Woman. One of the greatest creations of God's will or what your religion says. However, it still does not matter at all what is written in your sanctuary book. You just can not argue with that. Look around. They are everywhere, in every part of the world.
Even while the human being exists for more that couple of million years, a woman's role in society is still being discussed. Should she take the lead position in the family or not? Is feminism good or not? And many other questions are still left without an answer. There is no absolute statement why woman exists beyond her necessity in the process of reproduction.
Mankind has always been seeking answers. If at the beginning of times it was how to find more food, now people consider about moral part of genetic research. Along with that, the statement which purpose is to explain the problem of woman's position at the community is also being looked for.
The love motive, any motive that is somehow connected with the woman - these have been the first of the topics for the dramaturgs whose plays are now called classical and for those who has kept these traditions untouchable through centuries, some of them even until now. We will compare the depiction of female characters and discuss the woman's role in society, using plays of Tennessee Williams, Sophocles, and, of course, William Shakespeare.
At first, let's speak about Midsummer Night's Dream written by Shakespeare. Another good example of his classical repertoire, however, with its own differences. Unlike many of his plays, this one has its own plot. Shakespearean plays are still popular. Even more, they are still being played a lot. So this particular creation author’s does.
There are two conflicts inside this play. The outside one is between Oberon and Titania, the inside one – love triangle between Demetrius, Lysander and Hermia. It is forced with real (Egeus's will to marry his daughter with Demetrius) and unreal (the magic flower, struck with Cupid's arrow) factors. Things keep going more crazy as the magic flower is used again and again to make people fall in love with first creature met.
The female characters here are Helena, Hermia and Titania. Helena and Hermia were best friends since their school days. However, the love was the hottest dream of Helena, and she sacrificed their friendship by telling Demetrius about Hermia and Lysander's plan to escape from the Athens, hoping for changing their relationship with Demetrius.
Unlike Helena, Hermia shows the constance of love. At first she refused to believe that Lysander has changed the choice. The turn passed too fast. And it shows that true love cannot be changed like the pair of socks.
Titania is the ruler of fairies, and Oberon is her husband. Their conflict's object is Titania's adopted son and Oberon wants him to be his henchman. He uses the magic flower with the intention to make Titatia fall in love with some wild animal. Then he wanted to dispel the charms and to get the henchman while Titania was shocked. And it happens. Being influenced by the magic flower, she fell in love with Bottom, one of the actors of the play for duke's marriage. When dispelled, Titania considers that as a crazy dream (Bottom had a donkey's head thanks to Puck's actions).
The next on order is Oedipus Rex (also known as Oedipus The King), written by Sophocles and first performed in far 429 BC. The plot is based on a myth about Oedipus, who killed his father and married his own mother.
Lauis, the king of Thebes and Jocasta had no children, so Lauis went to a Delphian oracle to find out why. He discovers that his son will kill him and marry his own mother, Jocasta. When the baby was born, Lauis ordered a slave to stub boy's legs and carry him to the forest to be eaten by wild animals there. However, slave could not do that. He brought the baby to the servant of Corinth king, Polybus. Polibus had no children, so he took the boy as its own and called him Oedipus (“leg-bloated”) because of injured legs.
Oedipus grows. Once one of the drunk guests told him that he was adopted by Polybus. Oedipud decides to go to a Delphian oracle. He uncovers the horrible truth and, in an attempt to avoid the prophecy by not going to his native city, he chooses the first seen road which brings him to Thebes. On the road, he meets an old man, who strikes him with his staff because Oedipus hasn't let him pass. Oedipus strikes him in order and accidentally kills him. This way the first part of the prophecy has become true because that old man was his father, Lauis.
Near Thebes Oedipus solves riddle of Sphinx, a creature that demanded many sacrifices from the citizens. He was chosen as the king of Thebes. Also, he marries Lauis's widow and his mother, Jocasta.
Once a great epidemic strikes the city. Oedipus sends Creont, Jocasta's brother to Delphian oracle to find out the reason of it. The salvation from the plague is in exiling Lauis's killer from the city. Citizens suggest asking Teiresias. He says that only the slave of Polybus can reveal the truth. Oedipus is afraid of going back because Polybus's wife, his mother, is still alive. The messenger comes from her with the statement that Oedipus was adopted. Then the slave of Polybus arrives and says how he found him. The truth is revealed to Oedipus. He understands that he killed Lauis while going to Thebes, that he married his own mother Jocasta. He cuts his eyes and becomes blind. Jocasta couldn't live with a thought that she was married to her son, so she kills herself.
Jocasta is the main female character in this play. She makes a mistake, if considering from the human nature and religion. Firstly, she lets her child to be left to die. Secondly, she dishonors the oracle's prophecy twice. Also, when she discovers the truth about Oedipus, she understands that her son was the father of her children. This final thought strikes Jocasta's mind so hard that she commits suicide. She hadn't even made any effort to save the child. She was considering of her life.
The last one here is The Glass Menagerie, written by Tennessee Williams. The author called it a flashback-play. It is a story about Wingfield family and their fragile (as the glass) world. The female characters here are Amanda Wingfield and her daughter Laura. The play consists of loneliness. It is everywhere inside The Glass Menagerie.
Amanda, who was left by her husband, tries to live in a foreign world. But she fails. She just keeps falling into her memories, at the time when she was a socialite person.
Laura, who keeps living in her own little world, created with the “glass menagerie”. She also doesn't want to live it and come back to the reality. Even the Jim O'Connor's appearing changes nothing at all. She fell in love with him when she was a kid in school, she does it again. But Jim was going to marry another woman. It crushes Laura's hopes into pieces. She gives Jim a glass unicorn, which lost its horn. “Now it is just like all the other horses,” she says.
So there must be a conclusion to all of this. All the women described above are connected with one thing – they all fell in love. Some of them were lucky to end it happily, unlike Laura, Amanda and Jocasta. But they all pay for their mistakes. Amanda did not do the right thing at the right time to get Laura from her weak imagination. Laura does nothing to make her life, at least a little bit better. Jocasta left her child behind, missed the fate’s warning and died.
However, you should not understand the statement, which was described in the paragraph above, as the gospel truth. The men also make their contribution to that. Egeus wanted to marry her daughter with a man that she didn't love. Amanda's husband left her and her daughter in a complete depression.
The men often forget about the reason why their family was created and about relationship inside it. They also try to put themselves into a heading position. Even when it is approaching to the conflict, their pride just cannot let them accept their own mistakes. Everyone, including women, has its own rights and we managed to form this law just about hundred years ago. Not much time has passed since that, if we were talking about the entire history of humanity. It is more like ablink.
The purpose of creating the family is a real, not mystic, sense of love, peace, safety and the happiness of children. It is also good if you can see that you will never be alone.
The woman's place is near her man. Not before him, not after him. Nearby, supporting each other, caring about each other, making every possible effort to improve their own life and the life of their children. This is the only way to the real happiness. Another answer to the question of meaning of existence. Think about it.
Works Cited
William Shakespeare, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, The Arden Shakespeare 6 Sept, 1979. 15 July 2016.
Tennessee Williams, “The Glass Menagerie”, A New Directions,17 June, 1999. 15 July 2016.
Sophocles, “Oedipus The King” (Translation by F. Storr), Harvard University Press, 1912, 15 July 2016.
