I think that Hitchcock defines the relationship between Lisa and Jeffries, as well as general roles of men and women in the stories of the other apartment dwellers. They give us insight into the apprehensions Jeffries may feel about marriage, loneliness, and the lengths people can go to.
Lisa is an obviously attractive socialite, who for some reason has taken interest in Jeffries despite his obvious aversion to the idea of marriage. The character that demonstrates this best is Miss Torso. She is seen dancing around her apartment by day, and schmoozing handsome rich men by night. These business men obviously desire her, but she always ends up kicking them out at the end of the night, because the only man she truly loved was away at war. This is like Lisa, because she can have any man she wants, but the other men in her life only serve as distractions. The man she really wants, it seems she cannot have. This is due to the fact that Jeffries does not want to marry, or at least not Lisa, because he thinks she is too perfect and would not be able to survive his life style.
The Newlyweds demonstrate part of Jeffries apprehension, because it seems like the wife is constantly nagging the new husband. The drapes are perpetually closed, besides a few instances the husband tries to sneak a smoke break, but is almost simultaneously beckoned back by a needy wife. I don’t think this seems like something Jeffries wants to sign up for, being such a rough and tumble man that he is. The Thorwalds also show his fear of marriage, because at the beginning the wife is constantly nagging her husband for things, while she lays in bed all day with no one to care for her but him. Besides the disfunction of the Thorwalds relationship, they serve to bring Lisa and Jeffries together. When Jeffries first believes there has been a murder no one will believe him, not his nurse nor a detective, except for Lisa. She initially thinks it is madness, but is the first to believe what Jeffries has to say. She seemed to be humoring him, and bit-by-bit began seeing he was right. Jeffries would have had no hope of finding out the truth without Lisa’s help, and by the end they almost work as a crime solving team.
The composer serves as a clue into their relationship, because at first Jeffries deemed the song rubbish, when Lisa asked what it was. It was an indicator of the progress of their relationship. The first time Lisa decided to spend the night, was when they composer had finally finished his work and was having the debut party. Jeffries opinion of the song seemed to have change by then, while Lisa’s stayed constant.
The secondary characters appropriately serve as a window into the life of the main characters. The fact that Jeffries is so engulfed in their daily activities shows his escapist attitude towards his own life. The scandal with the Thorwalds seemed to give his life meaning. However, his confrontation with Mr. Thorwald at the end shows he has confronted his fears, and while he has struggled with them, and they almost took him down, he has overcome them with Lisa’s help.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Glengarry Glen Ross
In Glengarry Glen Ross, women are mentioned in passing at best. They often times serves as the character’s motivations for what they are doing. I think the absence of the women in the play, symbolizes the harshness of the man’s world without the fairer sex, and when the men seem to be doing something amicable, and they are being driven by a woman behind the scenes. I don’t believe Mamet intended to be anti-feminist at all. However, the characters use suggestive derogatory terms in reference to woman, insulting their colleagues, for example, on pg. 95 Roma insults Williamson by calling him a “stupid fucking cunt,” but, in Mamet’s defense the sales men seem to have foul mouths, and this insult blends well with the numerous offenses made towards fellow colleagues that damage almost every race.
To me it seems the women are the only ones who can sniff out the crap that these real estate agents are feeding to their customers. For example, Mrs. Lingk, who forces Mr. Lingk to cancel the deal and in turn unintentionally cause Mr. Levene’s downfall. She saw through what Roma was trying to sell. Mr. Lingk seemed to be dazzled by his words and was in general caught up in the hype of Glengarry Glen Ross. It could be that she was not present at the time of the closing, and looks at it from an unbiased perspective or she knew it was a scam. She also had the foresight to know Roma would not easily back down and threatened to employ the services of the State Attorney if he decided to be difficult. She was just looking out for the best interest of her and her husband, which Mr. Lingk did not seem to take into account. It shows that Mrs. Lingk has a powerful role in Mr. Lingk’s decision making process, in turn affecting the success of Roma.
I felt bad for Mr. Levene at the beginning of the play, because Williamson was screwing him over and he had his daughter to provide for. She was his driving force and his motivation, but he was being brash and stupid when he decides to take matters into his own hands and rob the office. Now he is going to jail and there is no one to provide for his daughter. It is honorable that he was trying to help her, but now she is worse off than she was before. Harriet Nyborg, in my opinion, is giving Levene a taste of his own medicine. He is conning her and she knows it and by signing a contract for land she had no intention of purchasing, she is conning him in return. For example, her crumb cake, which is store bought signifies her insincerity, much like Grace the fake secretary, who just seems to make Levene seem more legit.
The woman in Glengarry Glen Ross seem to be holding all the real power, and while the men seem to be running around like chickens with their heads cut off, the women are making definitive decisions in their best interest.
To me it seems the women are the only ones who can sniff out the crap that these real estate agents are feeding to their customers. For example, Mrs. Lingk, who forces Mr. Lingk to cancel the deal and in turn unintentionally cause Mr. Levene’s downfall. She saw through what Roma was trying to sell. Mr. Lingk seemed to be dazzled by his words and was in general caught up in the hype of Glengarry Glen Ross. It could be that she was not present at the time of the closing, and looks at it from an unbiased perspective or she knew it was a scam. She also had the foresight to know Roma would not easily back down and threatened to employ the services of the State Attorney if he decided to be difficult. She was just looking out for the best interest of her and her husband, which Mr. Lingk did not seem to take into account. It shows that Mrs. Lingk has a powerful role in Mr. Lingk’s decision making process, in turn affecting the success of Roma.
I felt bad for Mr. Levene at the beginning of the play, because Williamson was screwing him over and he had his daughter to provide for. She was his driving force and his motivation, but he was being brash and stupid when he decides to take matters into his own hands and rob the office. Now he is going to jail and there is no one to provide for his daughter. It is honorable that he was trying to help her, but now she is worse off than she was before. Harriet Nyborg, in my opinion, is giving Levene a taste of his own medicine. He is conning her and she knows it and by signing a contract for land she had no intention of purchasing, she is conning him in return. For example, her crumb cake, which is store bought signifies her insincerity, much like Grace the fake secretary, who just seems to make Levene seem more legit.
The woman in Glengarry Glen Ross seem to be holding all the real power, and while the men seem to be running around like chickens with their heads cut off, the women are making definitive decisions in their best interest.
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