Eliza has learned proper English from Henry, but she is still not a lady in the respect that she does not know what subjects are germane to polite conversation. Her lower class upbringing becomes apparent when she speaks with the guests at Mrs. Higgins' tea party and says, "[My aunt] come through diphtheria right enough the year before" (76). The fact that she even mentions diphtheria makes it completely obvious where she comes from. Her speech may be proper, but no one in the upper class would ever contract diphtheria. Henry covers for her, but the incident shows that her transformation is not yet complete if she does not know what she should and should not talk about.

Eliza unwittingly exposes her roots again when she says, "There's lots of women has to make their husbands drunk to make them fit to live with...a drop of booze just takes that off and makes him happy" (77). Again, Eliza's roots come to the surface when it is obvious that she thinks it is completely normal for a wife to get her husband drunk to make him civil. She thinks that a man's conscience gets the best of him when he is sober, and that drinking will take that edge off. When one's mind is free from intoxication, one is more likely to have good judgment and follow their conscience; whereas when one is under the influence, their judgment is poor and their boundaries tend to expand. This is how she has been brought up to think, and the upper class would never think alcoholism is normal or all right. Although Eliza's speech has completely turned around, her conversation skills are still lacking.

Along with not knowing proper things to talk about, Eliza also does not realize there are certain words she should not use in conversation. Eliza begins to talk about her aunt's death and that she thinks her family had "done the old woman in" (76). Higgins then covers for her, saying: "Oh, that's the new small talk. To do a person in means to kill them" (77). Eliza does not realize that citizens of the upper class have never even heard that phrase. Higgins understands that they do not know what she is talking about, which is why he feels the need to step in and cover for her. Anytime Eliza accidentally uses street slang, Higgins covers for her and tells the guests that she is using the "new" small talk. Eliza slips again when Freddy Eynsford Hill asks her if she is going to walk across the park and she replies: "Walk! Not bloody likely" (78). Eliza obviously does not realize that the upper class would never in their right mind use the term "bloody" in proper conversation. Henry covers for her once again, and makes the guests think that bloody is acceptable to use. They do not realize it is still as offensive as it has always been, and they think it is okay to start using in conversation with other members of the upper class. Eliza shows that her transformation still has yet to be complete through her use of these words and phrases in conversation.

Eliza's transformation into a lady is not complete until her last confrontation with Henry. Henry challenges Eliza: "Well Eliza, you've had a bit of your own back, as you call it. Have you had enough? And are you going to be reasonable? Or do you want any more?" (124). Eliza thinks she was treated poorly by Henry and Colonel Pickering while she stayed with them, so he asks her if she wants to be reasonable when coming back to live with them. In asking that, he also challenges her to be reasonable, unless she wants them to treat her the same way they have been. This challenge shows that Henry thinks Eliza has become a lady, because it is the first time he has ever given her a chance to make her own choice about something. Eliza also proves herself completely transformed when she defiantly retorts to Henry, "I knew you'd strike me some day" (131). This is the first time Eliza stands up to Henry when he threatens her. She has a new found confidence in herself which she did not have before her experience with him. She knows how to get to him, and she does not care what he does to her anymore. Eliza has become an independent young lady, with class and proper speech, and the ability to stand up for herself, even against the man who taught her everything.

Through "Pygmalion," Shaw shows that it is possible to change who Eliza is despite where she comes from, but that she will always have the roots she has been given. She can pass for a princess, but she still thinks being an alcoholic is a perfectly normal, common thing. She can look, dress, and speak perfectly, and she can never go back to the way she used to live.

Oedipus's prophecy began when Cadmus, the founder of Thebes, enraged the god Apollo by killing Apollo's favorite snake. Because of Cadmus's kill, his descendants are forced to live under a curse. Thus, a prophecy states that the son of Laius, the current king of Thebes, will kill his father and marry his mother.

Socrates proves to his audience that humans have no control over their fate by showing multiple failed attempts of people trying to prevent Oedipus's horrible prophecy from coming true. First, Laius simply tries to kill his son by asking one of his servants to leave the baby at Mt. Cithaeron to die. Unfortunately, his attempt at avoiding fate is useless when his servant pities the infant and takes him into a caring family elsewhere.

Once one discovers what his or her destiny will be, he or she will waste time, trying to avoid the impossible. When Oedipus himself finds out about his awful future, he flees Corinth, the city where his parents supposedly are staying. Without realizing his poor decision, he comes into a messy situation with his unfamiliar father. Long after this event, he speaks with Jocasta, his wife and mother about his realization: “I was in that place where three roads meet…the man in front, and the old one, ordered me out of the path. I refused…I killed him. I killed them all…I am the one for whom my curse was meant!” (19). By this time, Oedipus has already reached the point where his prophecy is complete. After declaring vengeance for his father, he finally realizes that he has cursed himself. Therefore, Oedipus's discovery of his fate turned against him.

