s journey mirrors her ancestor Emilia’s struggle in a different time period.
Initially, Melina’s insecurity and fear of rejection prevent her from embracing her authentic voice. She is deeply scarred by a negative experience during her college years, where her play—rooted in personal experiences—is dismissed by both her professor and Jasper Tolle, a prominent critic.
The discouragement she faces because her work is deemed “juvenile” and too feminine pushes her to doubt her place in a male-dominated industry. As the story unfolds, Melina discovers the story of Emilia Bassano, a talented playwright and poet whose works were overshadowed by William Shakespeare.
This connection to her ancestor becomes a source of inspiration, motivating Melina to write a play, By Any Other Name, based on Emilia’s life. However, Melina’s struggle with self-worth and societal expectations culminates in her decision to submit her work under a male pseudonym.
This choice reflects the pressures women continue to face in the creative world, where male voices are often seen as more credible or valuable. Throughout her journey, Melina develops a complex relationship with Jasper, which transitions from antagonism to admiration.
Although they eventually connect intellectually and romantically, the complexities of gender, race, and professional integrity challenge their relationship. Melina’s story is one of growth, as she ultimately learns to stand up for herself, reconcile with her identity, and find success on her terms.
Emilia Bassano
Emilia Bassano, a historical figure reimagined in Picoult’s novel, represents the marginalized voices of women in Elizabethan England. As a talented poet and playwright, Emilia’s brilliance is constrained by the societal norms of her time, which do not allow women to publicly engage in artistic or intellectual pursuits.
Born into a world of musicians and with Jewish heritage, Emilia navigates both class and religious obstacles while fighting for her creative voice. Orphaned at a young age and raised by the Countess of Kent, she occupies an ambiguous social position, neither fully belonging to the upper class nor the lower.
Her relationship with Henry Carey, Lord Hunsdon, a much older man, serves as a pragmatic response to her limited options. Though Hunsdon is kind and encourages her writing, Emilia is still bound by the societal expectation that women should remain behind the scenes.
Her friendship with Christopher Marlowe and eventual arrangement with Shakespeare to produce her plays under his name illustrate how she uses her intellect to navigate a patriarchal system that refuses to acknowledge her talent. Emilia’s passionate but doomed love affair with the Earl of Southampton further emphasizes her limitations within this world.
Her class and gender keep her from pursuing true fulfillment. Despite these hardships, Emilia remains resilient, continuing to write in secret, raise her son Henry, and endure an abusive marriage to Alphonso.
After Shakespeare’s death, Emilia carves out a new path for herself, teaching, brewing ale, and raising her grandchildren. Her enduring strength and belief that her plays will survive, even without her name attached, make her a poignant figure of perseverance.
Jasper Tolle
Jasper Tolle is introduced as Melina’s antagonist, a well-known critic who initially dismisses her work as “juvenile” and lacks an appreciation for female-centered narratives. His cold, blunt manner seems to stem from arrogance, and his initial critique of Melina’s play leaves a lasting impact on her sense of self-worth.
However, as the novel progresses, Picoult deepens Jasper’s character, revealing that his bluntness is a result of being neurodivergent, which affects his ability to read social cues. This layer of complexity changes the reader’s perception of him, turning him from a villain into a nuanced individual with his own set of challenges.
As Melina gets to know Jasper, she realizes that he is not as cruel as she initially believed. His passion for theater and intellectual connection with Melina bring the two closer, and Jasper becomes an advocate for her work.
Even if he inadvertently contributes to her downfall by allowing an article to be edited in a way that casts Melina in a negative light, their relationship illustrates the complications of power dynamics, trust, and gender in both personal and professional contexts. Ultimately, Jasper’s growth is demonstrated through his role in the Athena Playhouse, where he ensures that voices like Melina’s are heard.
Andre
Andre is Melina’s best friend and confidant, providing both comic relief and emotional support throughout her journey. He is a foil to Melina’s self-doubt, being more assertive and confident in the face of societal pressures.
His decision to submit Melina’s play under a male pseudonym, though questionable in its ethics, comes from a place of care, wanting to see her succeed despite the industry’s inherent biases. Andre represents the support systems women often rely on but also shows the limits of such relationships when they become enmeshed in deceit.
