Billy's Relationships with women of his own age in the play 'Billy Liar' - Why does each of them ultimately fail?

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Billy’s Relationships with women of his own age in the play ‘Billy Liar’

Why does each of them ultimately fail?

In the play ‘Billy Liar’, Billy manages to engage himself to two women simultaneously whilst having an affair with a third at the same time. In this essay I will focus on each individuals characteristics and their reactions to different aspects of Billy’s actions. For starters I will monitor each characters responses to Billy’s consistent lying, their individual motivation and who has more control over the relationship in hand. The three women’s attitudes to sex and marriage and lastly the issue over whether the individual relationships will succeed or fail in the future to come, will be in addition thoroughly looked over.

From Rita’s attitude we can see that she comes from a poor background or at least a lower class to Billy’s rank in society. She is able to see straight through Billy’s lies with a casual ease picked up from the regular nights spent with ‘friendly airmen’, she is also streetwise in a way quite different from the other two.

Barbara on the other hand is entirely on the other end of the spectrum to Rita. Billy’s lies commonly deceive her and she only manages to spot the blatant remarks that are too obvious to mistake for anything else. When she realises the joke put upon her she reacts with pity and sorrow “you haven’t been lying to me Billy have you?”

This is unlike Liz, as she is the one person Billy has feelings for. She has control over him in a way unique to the others because she has a method, stopping his lying instantaneously using different expressions to show her feelings about his habit.

        LIZ: [changing the subject] How’s the book coming along?

Join now!

BILLY: [enthusiastically] Oh, I’ve finished it. It’s going to be published next Christmas. [She gives him a long, steady look.]

I haven’t started writing it yet.

Because of the class divide in existence between the engaged couple Rita’s motivation for liking Billy comes solely from the desire to make it to a higher position within the social structure. On the other hand Billy’s passion for Rita comes from her easiness to seduce and animal passion in response. However the problem with this specific case is the motivation is only skin deep, Rita is consistently criticising Billy’s actions with remarks ...

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