The Playboy of the Western World by Jm Synge and Juno and the Paycock by Sean O’casey

The two plays I will be focusing on are The Playboy of the Western World by JM Synge and Juno and the Paycock by Sean O’Casey I will discuss gender roles and class deeply and conjure up exactly what they are like in each play. Beginning with The Playboy of the Western World the dating scene is quite different from the one in which anyone else would be familiar with. Instead of the male chasing the women and trying to woo her it is switched it is all about the women chasing the one man. This shows the role of women throughout the play. Every female character we meet is quite obsessed with Christy. Regarding Pegeen or Margaret Flaherty she is quite the strong woman. She runs the local public house and gives off vibes of confidence it is quite clear she has power over her father as she is the one in-charge. However she still gives undertones of a young helpless girl as she is frightened to stay in the shebeen “to be leaving a poor girl with her own self counting the hours to the dawn of day?” this evokes that although she is a controlling character and quite strong she is still vulnerable. She becomes interested in Christy due to how different he is and he’s coming from the outside. When she first meets the protagonist she leads the interrogation on him she is quite aggressive towards him at first she even speaks more than any of the men who are there. She threatens to hit him with a broom when she is told that she is not speaking the truth “Not speaking the truth is it? Would you have me knock you on the head with the butt of the broom?” I also believe that she is much respected by the other male characters. “[with a sign to the men to be quiet]” this evokes her strength as a character as in rural Ireland during these times women do not have much of a say in procedures. She also has the final say about Christy and she thinks it is a great idea for him to stay. Once the rest of the characters have left the pub she becomes quite flirtatious with Christy. She