“Why did ye desert me for another one?”
“Can you say I’m not pretty, Tony? Now look at me.” These quotes clearly show that Unity is confident, or maybe desperate!
The second lady Milly seems to be far more gentle and loving.She did as Tony asked and met him en route home, although it seemed to have slipped his mind. They looked at nature and scenery together romantic in its own way, and followed a pleasant conversation together (although Tony was really avoiding marriage talk because of his passenger). Milly had obviously accepted Tony as he was, and he was described as having a little tight round face and it was scared by small pox he didn’t laugh freely but looked rather serious. She referred to him as ‘my dear Tony’ and he calls her ‘dear’ although the first lady was greeted with ‘Darling’. This clearly shows he is a charmer and smooth operator.
Hannah Jolliver the third lady was the most beautiful and knew it. She was forward in asking for a lift and because she was watching out from the window, maybe she was planning this meeting. Hannah Jolliver was his first love and he was still amazed by her beauty he would surely have been overwhelmed by her advances if it weren’t for his secret passengers.
All the characters have respect for their parents proved when Tony tells his father of his dilemma and asked his advice “Now which would you marry father?” upon receiving the advice of his father he chose not to listen, but this was almost the finish of him. Hannah Jolliver’s father said she was not to marry Tony and although it broke her heart she walked away. Milly the soft gentle lady afraid of being alone took Tony for better or for worse.
Tickets Please by D.H Lawrence is a very similar story again a flirtatious seductive man showing total domination over women but he did underestimate their strength when they pulled together.
The story set in the Midlands the cold Industrial part of England sets a bleak picture of life and John Thomas Raynor or John Thomas as he was known was the only good thing in the lady tram ticket collectors day. Life was hard almost undesirable but the ladies learned how to cope with ‘howling colliers’, ‘an antiphony of obscenities’ and ‘youths trying to evade the ticket machines’ the total opposite of the first story. Annie the main character in the story knew John Thomas had his faults, but she gave him a chance one night at the fair. They had a great night and Infact she became involved with him and in so doing deceived her regular boy friend. Life had changed from the nineteenth century when women were subservient now they were able to freely court men and it wasn’t frowned upon.
Annie made a big mistake by showing she was not just a girl to be played with but that she was a lady with intelligence and this threatened John Thomas as he was losing control and so he dumped Annie. Without any feelings for how upset she might be he started on his next conquest. Annie was ‘furious’ ‘desolate’ and ‘miserable’. This is where the story becomes quite different as the women take total control and decide to teach John Thomas a lesson, one, which will probably change his lifestyle forever. When the girls got aggressive with him he became powerless and had to succumb to their wishes and choose from them. However he held the trump card because by choosing Annie he knew he would escape, Annie would not have him now she was far too proud.
In conclusion the two stories show many similarities. Both are about lust and deception and that a smooth tongue or charm can win a women’s heart, and in the two stories these were the key issues. However women have come a long way and no longer have to make do with the first man who shows an interest in them or someone their father says they have to marry. Women have become strong in mind, feelings and stature. They have had to live in a man’s world and so have adapted themselves for it. The leisurely lady of ‘Tom Kytes The Arch deceiver’ the lady who accepts the word of her father or believes her man when she can see the deception in front of her has been long lost in ‘Tickets Please’. The twentieth century woman has become a worker she has had to face up to aggression in her job and is now showing that she can have power in relationships too.
