Describe and compare Brimstone and Treacle with Death and the Maiden
Brimstone and Treacle is a play set in the time when England was dominated by the industrial revolution. It is based on a young woman who was involved in a car accident and is left very disabled. A man, who appears to the family as her boyfriend, comes to the house and lives with her. Te gullible parents allow him to stay and then the plot unfolds. We read the final scene of the play, where flares of all of the characters personality really show. The supposed “fiancé” is with the parents in the evening, talking about issues that have been affecting them. One of the main points he makes is racist, infact so much so the father has to excuse him. You already can tell that there is an underlying, sickening streak in the fiancé’s personality. The parents then leave the couple alone, in which time the fiancé rapes the girl. There are several suggestions that this is not the first time. The girl, who begins to scream, startles him. He runs away just as the parents arrive. While they tend to their abused child, she begins to speak. I think that the writer has based this play on society. There are several references to the government and race in it. I think that he is trying to show how corrupt and unequal the society is, however sweet and genuine it appears to be. He also tells us very plainly at the end, that they can always get away with it and the suffering people have to learn to live with it. It can also apply to other smaller societies, that why it is so attractive. The writer, in my opinion, used this one family so that it can broaden the horizon for the audience, and so that they can fit it in to their own lives.
