Women In Charles Mee's Big Love
Throughout most of history women generally received fewer legal rights and opportunities than men. Many women still hold the traditional roles of wife and mother. Still in many cultures, women continue to face struggles prohibiting them from living up to their full potential. The Suppliant Women, the first extant play in Western European Literature, inspired Charles Mee to write the story of Big Love. Mee introduces many social issues into his modernized version of the thousand year old drama. In the play, Big Love, fifty sisters prepare for their arranged marriages set by their father. Out of the fifty sisters, Mee presents three main sisters: Lydia, Thyona, and Olympia. The three sisters embody different types of women and their view
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on men. Thyona appears as a raging feminist, and throughout the play expresses her hatred for men. Thyona is the sister that inspires the rest to murder their husbands on their wedding day. Olympia acts as the polar opposite of Thyona. Olympia loves men and feeling submissive towards men, and she believes that all men are good. Near the beginning of the play Thyona and Olympia argue over their perception of men, “You think you found a man’s good side. Men don’t have a good side.” (Big Love 26). Despite her beliefs, Olympia ends up following Thyona’s plan to kill their fiancés. Lydia, the eldest and most level-headed of the three follows her heart, and she is the only sister to not murder her husband. The women in Big Love endure struggles such as domestic abuse and gender inequality. Mee presents these issues within the characters’ relationships. Thyona and Constantine’s relationship portrays the two struggles well. Constantine uses aggression and violence towards Thyona to show that he is powerful, and has no mercy towards women let alone his future wife. Constantine later admits that “There’s no such thing as good guys and bad guys, only guys and they kill people” (66). Thyona convinces her sister into murdering their husbands on their wedding night, which leads to a scene of multiple murder that begins with a wedding-cake food fight. All the grooms are killed except one, Lydia’s husband, Nikos. Instead of feeling happy for Lydia, all of her sisters feel betrayed. At the end of the play, the three sisters receive the lecture of a lifetime from their wise grandmother Bella. The old lady assures the three girls that they will one day find someone they love and Lydia is not wrong for loving Nikos.
In the play Othello, Shakespeare writes about the gender rules for women, but also introduces the idea of women breaking the rules.
Desdemona's mistakes in breaking the gender rules cause her to lose everything she has. The Desdemona's true nature shows early in the play when she says, "I am hitherto your daughter: but here's my husband, and so much duty as my mother showed to you, preferring you before her father, so much I challenge that I may profess" (I.iii.203-205). Desdemona disregards her father’s love and care for her as if they meant nothing. Although Desdemona mentions Brabantio as a "noble father" (Othello I.iii.198) and how she respects him, she makes up her mind and abandons her father. Desdemona tries to justify her actions despite everything her father does for her when she says, "Nor would I reside, to put my father in impatient thoughts by being in his eye" (I.iii.263-265). Although Desdemona tries to comfort her dad, she only makes things worse by refusing to stay with him and going with Othello. The idea of gender rules comes back to haunt Desdemona when she tries to help Cassio recover his position. Shakespeare writes the women of Othello into stereotypical roles, but behind people’s backs play much stronger types. Desdemona, goes against her father’s orders and marries a moor. Bianca innocently takes part in Desdemona's death. Emilia has an opportunity to save Desdemona yet she remains silent. These three women in the play were portrayed as less superior than men. Desdemona, daughter of the Venetian Senator Brabantio married a moor against her father’s wishes "The marriage seems to be monstrous- in the sense that it represents a deviation from that which is natural. How else, Brabantio asks, would Desdemona, so carefully, have brought such scandal upon herself and her father by shunning, the wealthy curled darlings of our nation"(I.ii.68). Desdemona arrives and resolves the dispute by acknowledging split loyalties to her father and to her new
husband, but making it clear that she now holds loyalty to Othello.
Despite the fact that either of the plays were written thousands of years apart, they both discussed the same topics. Both plays introduced social issues and themes of love, jealousy, and abuse. Similarly, the women in Othello and in Big Love both suffered from abuse in their marriages. Othello emotionally and physically abuses Desdemona throughout the play, for example in Act IV, Scene i, Othello slaps Desdemona. Thyona stuffers from emotional and physical abuse during Big Love as well. Constantine, time after time, will lay hands on Thyona, showing that he holds a higher power over her. Today women still experience these issues.