Free will has no effect on fate, according to Sophocles's play. In fact, one's discovery of his or fate only does destruction. Because Oedipus tries to avoid his fate, he realizes that he helped “accomplish” it when it was too late.

Act 2 scene 1, in this scene a masked ball party is taking place, where Don Pedro has agreed to woo Hero in Claudio's name. But Don John has set out to ruin this by causing confusion and mischief to poor Claudio. But the main entity of the play remains with Benedick's and Beatrice's relationship which takes an icy turn as Shakespeare uses the masked ball to create bewilderment and confusion between different couples. But the main argument is between Benedick and Beatrice, this scene is very comical as Benedick believes he has hid himself behind a mask to Beatrice who knows it is Benedick and uses the situation to have fun between the two by saying stuff about him. We come halfway through the conversation, "will you not tell me who told you so?" This sentence proves that there was a conversation prior to us coming in and leaves us to guess what they were talking about before. Which Shakespeare uses to involve the audience more into the play as they will try to guess what the two were talking about earlier. Beatrice slags him off in front of him for fun, "princes jester, a very fool". This insults Benedick and his personality which seems to be a very fun and joker personality and mocks him of that saying how he is no more than a jester, a man who would look stupid just to make others laugh. Also the quip about him being a jester, remarks that he follows the Prince and is only liked and kept by the Prince cause of his ability to make him laugh. She also remarks, "only his gift is in devising impossible slanders", quoting on his choice of comedy how he is nothing more than a slanderer. This is very insulting to Benedick as his whole character seems to be a very jokey and witty one, this remark says that his comedy is basically the pleasing of some men to the anger of others. Shakespeare keeps up the charade of the masked ball to maintain a comic effect on the audience how Beatrice keeps slagging off Benedick to keep interest in the current scene. Benedick's reaction though is very important as he can't reveal himself to Beatrice so he stays calm and collected even though inside him he is screaming to say something. But then the conversation ends on a knifes edge and they continue to dance. Later on though towards the end of the scene, Benedick releases his anger as he slanders Beatrice behind her back to Don Pedro and Claudio. He explains how hearing her words of jest, it felt like he was standing on target as an army shot at him. Also, "she speaks poniards", this refers to Beatrice saying how her words were like daggers each stabbing Benedick in the heart and killing him one word at a time. "If her breath were as terrible as her terminations there were no living near her," this statement explains how if her breath was as bad as her terms of abuse all around her would die from the stench. "I would not marry her though she were endowed with all that Adam left behind him before he transgress", is a strange thing to say as no-one till here as mentioned about the two marrying. This proves that Benedick has obviously thought about it and maybe secretly likes the idea of marriage. Also the Adam reference states even if Beatrice had all the graces Adam had before he was kicked out by God, he still wouldn't marry her which is a very strong statement which can only really be said on the spur of the moment. As he finishes, Beatrice walks onstage. Benedick then begs to Don Pedro to give him a list of impossible tasks and love trials to complete just so he won't have to stay in Beatrice's company which underlines how aggrieved he is. He leaves in a huff ignoring Beatrice who later leaves. Doing so Don Pedro, Claudio, Leonato and Hero all take a oath that before Hero and Claudio marry, Benedick and Beatrice will be united together as Claudio and Hero are.

This oath is put to the test in Act 2 scene 3. Benedick starts the scene by ranting to a boy about Claudio and how he has changed to a different man since his proposed marriage how he prefers to wear designer clothes rather than suits of armour, how his music has changed from loud war music to soft orchestral music. He then contemplates whether or not he can take these changes too, this proves that he is obviously thinking about marriage even though throughout the play he has been very anti-marriage. Then Don Pedro, Leonato and Claudio enter, Benedick does not want to see them as they will be talking about marriage or something like that. He hides behind the bushes to conceal himself but the three know where he is hidden. They use this opportunity to create mischief and mislead Benedick. "Leonato, is it true that Beatrice was in love with Signor Benedick", Don Pedro starts off down to earth and straight to the point to get the attention of signor Benedick. Leonato and Claudio play their roles too, to trick Benedick.

"I did never think that lady would have loved any man", this perhaps says that Benedick is special to Beatrice as she seems to not be able to love any man. "isn"t? Sits the winds in the corner?' Benedick is contemplating whether or not he is hearing rightly and if the situation is that of what the others speak of. "Maybe she doth but counterfeit", Don Pedro tests Benedick by suggesting that she may be faking her love, this is used also to give evidence to Benedick to support the charade. "Bait the hook well. This fish will bite", Claudio states that if Leonato fakes this part well then Benedick well be fully convinced. Benedick though believes it may be a trick but does not believe this as Leonato states that it is true, "I should think this a gull, but that the white bearded fellow speaks it." The three continue to work Benedick up before they eventually leave planning to send Beatrice to call Benedick to dinner, obviously for a bit of fun. Benedick then speaks a large speech on the situation and how it isn't a trick and also how the three seemed to pity Beatrice for loving Benedick which he can't understand. "They seem to pity the lady; it seems her affections have their full bent", this means that her love is fully stretched like a bow. He then goes on about Beatrice and lists her qualities against his requirements for a women that he would marry. This obviously shows know that he fully believes that Beatrice loves him and that he now loves her. Beatrice then enters who is mad having to call upon Benedick, he tries to be nice with her which she construes as sarcasm and tries to start another little battle of words between the two. This little skirmish though is a springboard to the next scene where Beatrice is tricked.