His frustrations with Melina, especially as the ruse deepens, highlight his own ethical boundaries and desire for transparency. As a playwright himself, Andre’s own career trajectory parallels Melina’s, though his success is not plagued by the same obstacles of gender discrimination.
Their friendship is tested throughout the novel, particularly when Andre becomes angry with Melina for dragging out the lie about her identity. In the end, their reconciliation is one of the most emotionally satisfying aspects of the novel, emphasizing the importance of genuine support and honesty in relationships.
Alphonso
Alphonso, Emilia’s husband, is the embodiment of the societal oppression faced by women in the Elizabethan era. Cruel, abusive, and controlling, he strips Emilia of her autonomy and turns her into property, a fate shared by many women of the time.
His violent tendencies and frequent absences make life difficult for Emilia, who must constantly navigate his moods and protect herself and her son from his wrath. Alphonso’s character serves as a stark contrast to the kindness of Henry Carey and the passion of Southampton, emphasizing the limited options available to women like Emilia.
Despite the abuse, Emilia finds ways to survive, using her intelligence and resilience to carve out a life for herself beyond Alphonso’s control.
The Earl of Southampton
The Earl of Southampton is Emilia’s lover and a symbol of the unattainable for women of her class. His youth, beauty, and position in society make him an alluring figure, but the rigid social hierarchy prevents them from being together.
Their relationship is passionate but doomed from the start, and Southampton’s eventual marriage to a woman of his own status marks the end of Emilia’s dreams of love. Despite this, Southampton’s love for Emilia is genuine, and their relationship, while brief, provides her with some happiness in a world otherwise filled with hardship.
His departure, along with the loss of their child, forces Emilia to confront the limitations imposed on her and to find purpose in other aspects of her life.
Themes
The Intersection of Gender, Power, and Artistic Identity in Patriarchal Structures
Jodi Picoult’s By Any Other Name presents a deep exploration of the ways in which gender and power intersect within patriarchal frameworks, particularly in creative industries. Both Melina Green and Emilia Bassano find themselves oppressed by a male-dominated society that refuses to take women’s contributions seriously, especially in the arts.
In contemporary New York, Melina faces the gendered biases of a theater industry that dismisses plays written by women, forcing her to adopt a male pseudonym to be taken seriously. Her experience illustrates the persistent challenge women face in gaining professional recognition, regardless of talent, when societal gatekeepers, often male, dismiss their work based on preconceived notions of what women’s art should be.
The narrative does not shy away from highlighting how these biases are rooted in deep-seated misogyny, which punishes women for stepping outside traditional, acceptable roles. In Elizabethan England, Emilia’s struggle is compounded by her lower social class and Jewish heritage, which further restrict her agency.
The fact that Emilia has to publish her work under William Shakespeare’s name underscores the historical erasure of women’s voices in literature and the arts. It also reveals how patriarchal power structures suppress female creativity while appropriating it for their own benefit.
The parallel between Emilia and Melina suggests that, although society has evolved, patriarchal systems remain alarmingly intact. These systems continue to force women into subservience or anonymity for their work to be acknowledged.
The Fragmentation of Female Agency and Identity Through Societal Expectations
The novel also explores the fragmentation of female agency and identity, as both protagonists struggle to define themselves in societies that demand conformity to specific gender roles. Emilia’s life is shaped by her inability to claim her own voice in public, not only because of societal expectations that women should not write plays, but also because of her status as a wife and mother.
The forced marriage to Alphonso, a cruel and abusive man, becomes a symbol of her legal and social status as property. Her brief affair with Southampton, a rare expression of personal desire, is ultimately shaped by societal norms that prevent them from ever being together due to their class differences.
Melina’s identity is similarly fragmented. Her struggle to be seen for who she truly is as a playwright forces her into a form of artistic self-erasure, as she allows Andre to take credit for her work and pretends to be someone she is not.
Her relationship with Jasper becomes fraught with tension as she grapples with the societal pressure to meet expectations. The novel’s thematic concern with identity highlights how deeply societal expectations disrupt the self and how the search for authentic expression is consistently undermined by external forces.
