shalt thou be ranked amongst my friends and benefactors.”
Another traditionally contrasting role is that of Jason. In Athenian society the
most important male values and qualities were those of bravery, personal
honour, competitiveness and power, none of which are displayed by Jason in
Euripides’ play. He is portrayed against tradition and inconsistently with his
reputation as a hero, as a considerably weaker character compared to that of
Medea.
This is illustrated in the elaborate confrontation between the two characters in
which Jason explains his reasons for leaving Medea, almost pleading his case,
only to be strongly rejected by Medea who unconventionally refuses to be taken
in by Jason’s excuses. “Away with cowardice! Give not one thought to thy
babes, how dear they are or how thou art their mother.”
This unusual lack of male heroisms shown by Jason allows Medea to
overshadow his prominence by showing that she is skilled in the male ability to
argue and debate.
It is later that Medea’s ultimate act of revenge is revealed. She shall murder her
sons in order to exert the most pain possible onto Jason. “I will bear off my
children from this land. It never shall be said that I have left. My children
for my foes to trample on.” This act initially may be considered as
atrocious and uncharacteristically feminine, a mother murdering her own
children to get back at her unfaithful husband, but alternatively may be
seen as accurate of a mother who would rather lose her sons in that way
than have a man like Jason care for them.
When the murders are committed, Medea deprives Jason of his son’s bodies,
instead confronting an inconsolable Jason with the words, “I do not leave my
children's bodies with thee; I take them with me that I may bury them in 's
precinct. And for thee, who didst me all that evil, I prophesy an evil doom."
Stripping Jason of any masculinity he may have had.
Throughout the play Jason is seen to be lacking several attributes traditionally
associated with the male role as Medea seems to adopt these traits whilst also
illustrating those characteristically of women.
Another play showing contrast with attributes traditionally associated with
masculinity and femininity is that of Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw.
In Greek mythology Pygmalion is a sculptor who falls in love with a statue he
creates. Shaw’s 1913 interpretation of this play maintains a very similar
structure to the myth it is based upon, whereby a man ‘creates’ a lady out of a
common flower girl. However Shaw’s work does not see this man falling in love
with his ‘creation’ and the main characters having very different attributes.
Shaw as an ardent sociologist fought for equality amongst the sexes, believing
men and women were more alike than they were different. Challenging the
ancient myth, Shaw’s Pygmalion shows that women are not necessarily the
weaker of the sexes or any inferior to men as the reader sees the character of
Eliza Doolittle gaining confidence, self respect and dignity and ultimately
acquiring independence.
Pygmalion also shows that the male role is not necessarily dominant, strong or
having ultimate power, rather being less than perfect. In Act One, some of the
flaws of the main male role, Higgins, are revealed by his housekeeper Mrs
Pearce, “You swear a great deal too much.”
Act Two illustrates this further by showing that it is not only Higgins’ phonetic
teachings that will change Eliza into the ‘duchess’ he proclaimed she would
become, however it is with the help of Mrs. Pearce working on her manners
along with Pickering concentrating on her dignity and self-respect that the job
can become complete. It is here that the reader learns of Higgins’ negative habits
further for example his constant swearing and lack of manners, causing Mrs
Pearce to express her displeasure at his actions “Might I ask you not to come
down to breakfast in your dressing-gown...not to eat everything off the same
plate, and to remember not to put the porridge saucepan out of your hand on
the clean tablecloth,” showing the main Pygmalion role is by no means ideal.
It is when Eliza arrives at Higgins’ house that we become aware of the fact that
he sees her not as a person, but in fact a mere object of scientific experiment.
Women have no other use to him and if they cannot benefit him in this way
then, “they might as well be blocks of wood.” Mrs Pearce is then forced again to
criticising Higgins for his harsh words saying, “The matter is, sir, that you can't
take a girl up like that as if you were picking up a pebble on the beach.” Higgins’
character at this point appears to be cold and unfeeling however not dominant in
his own household, his housekeeper appearing to hold this role.
In Act Three another strong willed and dominant female role is introduced, that
of Mrs Higgins, who reduces Higgins, a so called mature and respectable man, to
that of a young boy, “Stop fidgeting and take your hands out of your pockets.
That’s a good boy.”
Mrs Higgins appears very reluctant to have him in the presents of her female
friends and seems embarrassed by his clumsiness, stumbling into furniture and
his lack of manners and rudeness, “Henry! What are you doing here today?...Go
home at once...You offend all my friends: they stop coming whenever they meet
you.” It is then that Higgins realises there are certain traits within him that will
not change when he tells his mother, "I shall never get into the way of seriously
liking young women: some habits lie too deep to be changed." This is ironic as
he believes he can do exactly that with Eliza. Alter her every habit in order to
create an entirely different person.
In Act Four we see Eliza’s self respect and confidence emerge as she defends
herself, refusing to be treated as an object any longer by reacting surprisingly to
a request made by Higgins, by throwing his slippers at him, “You don't care. I
know you don't care. You wouldn't care if I was dead. I'm nothing to you-not so
much as them slippers.” This is extremely uncharacteristic of a woman who
would not be expected to speak to a man in this way.
This is a pivotal point in the play as, although Higgins is stunned by such
behaviour, he realises how powerful a woman can be and that the way in which
he has treated Eliza has been wrong. For a male character, such as that of
Higgins, to identify his mistakes, is not an attribute traditionally associated with
masculinity.
Following this event, in Act Five Eliza realises that, “the difference between a
lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she's treated.” This is an
extremely intelligent claim and shows the amazing transformation Eliza has gone through.
Eliza, although grateful for what Higgins had done for her shows great strength
and independence by realising she no longer has to be treated in such a
demeaning way by Higgins constantly putting her down and treating her as if she
were a servant “you’re nothing but a bully,” by ignoring his order that she must
return to him by stepping out of the door, leaving Higgins alone in the room.