Act 3 scene 1, Ursula and Hero are sitting in the garden when Beatrice comes by and hides herself but the two know she is there just as the Benedick situation. "But are you sure, that Bendick loves Beatrice so entirely?" The two start just as the others bringing the conversation straight to the point. They also say how they cannot let Beatrice know as she cannot love and take affection or image in the right manner. "She cannot love, nor take no shape nor project of affection, she is do self-endear"d' meaning she is in love with herself too much to care about others. They go on about how Benedick is a good man contrast to what the three man were saying how he was not a good man and would mock Beatrice of her love. If they were to tell Beatrice she would only mock and joke to Hero. "If I should speak, she would mock me into air; O, she would laugh me out of myself, press me to death with wit". Hero suggests if she was to tell Beatrice of Benedick's love, she would literally mock her to death and kill her with wit into death. Hero also says that instead of telling Beatrice she would rather force Benedick to fight his passion of her and stop loving her as he would be heart-broken and would rather bottle it up than to face his love.

Hero tells how she will devise some harmless lies to trick Benedick into giving up his love of Beatrice. Ursula though begs Hero not to do Beatrice such wrong and how the two are matched in personality, "having so swift and excellent a wit as she is priz"d to have, as to refuse so a rare a gentlemen as Signor Benedick.' She states how Beatrice is very lucky to of found such a man and a gentlemen. The two leave after a while basking in their glory thinking they have captured Beatrice in the net, which they have. Beatrice then ends similar to Benedick. "What fire is in min ears? Can this be true?…" she contemplates the situation and then goes on to think about her and Benedick. "To band our loves up in a holy band". "Loves" proves that she has feelings for Benedick back and has told herself that she will put the two together in marriage.

Two enemy families, the Montagues and the Capulets, have been in a bitter family feud for generations. No one can remember who or what started it, but pride and arrogance have kept the feud fired. The fate of Romeo, Juliet, and Paris started in the streets of Verona, where members of each family were fighting. The Prince of Verona declared that if he saw any more fighting between the families, the punishment would be death. Later, Count Paris, a young nobleman, spoke to LordCapulet about marrying Juliet. Lord Capulet invited Paris to try to attract Juliet's attention at an upcoming Capulet ball, despite her young age. At the Capulet ball, Romeo Montague and his friends sneaked in with masks. Romeo saw Juliet Capulet and they fell in love with each other. Later, after sneaking into Capulet grounds, Romeo heard a private confession by Juliet that she loved him despite her family. Friar Lawrence married the two the next day. Tybalt, Juliet's cousin purused Romeo the next day for appearing at the ball in disguise, but Romeo refused to fight him since he was now part of the Capulet family. Romeo's friend Mercutio decided to fight Tybalt, but was fatally wounded when Romeo stepped in to stop the fighting. Romeo then slayed Tybalt in anger over his friend's death, and runs away. Despite the murder, the Prince decided that Romeo should be banished, not killed, since Tybalt's killing Mercutio provoked Romeo. Juliet grieved her husband's absence.

Thinking that she was upset by Tybalt's death Lord Capulet arranged to her engagement to Paris, and threatened to disown her if she didn't agree to marry Paris. Even Juliet's nurse, once her confidant, said that Juliet should forget Romeo and marry Paris. Desperatyeahely, Juliet visited Friar Lawrence for help. Friar Lawrence offered Juliet a potion that would leave her in a death-like trance for 24 hours. He said he would send a message to Romeo to come in the crypt, save Juliet, and run away together. Unfortunately, the message didn't reach Romeo, and he learned of Juliet's “death” from a servant. He illegally bought poison from an apothecary, and visited the Capulet crypt. It appears that while Romeo was mourning, Paris came in and confronted him, and a battle resulted. Romeo killed Paris, and went back to Juliet. He drank the poison, committing suicide, when Juliet began to wake up. Friar Lawrence then arrived, saw Romeo dead, and tried to convince Juliet to leave. But Juliet refused to leave Romeo. Instead, she grabbed Romeo's dagger and stabbed herselv. In grief, the two families agreed to end their feud in honor of their children.

