Throughout the play, the audience witnesses the determined characteristics of Evelyn. Labute portrays Evelyn as a tough, aggressive, risk-taker who happens to have an extreme theory of art. Evelyn also appears to be a strong-willed feminist, which is revealed to the audience in the ways to which she reacts about certain events in the play, including the relationships with Adam and Phillip, and her opinion of the nature of the statue.
Despite it taking place later on in the play, it Evelyn’s feminism first occurred to me during the argument between her and Phillip. The audience could agree with me because during the scene in the living room, Phillip immediately takes control of the conversations and almost takes pleasure in being in charge. Jenny and Adam, both do not do anything to oppose Phillip of this, and lets him be the alpha male. As Phillip brings up the vandalism of the censored nude statue, Evelyn instantly offers her opinion of the situation, unfortunately for Adam and Jenny, this brings tension to the group and Evelyn and Phillip clash. Evelyn challenges Phillip and they are reduced to verbally attacking one another. The actions of Evelyn show the audience another side of her that nobody had really noticed before; the side that shows that she really isn’t that much better than Phillip. Not only is she refusing to listen to anyone else’s opinion, she’s stooping down to the same level as Phillip, by insulting him and boasting about her achievements.
The audience also discovers Evelyn as a feminist as she constantly defies the male authority around her. This first happens when she steps over the velvet rope in the museum, and in turn, the invisible line or barrier which has been put there by male authority. Where others wouldn’t have ignored this, Evelyn does and goes against the rules that have been placed there by society. Evelyn also disregards male authority when she refuses to step back from the nude statue after