Although the issue of women’s rights has attracted international recognition and support, women still face many inequalities and barriers. Feminist movements in different places focus on different things. In Western industrialized nations, where women have achieved relative equality with men under the law, the emphasis tends to be on economic and social issues. Some of which include equal pay and end to images in advertising and the media that belittle women. Women’s rights are denied in almost every region of the world, and discrimination lives on. Yet despite all of this, it is women who come together, creating organizations, and starting movements to win rights and make change. Elsewhere, activists focus on changing cultural, religious, and legal traditions that treat women as property. Sooner or later, women will dominate the world.
on men. Thyona appears as a raging feminist, and throughout the play expresses her hatred for men. Thyona is the sister that inspires the rest to murder their husbands on their wedding day. Olympia acts as the polar opposite of Thyona. Olympia loves men and feeling submissive towards men, and she believes that all men are good. Near the beginning of the play Thyona and Olympia argue over their perception of men, “You think you found a man’s good side. Men don’t have a good side.” (Big Love 26). Despite her beliefs, Olympia ends up following Thyona’s plan to kill their fiancés. Lydia, the eldest and most level-headed of the three follows her heart, and she is the only sister to not murder her husband. The women in Big Love endure struggles such as domestic abuse and gender inequality. Mee presents these issues within the characters’ relationships. Thyona and Constantine’s relationship portrays the two struggles well. Constantine uses aggression and violence towards Thyona to show that he is powerful, and has no mercy towards women let alone his future wife. Constantine later admits that “There’s no such thing as good guys and bad guys, only guys and they kill people” (66). Thyona convinces her sister into murdering their husbands on their wedding night, which leads to a scene of multiple murder that begins with a wedding-cake food fight. All the grooms are killed except one, Lydia’s husband, Nikos. Instead of feeling happy for Lydia, all of her sisters feel betrayed. At the end of the play, the three sisters receive the lecture of a lifetime from their wise grandmother Bella. The old lady assures the three girls that they will one day find someone they love and Lydia is not wrong for loving Nikos.
In the play Othello, Shakespeare writes about the gender rules for women, but also introduces the idea of women breaking the rules.
Desdemona's mistakes in breaking the gender rules cause her to lose everything she has. The Desdemona's true nature shows early in the play when she says, "I am hitherto your daughter: but here's my husband, and so much duty as my mother showed to you, preferring you before her father, so much I challenge that I may profess" (I.iii.203-205). Desdemona disregards her father’s love and care for her as if they meant nothing. Although Desdemona mentions Brabantio as a "noble father" (Othello I.iii.198) and how she respects him, she makes up her mind and abandons her father. Desdemona tries to justify her actions despite everything her father does for her when she says, "Nor would I reside, to put my father in impatient thoughts by being in his eye" (I.iii.263-265). Although Desdemona tries to comfort her dad, she only makes things worse by refusing to stay with him and going with Othello. The idea of gender rules comes back to haunt Desdemona when she tries to help Cassio recover his position. Shakespeare writes the women of Othello into stereotypical roles, but behind people’s backs play much stronger types. Desdemona, goes against her father’s orders and marries a moor. Bianca innocently takes part in Desdemona's death. Emilia has an opportunity to save Desdemona yet she remains silent. These three women in the play were portrayed as less superior than men. Desdemona, daughter of the Venetian Senator Brabantio married a moor against her father’s wishes "The marriage seems to be monstrous- in the sense that it represents a deviation from that which is natural. How else, Brabantio asks, would Desdemona, so carefully, have brought such scandal upon herself and her father by shunning, the wealthy curled darlings of our nation"(I.ii.68). Desdemona arrives and resolves the dispute by acknowledging split loyalties to her father and to her new
husband, but making it clear that she now holds loyalty to Othello.
Despite the fact that either of the plays were written thousands of years apart, they both discussed the same topics. Both plays introduced social issues and themes of love, jealousy, and abuse. Similarly, the women in Othello and in Big Love both suffered from abuse in their marriages. Othello emotionally and physically abuses Desdemona throughout the play, for example in Act IV, Scene i, Othello slaps Desdemona. Thyona stuffers from emotional and physical abuse during Big Love as well. Constantine, time after time, will lay hands on Thyona, showing that he holds a higher power over her. Today women still experience these issues.
Although the issue of women’s rights has attracted international recognition and support, women still face many inequalities and barriers. Feminist movements in different places focus on different things. In Western industrialized nations, where women have achieved relative equality with men under the law, the emphasis tends to be on economic and social issues. Some of which include equal pay and end to images in advertising and the media that belittle women. Women’s rights are denied in almost every region of the world, and discrimination lives on. Yet despite all of this, it is women who come together, creating organizations, and starting movements to win rights and make change. Elsewhere, activists focus on changing cultural, religious, and legal traditions that treat women as property. Sooner or later, women will dominate the world.