Where does the blame lie? Verona Tattler has looked into the story and believes that Tybalt, Juliet's cousin and Lord Capulet's nephew, is responsible. Tybalt was notoriously hot-blooded and proud of his family status. Recently, Benvolio, Romeo's cousin, had been seen trying to stop a fight between Capulet and Montague servants, when Tybalt drew his sword and claimed his loathing for the Montagues. At the ball, Tybalt saw the masked Romeo and wanted to kill him for reasons beyond wanting to protect the Capulets. Tybalt would have dueled Romeo but Lord Capulet forbade him to. Tybalt wouldn't forget Romeo's intrusion, and it now appears, planned on revenge. The rest you know. As reported yesterday, Tybalt came across Mercutio and slayed him when Romeo tried to separate them. Then Romeokilled Tybalt. If Tybalt hadn't pursued Romeo and initiated the arguments, neither Mercutio nor Tybalt would have died, and Romeo wouldn't have been banished. If Romeo hadn't been banished, Juliet wouldn't have gone to such drastic measures to evade her marriage with Paris. And if Juliet hadn't taken Friar Lawrence's potion, Romeo wouldn't have killed Paris in the crypt, or consumed the poison, and Juliet wouldn't have committed suicide. Tybalt ignored the Prince and his Lord Capulet's orders, and went overboard with his family pride. If Tybalt had thought out his actions, he could have saved his own life and three others.

To confirm our suspicion, the Verona Tattler interviewed Juliet's nurse and Lord Capulet, two members of Tybalt's house.

Verona Tattler: Why was Tybalt so determined to get revenge on Romeo?

Lord Capulet: Tybalt always was proud of his background. He probably was trying to right Romeo's wrong of sneaking into our ball. I knew Tybalt wouldn't disobey my orders on Capulet grounds, but I was hoping he would understand the importance of keeping peace in Verona.

VT:Was he always like this?

Capulet: Yes. When he was younger, he would always stop the other Capulet children from interacting with Montague children. He made enemies fast and disliked all Montagues, no matter their personality.

VT:Was it just family pride that made him want to go after Romeo?

Capulet: If I remember correctly, he always seemed jealous of Romeo. Romeo was an exceptional swordsman and always had a lot of friends. I suppose Tybalt was always looking for a fault in Romeo.

VT:Did you understand the family feud?

Capulet: I don't think anyone did. Tybalt was raised with his family always against the Montagues. From when he was little, he was taught that the Montagues were sworn enemies.

VT: Do you think he's ultimately to blame for your daughter's death, along with Romeo and Paris?

Capulet: To be honest, yes, I do. He never thought before he acted, and in the end it cost him his life, along with my daughter's. He was a great person though, and I will still grieve for him.

Verona Tattler:What do you know about Tybalt?

Juliet's Nurse: He was very vengeful, but a great friend of the Capulets and Juliet especially. He seemed to always want to protect her from harms' way. He'd always try to get back at those that harmed him or his companions.

VT: So do you think that Tybalt thought of Romeo as someone harmful to Juliet?

Nurse: Probably not anyone especially harmful, but he seemed to think that all Montagues were dangerous.

VT: Did you ever know of his plan to get revenge on Romeo?

Nurse: He often spoke in mutters of Romeo. I overheard him talking to one of his companions that he was going to try to get Romeo alone and battle him one-on-one. Oftentimes, I tried to convince him to obey the Prince, but he'd always ignore me and walk away.

VT:What did he think of Mercutio?

Nurse: He always said that Mercutio was a jokester who was all talk but no action.

VT:Would you have ever guessed the outcome of Tybalt's need for revenge?

Nurse: No. I knew Tybalt was going to get himself in trouble eventually, since he would disobey the Prince's order of peace, but I never envisioned him bringing three others with him.

VT:Was Tybalt friendly with Paris?

Nurse: Tybalt was cautious around Paris, since Tybalt was so protective of Juliet. I think they would've become friends because they had some similarities. I'm sure he wouldn't have wanted to harm Paris.

As you can tell, because of the long-lasting family feud, Tybalt seemed born to battle the Montagues. It was only nature that put him against Romeo and urged him to seek revenge on the enemy house. Even though he was trying to do the best, he led himself, Juliet, Romeo, and Paris to their untimely deaths. The Verona Tattler believes that Tybalt was unintentionally responsible for the tragic ending to this love story.

 

 

 

Though the action is what shows that there is hatred, the immediately following dialogue clarifies whom the hatred is aimed towards and why Hedda is not pleased with them. But in the case of Miss Julie, just as love is shown through conversation, the hate and jealousy is displayed in the same fashion. Again, this is because the entire story of Miss Julie happened to take place in one day; so there was not enough time to be able for the characters to show each emotion through action. Because Hedda Gabler was over a longer period of time and had more things that went on then in Miss Julie, Ibsen was thus able to use it to show more emotion; but, the majority of the demonstrated emotions were through long, complex conversations. This comparative paper will focus on two beautiful pieces of world literature, Henerik Ibsen's Hedda Gablerand August Strindberg's Miss Julie.

