Feminism theory is a diverse aggregation of several other theories such as societal, political motions and moral doctrines. The feminism theory usual revolves around gender and gender. Of peculiar involvement here is the gender equality as refering to adult females rights and gender specific in countries of political, societal, economic and jurisprudence rights. The chief purpose of feminism is to grok the bing inequality and pay close involvement on how to heighten the same. The advocators of new feminism include Mercedes Gutierrez, Janne H. Matlary and Mary Anne Glendon.
Modern women’s rightist theory has been criticized as being preponderantly, but non entirely, associated with Western middle-class academe. Feminist activism, nevertheless, is a grass-roots motion that seeks to traverse boundaries based on societal category, race, civilization, and faith. It is culturally specific and addresses issues relevant to the adult females of that society: for illustration female Circumcision in Sudan or the glass ceiling in developed economic systems. Some issues, such as colza, incest, and mothering, are cosmopolitan ( Hoeveler, 1998 ) . Feminism has had three major alterations. It started in the nineteenth century to Abolition Movement in the mid of nineteenth century and is still turning even to 3rd universe states.
Dramatists such as Shakespeare, Tennessee Williams among others have captured some facets of gender related issues in their plants. Most of the cosmopolitan subjects they explore include male laterality, adult females seen as objects, peculiar sexual object and besides subjugation in footings of labour, economically etc. In this essay, the focal point is on The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. This drama demonstrates some gender sensitive issues particular in pick and usage of characters, symbols and their concealed significances, nonliteral linguistic communication usage among other literary devices.
Feminism theory will concentrate on how female characters are impacted by male characters, or how their interaction helps us understand adult females ‘s place ; any mark of a patriarchal society ; expression for symbols, imagination or other literary elements related to the gender issues.
In the drama The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams use both male and female characters which exhibit some signifiers of gender related issues peculiar in feminism position. Three chief characters used in this essay which will assist us understand the drama from feminism point of position are Amanda Wingfield, Laura WingfieldA and Tom Wingfield. Other characters are every bit of import in development of feminism theory in the drama, but will concentrate on the above.
Amanda Wingfield is the female parent of Tom and Mary. A individual female parent raising her childs through the aid of Tom. She is a adult female who is stark in past memory of her childhood and upbringing and unable to accommodate to the modern universe. She is financially unstable unlike in the past and must trust on the support of her boy, Tom to back up them holding been abandoned by the hubby. This demonstrates female trusting excessively much on the male in the society to supply for them and the household. Amanda besides shows that adult females are weak and unable to travel on and accommodate to modern worlds, instead they live in universe of phantasies and semblance clinging to the good yesteryear. Tennessee besides portrays adult females as nagging. This is shown when Amanda invariably nags Tom to convey a suer for Laura, ( Scene 6 ) .
Amanda believes that merely a adult male can take them out of their painful world. She nags Tom to convey companies to get married Laura. She believes that a adult male ‘s function is to back up a adult female. This will vouch her girl ‘s hereafter. In patriarch society, adult females believe that it ‘s the male who dominate, and therefore it is their duty to take them out of it. When this fails to go on, adult females will retreat to fantasize and semblance.
Laura WingfieldA is the girl of Amanda and a sister to Tom. She is the centre of the drama and really of import for feminist attack to this drama. She has a pure compassion to everyone. Amanda describes her has non selfish and grudging. She is selflessness ( Scene 2 )
Several symbols in the drama allude to Laura. She is better placed to conveying out the elements of feminism in the drama. She is portrayed has delicate and delicate merely like the glass. To this, Tennessee shows that adult females are delicate merely like objects and can easy interrupt more so where their emotional feelings are involved. Jim calls Laura the “ Blue Roses ” , to demo her unusualness and attraction. Roses are attractive yet really delicate flowers. Work force refer to adult females as attractive things and extremely delicate ( Scene 7 ) .
The glass unicorn is Laura ‘s valuable aggregation. This shows her unusualness. Jim tells Laura that unicorns are long nonextant. Laura excessively is unfit to populate in her present universe. The unicorn is ephemeral during the dance. Jim kisses Laura and the unicorn interruptions and remains without horns. She gives it Jim, ( Scene 7 ) . This scene demonstrates the dependence of adult females particularly when their hopes are shattered by their possible suers. It like Jim destroyed Laura ‘s life emotionally. Work force are capable of shattering adult females ‘s dreams.
Laura ‘s glass menagerie is the most of import symbol used in the drama. Her aggregations are delicate, unusual and about out of manner merely like her personality. The glass displays different colourss when visible radiation is subjected to it. This depends on how you choose to look at it. This portray of adult females in different positions shows that adult females mean different things to different people depending on how you look at them. The menagerie is colourful which serves as flight path to fantasize. Both Tom and Jim think that Laura is more unusual to the universe. To them, Laura can be anything they want her to be. This is how work forces view adult females, ( Scene 5 ) .
Tom Wingfield is the most of import male figure in the drama. Tom is a brother to Laura. Tom will be used to show the male patriarchal society positions on their female opposite numbers. Tom is a poet and a really hard character to understand. He is the character whose drama is told from his remembrances. He sometimes engages the audience straight. Amanda says that he is non a budding man of affairs. He usually escapes to films at dark. He is the male figure of Wingfield family and responsible for their public assistance. He wants to get away this function and finally does it, but this action haunts him because of the love he has for Laura, Amanda and his occupation. Women burden work forces with the functions of taking their attention. Tom going from his place causes emotional convulsion to Amanda and Laura, whom some reviews argue that he could be in love with them making moral deductions. When Amanda discovers that Jim has a girlfriend, he accuses Tom of playing a gag on them. This shatters her hopes of of all time acquiring a suer for her girl. Jim describes himself as a demigod. This is unlike adult females in the drama who are trapped in solitariness and poorness, ( Scene 7 ) .
Tennessee Williams shows that adult females are truly concerned about snagging things and the society is male dominated. Womans have to depend on work forces for their societal, economical and emotional well being. The drama reveals that adult females tend to get away their quandaries by fall backing to nostalgia of childhood memories or escape through aggregation of delicates things which they consider really much valuable. The women’s rightist battle has still much to accomplish in their pursuit for gender equality. This drama can besides uncover that to some extent, adult females are their ain oppressors. The intervention of adult females in the society is stuck deep in the traditions and do non hold anything to make with work forces.
