Discuss the ways in which relationships between men and women are presented in this extract (Page 26-31) and in at least one other point in the play.
Discuss the ways in which relationships between men and women are presented in this extract (Page 26-31) and in at least one other point in the play.
Throughout the play Arthur Miller presents the relationship between men and women in a lot of diverse ways. The main themes he targets are passion, aggression, control, and regret.
In this extract Gellburg and Sylvia are having a conversation. A very tense conversation between a husband and his wife. Gellburg is aware of Sylvia’s condition being diagnosed as a mental cause rather than a physical cause after a meeting with Hyman who is very spontaneous (riding a horse). Bearing this in mind Gellburg out of nowhere bursts out, ignoring Sylvia’s question ‘What did he say’ and saying he wants to buy her a Dodge. From this I can infer that Gellburg is full aware of Hyman’s spontaneous personality, trying to inject that same spontaneity into his marriage with Sylvia, Gellburg feels that he has failed Sylvia in not being spontaneous enough. Sylvia is now learning of Hyman’s amazing life and she’s realising she never had that because she was tied down with Gellburg. The car is almost like a cover-up for Gellburg being a rather dull and boring husband. He thinks buying Sylvia a Dodge will make everything better. However, it is far too late to patch up the years of dullness and mundane married life. The fact that Sylvia acknowledges that ‘all’ Dodges are black signifys that even though it is an expensive and exciting prospect it is still black and boring. Like Gellburgs persona and suit colour he always wore black. Gellburg also mentions going to Chicago. This is interesting as Gellburg has limited Sylvia all of her life, not letting her go meet friends out of Brooklyn and know that she has this paralysis it’s like she’s trapped. Physically and mentally. Going to Chicago is an opportunity Sylvia has never had before. Furthermore this gesture could be sign of guilt. Gellburg made Sylvia quit her career in finance to look
Throughout the play Arthur Miller presents the relationship between men and women in a lot of diverse ways. The main themes he targets are passion, aggression, control, and regret.
In this extract Gellburg and Sylvia are having a conversation. A very tense conversation between a husband and his wife. Gellburg is aware of Sylvia’s condition being diagnosed as a mental cause rather than a physical cause after a meeting with Hyman who is very spontaneous (riding a horse). Bearing this in mind Gellburg out of nowhere bursts out, ignoring Sylvia’s question ‘What did he say’ and saying he wants to buy her a Dodge. From this I can infer that Gellburg is full aware of Hyman’s spontaneous personality, trying to inject that same spontaneity into his marriage with Sylvia, Gellburg feels that he has failed Sylvia in not being spontaneous enough. Sylvia is now learning of Hyman’s amazing life and she’s realising she never had that because she was tied down with Gellburg. The car is almost like a cover-up for Gellburg being a rather dull and boring husband. He thinks buying Sylvia a Dodge will make everything better. However, it is far too late to patch up the years of dullness and mundane married life. The fact that Sylvia acknowledges that ‘all’ Dodges are black signifys that even though it is an expensive and exciting prospect it is still black and boring. Like Gellburgs persona and suit colour he always wore black. Gellburg also mentions going to Chicago. This is interesting as Gellburg has limited Sylvia all of her life, not letting her go meet friends out of Brooklyn and know that she has this paralysis it’s like she’s trapped. Physically and mentally. Going to Chicago is an opportunity Sylvia has never had before. Furthermore this gesture could be sign of guilt. Gellburg made Sylvia quit her career in finance to look