Through conversation, both authors are able to surface realistic circumstances that deal with love, hate and jealousy. In the end these three extraordinarily powerful emotions are able to drive the women insane. Ibsen and Strindberg create love, hate, and jealousy by keeping the main characters, Hedda Gabler and Miss Julie, constantly involved in dialogue, as to create realistic human behavior between the characters. To efficiently compare the abilities of the authors to create madness using these emoticons, this essay will break down the topic, and address each emotion individually.

The transition from love to inanity was ironically the lack of love that Hedda Gabler had for her husband, Jorgen Tesman, which slowly took a turn to jealousy and ended up becoming a hate for her own life, which drove her into the open arms of insanity and eventually the taking of her own life. The story of Hedda Gabler consisted of her being a newlywed to Tesman, a professor, but ended up hating her life. In the beginning she exhibited rude and obnoxious characteristics towards the other characters. This carelessness for those around her drove her to do things that normal people would not do. She burned Eilert Lovborg's manuscript, gave him a gun, which he used to attempt suicide. When Judge Brack tried to use his knowledge of her unruly actions as blackmail, Hedda lost her mind altogether and killed herself. She only married him because he was in love with her, and he was willing to buy her the house of her dreams (Ibsen); from the beginning it is in the open that Hedda did have feelings for Tesman, but was a materialistic person with no respect for others.

This lack of respect was shown at the very start of the play when Aunt Julie had come to visit the newly married couple, she had come all dressed up with a new hat that she bough to impress Hedda, but instead she was in for a rude surprise, “Look! Here…She's1 left her old hat here on the chair” (Ibsen 21). Even though she didn't know that it was Aunt Julie's hat, she still showed flout toward the housekeeper. As the story progresses, this lack of love and respect becomes Hedda's jealousy for Mrs. Elvsted. Mrs. Elvsted was married to the mayor, and because of her status in society, she had a very easy life. But for some reason she was not satisfied; yet was able to find something in Eilert Lovborg that did satisfy her. Hedda was jealous of this because she wasn't satisfied with her own life, but she couldn't didn't have someone like Lovborg that could make her days worth living. Hedda showed this jealousy in possibly her most hate filled action in the entire play.

When she burned Lovborg's manuscript after he tried to kill himself. She knew that her husband, Tesman, wanted to finish Lovborg's book as a tribute to him. There are differing opinions on whether she did it out of hatred and jealousy or because she didn't want Mrs. Elvsted to find out that Tesman had picked up the manuscript and had not returned it. Though the latter sounds nice and caring, as seen from Hedda's personality throughout the play, it is extremely unlikely that that was her intention. After doing all of this, Hedda Gabler finally had enough, and on page 126, “Shot herself! In the temple!” From the examples provided it has become clear that her lack of love, jealousy and hatred led to her eventual insanity and death.

At the end of the play, Miss Julie was in a state of madness; which came from the unreturned feeling of love that she felt for Jean. The entire play was Miss Julie's conversation with Jean, one of the servants. She talked about how she loved him, but how she hated all men. Miss Julie was inconsistent by her words many times during the story. She hated men, but longed for sex; in the middle of the story, Miss Julie and Jean go into a room and engaged in sexual activity. This contradiction itself can be proof that Miss Julie was being driven insane from her own feelings and actions. But throughout the play, the feeling of love is portrayed in a mix with random bursts of hate.

“Oh, I'd love to see the whole of your sex swimming in a sea of blood just like that. I think I could drink out of your skull You think I loved you because my womb hungered for your seed Bear your child and take your name!-Come to think of it, what is your name anyway? I've never heard your last name. You probably don't even have one. I'd be Mrs. Doorkeeper or Madame Floorsweeper. You dog with my name on your collar-you lackey with my initials on your buttons” (Strindberg)!

The reader, from this, can infer that Miss Julie is presenting this line in a very sarcastic manner, in which she is intending to insult Jean. Yet later persists that she and Jean run away together, and open a hotel, along with other plans. The fact that Miss Julie was unable to be consistent with herself shows that she is not mentally stable, and the reasons for that are obviously her inability to handle such passionate emotions.

Through the many examples and explanations provided by this essay, the relationships between three of the strongest and most passionate emotions: love, jealousy, and hate, have been linked together in ways not commonly thought of. Despite the fact that love and hate are on the opposite sides of the spectrum, the way that people react to the feeling imposed by love and hate are very similar. Both feelings imply extreme passion, which lead people out of logic and reason, to act purely on emotion. It has been shown through thorough analyzation that when all of these emotions are blindly acted upon simultaneously, they can lead to insanity; which ultimately led to their own demise. Ibsen and Strindberg did an excellent job of being able to create true human behavior through conversation and being able to show the consequences of sightlessly pursuing such passionate emotions.

