P9. Will: " …( He moves his lips as he tries to spell it out. )
Mrs. H "… Cant you read
Will "I do a bit. Only its such funny writing."
It is ironic when Mrs Hepworth walks in to the shop and talks to Hobson as he would normally speak to a woman. He speaks to his daughters as if they are items, and that he owns them. Because they are woman he decides everything for them, if they will marry, whom they will marry, what job they should have and what they should get paid. Yet because Mrs Hepworth woman is better off he speaks to her like she is the queen. The only daughter in the family that seems to have a mind of her own is Maggie. She is ambitious and bossy. Near the end of the act she tells Will that he is going to marry her and wont take no for an answer..
Will seems to have already picked a perfect partner who has the same social status as him. He doesn't see the advantage in marrying a woman like Maggie and still wants to marry Ada. Ada is the same as Will; she is naïve and has a low self-esteem. She wants to marry Will because he will look after her, which is a ridicules idea because Will struggles to look after himself. Maggie seems to think that her reason is much better than Ada's. Maggie wants to marry Will for business, she is a good salesperson and Will is good at making shoes, together they could have a business. After Maggie tells Will that he may kiss her, but Will is scared and virtually runs off.
Everyone is shocked at the end of the first act as Maggie's confidence rubs off onto Will for a moment. Hobson takes off his belt and threatens to beat the love out of Will every day until he refuses Maggie's proposal. Will retaliates and says if he touches him with the belt he will run off with Maggie. But Hobson still hits him. Wills confidence seems to grow with his anger, he quickly kisses Maggie and walks out of the shop.
In act 2 Hobson's business has reduced itself to selling clogs. It turns out Maggie and Will were the backbone of the business after all. Will and Maggie have managed to get a loan off Mrs Hepworth and have opened a shop in two cellars. Wills confidence is steadily growing thanks to Maggie. Maggie taking on Will as a partner probably has had more effect on starting a business than meets the eye. If Will was a girl and they both tried to get a loan they probably wouldn't be able to get one during that time period. Woman's rights were very poor at the time. The woman stayed at home while the men went to work, no one would have given a loan to a woman, and even if they did they would probably be criticized for doing so.
At the end o the scene Will has made his final decision that he will marry Maggie.
In act 3 Will has the confidence to make a speech in front of his new family, but his speaking skills aren't up to scratch and needs help from magi several times.P39-40 Will: "… that the-the-"
Maggie: "( in an undertone) : Generous
Wills character has changed totally. He speaks boldly and confidentially to people instead of speaking in a quite servant like manner, which says to people he is a person that takes charge instead of being a person that takes orders. When he is alone with Maggie he is different, he seem to lookup to her. When Hobson comes he talks to him boldly and Maggie looks to Will as her master.
P44 Maggie: " Will, its my father. Is he to come in? "
Will: " (Loudly and boldly) Aye, let him come.
Because Maggie has had a decent education she can read and write, so she has decided to teach will how to do it. Will own a business so he really needs to be able to read and write.
In act 4 will has become the confident young businessman. The narrator describes Will as he is now.
P47 " Will enters. Maggie follows him. He is not aggressive, but he is prosperous and has self-confidence. Against Alice and Vickey he is consciously mettle.
Hobson tries to make him a cheap proposal of his old job back, and he can live in his house. Will declines his offer straight away and says he will go into partnership with Hobson as long as Will gets to make all the decisions. He has learnt to read and write and is even giving orders to Maggie. At the end Hobson cant believe the change but strangely neither can Will.
I don't think the change is too incredible because it takes place over a year. It is Maggie's confidence that rubs off on Will. Even though that it is possible for someone to undergo such a huge change I don't think Will has actually changed. He is simply pretending to change, in front of everyone else he is a confident young businessman, but when alone with Maggie he is still how he was at the start.