The Complexity of Intersectional Oppression and Resistance in Both Historical and Contemporary Contexts
Intersectionality forms a critical thematic foundation in By Any Other Name, emphasizing how oppression is rarely experienced along a single axis of identity. Emilia, a Jewish woman in Elizabethan England, must navigate not only the limitations imposed by her gender, but also those arising from her religion and social class.
This creates a compounded form of marginalization, where her Jewish identity, though kept secret for her safety, informs her precarious standing in society. She is consistently under threat, both from the religious persecution of the time and the gendered constraints placed upon her.
In contemporary New York, Melina faces a different but no less complex form of intersectional oppression. The novel critiques how the intersections of race, gender, and privilege affect the theater industry, with Melina’s experiences often framed through the lens of gender inequity.
However, when Jasper’s article is edited to focus on race rather than gender, the novel points to a broader critique of how public conversations on oppression can become simplified. Picoult provides a nuanced exploration of how gender and racial politics intersect in both overt and subtle ways, emphasizing that liberation for one group cannot come at the expense of another.
The Subversion of Male-Centric Literary History and the Reclaiming of Lost Female Voices
One of the most significant themes in By Any Other Name is the novel’s challenge to the male-dominated history of literature, particularly through the figure of William Shakespeare. The revelation that Emilia may have written some of Shakespeare’s plays serves as a metaphor for the countless women whose contributions to art, literature, and society have been systematically erased or claimed by men.
Picoult uses this narrative device not just to question the authorship of specific works, but to critique the broader historical erasure of women’s intellectual and creative labor. The intertwining of Melina and Emilia’s stories further subverts the traditional, male-centric literary canon, suggesting that women’s voices have always been present, though often muted or appropriated.
Emilia’s life, both her successes and tragedies, becomes a symbol of the countless women whose artistic legacies have been lost. This historical revisionism is echoed in Melina’s decision to write a play about Emilia’s life, creating a modern reclamation of her ancestor’s contributions to literature.
In this sense, the novel is not just about rediscovering a lost voice but about reclaiming a space for women in the historical and contemporary narratives that shape culture and society.
The Burden of Expectation and the Cost of Authenticity in Artistic Expression
Another prominent theme is the burden of expectation placed on both Melina and Emilia to conform to society’s ideas of what constitutes “acceptable” art. Emilia is forced to hide her plays behind Shakespeare’s name because Elizabethan society deems female playwrights unacceptable.
Similarly, Melina is pushed to the margins of the theater world because her work is seen as too feminine or too personal to be taken seriously. The novel examines how these societal expectations limit the scope of artistic expression for women, forcing them to compromise their authenticity in order to succeed.
Melina’s journey demonstrates the cost of this compromise, as she grapples with the moral and emotional consequences of allowing Andre to take credit for her work. Picoult explores how, for women in the arts, authenticity is often a luxury that they cannot afford if they hope to succeed in male-dominated industries.
The novel ultimately raises the question of whether it is possible to achieve both personal authenticity and professional success when the structures of power are so heavily stacked against female artists.
The Role of Intellectual and Emotional Connection in Defying Social and Artistic Barriers
Finally, Picoult explores the theme of intellectual and emotional connection as a means of defying the social and artistic barriers that confine both Melina and Emilia. Despite the obstacles they face, both women find solace and inspiration in relationships with other like-minded individuals.
Emilia’s friendship with Christopher Marlowe, though ultimately transactional, allows her to navigate the dangerous waters of the Elizabethan theater world. Similarly, Melina’s eventual connection with Jasper offers her a form of intellectual partnership that transcends the gendered expectations of their world.
Their witty banter and shared love of theater become a means of bridging the divide that separates them. The novel suggests that while societal structures may seek to divide and oppress, personal connections can provide the strength and support necessary to resist these forces.
However, these connections are not always easy or straightforward, as Melina’s falling-out with Andre demonstrates. True connection requires honesty, vulnerability, and a willingness to challenge the status quo, and Picoult portrays this as both a difficult and rewarding path for her characters to follow.