 

1 Referring to Berte, the house keeper

Love is the overriding theme of A Midsummer Night's Dream. The play may be a comedy yet the idea it supports is serious. In the play Lysander said “Ay me, for aught that I could ever read, Could ever hear by tale or history, The course of true love never did run smooth....” Lysander utters these words to Hermia when she feels burdened by the obstacles to their love particularly when her father, forbid them to marry.

Lysander assures Hermia that the course of true love has never been easy. There will always be insurmountable difficulties to impede it. Lysander cites differences in age as one (“misgrafted in respect of years”) and difficulties caused by friends or “war, death, or sickness,” which make love appears “swift as a shadow, short as any dream” (I.i.137, I.i.142-144). Hermia counters by remaining positive all throughout their travails and believing that the difficulties are merely the price lovers pay for romantic bliss. The exploration of love's difficulties is actually at the heart of the play. That, love's trail was never paved.

Love's difficulty is depicted in a number of instances in the play such as when Puck attempted to put love potion to Lysander and he ended up loving his fiancée Hermia's best friend Helena. Helena, on the other hand, is in love with Hermia's suitor Demetrius. But Demetrius loves Helena. The love triangle creates an imbalance with one Hermia having so many suitors while Helena has none.

All is well at the end, however, when Puck undoes his actions. Lysander loves Hermia again and Demetrius falls in love with Helena. A group wedding ensues.

Another theme of the play is fantasy or as the title suggests dreams. This dream or fantasy is represented by fairies in the forest and magic potions. The emphasis of this setting in the play prepares the readers' mind to the fact that something "magical" is about to occur. This, of course, lends some sort of credibility to the story.

The fantasy part of the play also symbolizes loss of identities of the characters. This is best exemplified by Oberon and Titania who quarrels because of Oberon's obsession to the Indian boy leaving Titania feeling unacknowledged.

It is this theme of lack of recognition of love that actually propels the story forward. This problem is not exclusive Oberon and Titania since other characters in the play undergo similar conflict. Demetrius ignores Helena's love and Hermia also refuses to acknowledge Demetrius' love for her.

That love causes loss of identity on the lovers is a certainty. Victor Kiernan, a Marxist scholar and historian said “It was the more extravagant cult of love that struck sensible people as irrational, and likely to have dubious effects on its acolytes”.

The loss of identities is a mere blurring of distinction in the desire to pursue practical ties between the characters in order to cope with the daunting world in the dark forest as exemplified in the brief and strange relationship between Titania and Bottom the Ass.

Hedda subjects herself to societal norms even at the risk of losing the one she adores in order to conform to society. In her need to stick to conventions, she marries Dr. Tesman whose status in life promises stability and respectability for her instead of marrying a poor rake like Ejlert Lövborg whom she finds fascinating. The life she seeks through Tesman leads her to boredom and uselessness though. She shows disregard for Aunt Julia who raises her husband and provides for them financially. She is mean to Mrs. Elvsted who is a former classmate of Hedda.

Hedda Gabler is the epitome of a worldly woman. She is sophisticated, well-bred and pretty. She feels trapped as she assumed the inevitable role of a middle class courtesy of her marrying one. This results to feelings of boredom which brings dire consequences at the end. Another condition that leads to her feelings of boredom is her pregnancy. Being selfish, she finds her predicament unsettling and unbearable. Her selfishness and inability to find better use of her time drives her to commit ghastly acts. She flirts with her former lover Ejlert and develops alliance with Judge Brack, despite her being very much married and pregnant. She hides Ejlert's manuscript and encourages him to commit suicide even hands him one of her pistol. And in the ultimate act of selfishness, she commits suicide at the end.

The other male characters seem in love with Hedda. It could be due to her sense of beauty in a decadent way. Brack wants to start a relationship with her and Ejlert hopes that she shares his "passion for life." She finds these ideas quite ridiculous. She rejects Ejlert's views and teases Brack by referring to him as "the cock of the walk." Even Mrs. Elvsted does not feel uncomfortable around Hedda because she had bad experience with her in the past when they were classmates. Despite Hedda's apparent faults, she portrays the most influential character. She manipulates other people because she has no peace or happiness in her life. Hedda's power is so broad that her self-destruction tendencies lead to the ruin of the lives of other characters. The rest of the characters only serve to show what Hedda does and does not have.

Her lack of sympathy is apparent when she burns Ejlert manuscript, encourages him to commit suicide and begging him to do it beautifully. Her questionable morals are revealed when she associates with Judge Brack. Her meanness shows when she deals with Aunt Julia and Mrs. Elvsted. The way Hedda relates to the people surrounding her shows callousness and utter disregard. When Hedda perceived that Ejlert has failed her by not shooting himself at the temple but is killed accidentally in a scuffle, disillusionment sets in. Her burden is further compounded when she learns that a scandal might occur for her. Her strong need to conform being threatened, Hedda sees no way out but to shoot herself.

A number of reasons come into play that eventually paves the way for Hedda's suicide. Her spiritual poverty prevents her to appreciate what she has. Hedda manipulates everyone around her. She is strong but in an unguided and coarse way. She is also cruel and insolent. She does not hesitate to hurt other people just for the pleasure it provides.

The life of ease as defined by an aristocracy enables Hedda to appreciate the good life. The good life being in the midst of wealth and beauty. She forms a certain standard in mind which she desires to come up to. She never worries a day in her life being in the upper class. She is amused by how much Tesman worries about making a living.

Being the wife of a middle class however wakes her up to the painful reality of having to work to earn a living. Hedda's appreciation for the good life even reveals in suicide. She even wishes Ejlert a "beautiful" suicide when he expresses his need to commit suicide and she hands him one of her pistol. To Hedda, life ought to be beautiful even in bleak times such as suicide.

Hedda's morals leave much to be desired. She does not hesitate on flirting with other guys while her husband is not around even encourages their attention. Her values are based on aesthetic standards not on moral standards. To her, what is beautiful matters more even if at the expense of morality or values.

Her natural predisposition to aristocratic ways prevents her to sympathize with her husband, Tesman's plight. She is shallow. It is easy to see that whatever burdens she feel is due to her character or the apparent absence of it.

Due to her shortcomings, it is difficult for her to see another person's point of view. Her false standards of happiness prevent her from looking beyond what is obvious. She is like an empty jar - beautiful to look at but nothing inside.

Jason is a Greek hero and leader of the Argonauts. He arrives at Colchis in search of the Golden Fleece. Aeetes of course would not part with his Golden Fleece. To settle the matter, Aeetes made Jason undergo several tasks which made the Golden Fleece impossible to obtain.

Medea falls madly in love with Jason. She helps him secure the Golden Fleece after Jason promises to marry her. Jason flees with Medea and her younger brother Absyrtis after getting the Golden Fleece. To buy time from their pursuers, Medea cold-bloodedly kills her own brother, scatters his body parts all over so that those pursuing them have to stop to collect the pieces one by one to be able to bury them.

Jason and Medea settle in Iolcus. Medea uses sorcery to restore youthfulness to Jason's father, Aeson by cutting his throat and putting magical potion inside. She offers to do the same for Pelias, Jason's uncle, who assumes Aeson's without authority. Pelias' daughters cut his throat. Medea did not restore him. Medea is hoping that Jason would assume the throne after Pelias dies but her hopes are dashed as they are meted the punishment of exile.

Jason and Medea eventually settle in Corinth. Medea bears Jason two children. Things take a turn for the worse when Jason abandons her to be able to marry Creon's, the king of Corinth, daughter.

Medea, scorched by love, could not accept Jason's betrayal. She moves to avenge her broken heart. First, she kills Jason's new bride by poisoning her robe and crown. King Creon, seeing her daughter wreathe in pain, embraces her. He too dies. Then she murders her two children in her bid to cause Jason more pain. She flees Corinth and brings with her the bodies of her two children.

Character Analysis of Medea

To say that Medea commits evil acts is probably a major understatement. Medea's actions go beyond monstrosity. They are manifestations of pure evil, one who does not have conscience or even the slightest hint of capacity for remorse. Medea, in utter barbarism, is incapable of being a vulnerable human.

Medea's love for Jason knows no bounds - well, literally. She is willing to annihilate anyone who gets in the way. Medea's extreme nature is evident right from the start. It is probably Medea's interpretation of the line "she is madly in love". Her love goes beyond normal and rational bounds. Indeed her madness is beyond comprehension.

The object of her love, or probably obsession, Jason bears the brunt of facing her scary temper. Although, she commits everything to please Jason at first. She commits treachery by stealing from her own father to be able to please the man she loves. Then she kills her own brother to help Jason escape. And she commits treason of the highest order when she kills her own flesh and blood, the fruits of her womb, her own precious children to extract revenge on Jason.

The nurse narrates that Medea had committed questionable acts in the name of love only to be gone through the entire adventure to retrieve the Golden Fleece and defied her household only to be abandoned by Jason and left "slighted, and [crying] aloud on the Vows they had made to each other, [...] [calling] upon the gods to witness what sort of return Jason has made to her love" (20 -24).

Love conquers all, so they say. But in this instance, it is hard to decide if it was extreme love or extreme hate that overcomes. Medea is capable of both. Her extreme nature is revealed right at the very start of the story when she helps Jason secure the Golden Fleece. She is capable of destroying anybody who comes between her and Jason. Medea could not be stopped.

Medea's infamous acts are so chilling. What makes them doubly abhorring is the fact that she committed those acts against the very people she is supposed to give love. I believe this is the reason why it makes Medea a traitor through and through. These very people love her and give love to her. They may not expect to be loved in return but at least, some degree of respect would have sufficed. They are the people who would least expect Medea to harm them. Alas, they don't know how Medea's mind works at all. Medea does not only break their trust, she commits the most despicable act of all by murdering them.

It is hard to fathom the degree of insanity behind Medea's actions. A daughter who steals from her own father. A sister who kills her own brother. A mother who murders her own children. "O your heart must have been made of rock or steel, you who can kill with your own hand the fruit of your own womb" (1253-1255). With the murder of her children, Medea has reached the apex of her villainy.

Probably the greatest irony of all is that Medea's greatest failure is also a manifestation of her greatest redeeming quality. Medea's extreme acts leave no doubt of her capacity for extreme love for Jason. Of course, this love goes beyond normal and logical bounds. If we take the murder out of it, we could see a vulnerable woman deeply in love and got scorched in the process. The only motive behind her chilling acts is her deep love for Jason.

It is easy to matter problems that require definite solution. For instance, if you cannot afford to buy food then do something to secure money - be it borrowing, working or asking for money. But problems concerning the heart defy objectivity. That is why, in the heat of passionate outbursts, crimes are sometimes committed. We see a husband killing his beloved wife caught in the act of adultery. These crimes of passion happen every now and then. These are not isolated cases. So it is not hard to understand what Medea must have gone through upon discovering Jason's betrayal of her extreme trust and love.

Jason's actions pushed her over the edge, making her act in ways not comprehensible by logic and reason although, it is hard to discern if what occurred is the result of momentary madness or extreme cold-heartedness.

Medea is both a victim and master of fate. Separation is the most difficult problem to face. What probably happened is that Medea could not face her fears of separation. She could not imagine life without Jason. Apart from Jason is equal to no life at all. That could be Medea's mind frame at the time of those ghastly acts. This is reason enough for her to commit murder against the very people who trust and love her. After a monologue, she reveals her plan which, at first, the chorus supports "Flow backward to your sources, sacred river, and let the world's great order be reversed [...] women are paid their due. No more shall evil-sounding fate be theirs" (407-413). Here, Medea is seen as a heroine willing to avenge the wrongs done to women, which is a rarity during her time. Her proneness to violence and ruthlessness however is evident at the start of the play when the nurse is prompted to predict "may even kill the king and the new-wedded groom" (42) and Creon's fear that she is "a clever woman, versed in evil arts" (283), who "may injure [his] daughter mortally" (281).

This declaration confirms the fact that Medea is seen as strong and determined woman willing to do extreme measures to get what she wants particularly extract vengeance. And the nurse does read her character well as shown by the succeeding turn of events.

Medea's half-baked values are brought to sudden and extreme test with Jason's sudden alienation. She is not exactly the model of virtue right from the very start. She is intensely proud. She could not bear to allow her enemies to gain any form of victory against her. This could, in part, be the reason for murdering her children. She does not want to see her children harmed by an enemy.

She is very intelligent. She can also be cunning and a cold manipulator. She is able to see behind the hypocrisies of her enemies and use these weaknesses against them. Her revenge is total. She holds no prisoners. The only thing going against her is that she is willing to pay the price at whatever costs, even the lives of those she holds dear.

When Jason turns against her, she sees him as an enemy she needs to conquer at all costs. With her emotions in all-time high, it is hard for her to respond rationally, to see things in an objective way. She acted out of instinct. Her worst self come to the fore.

Even though I condemn her acts, it was not difficult to imagine her position. Of course, that does not clear her of her sins but it does make her a bit human. We can relate to her after all, at least, to a very small degree.

All her acts are avoidable had she tried to think before acting. In this instance, it is important to note that Medea's distinctive quality is her capacity to act on instinct and have no hesitations about it. So actually, these monstrous acts are in consonance with her innate nature and character.

Medea might have been wrong in committing those acts but her premise that those very acts are what would hurt Jason the most is right. Jason's pain and loss would probably be insurmountable after what happened. In a way, Medea achieves the very end she strives for. Famously, the pleasure of seeing Jason suffer the loss of his children outweighed her own remorse at killing them.

Critics brand the opera as racist and sexist for it portrays Asian or Oriental women as the "ideal woman" because of their traits of submissiveness and passivity. The play focuses on the Western men's idea of Oriental or Asian women as exemplified by Frenchman Rene Gallimard who sees Song Liling as the "perfect woman".

The play is also heavily criticized by feminists who believe that it is an indictment of how men generally behave towards women. Gallimard's behavior towards women can be described as disturbing. For instance, everytime he visits Renee, a woman he has an affair, he feels excited knowing that he is causing pain to Song.

Women have always been viewed as the weaker sex. Even today, when feminist movements are at full throttle, women's docility is still considered as the ideal. Passivity is a characteristic mainly ascribed to women.

Hwang's M. