emanates chiefly from Renaissance understanding of Dido and Aeneas, and of Mars and Venus myths” – and the use of poetry and language Shakespeare uses in the play. Her book ultimately connects the history of Antony and Cleopatra with the events depicted in Shakespeare’s play, and investigates how Shakespeare portrays the story, in terms of his use of language and character development. === Suffocating Mothers: Fantasies of Maternal Origin in Shakespeare's Plays, 'Hamlet' to 'The Tempest === With her dominant interests in psychoanalysis, gender, and race, Adelman writes Suffocating Mothers, exploring the depiction of females in Shakespeare’s works and the dominating effects of the maternal identity over the masculine characters. In short, the focus is on “the nightmare of femaleness that can weaken and contaminate masculinity."<ref name="AdelmanMothers">Adelman, Janet. Suffocating Mothers: Fantasies of Maternal Origins in Shakespeare's Plays, 'Hamlet' to 'The Tempest'''. New York and London: Routledge, 1992.</ref> In Shakespeare’s plays, it is often seen that the maternal body has been seen to contaminate both the father and the son. Adelman’s book focuses on a handful of Shakespeare’s works: Hamlet, Troilus and Cressida, Othello, All's Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure, King Lear, Macbeth, Coriolanus, Timon of Athens, and Antony and Cleopatra. Adelman focuses on either the role of the maternal figure of the play or the lack of one, and the effects on the male characters. Hamlet’s view is affected with the role of his mother as the adulterous female, and in Othello, the male imagination is corrupted with the idea of female betrayal. Even in "King Lear", with the absence of a mother in the play, females take on the dominant role over King Lear, the presence threatening “to overwhelm male authority and selfhood." Adelman’s Suffocating Mothers goes deeper into her psychoanalysis of Shakespeare’s maternal characters, emphasizing the effects of the image of the corrupt mother and female on the male identity and the masculinity of the characters."Review", The University of Chicago Press. Vol 20, No 1. Autumn, 1994. pp. 228-232. Web. === Blood Relations: Christian and Jew in 'The Merchant of Venice === In a religious reading of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, Adelman focuses on Shakespeare's unique representation of the historical conflict between Christianity and Judaism during the time. Shylock is the principal Jewish character along with his family including Jessica, his daughter, who elopes with Lorenzo and converts to Christianity. Adelman points out the great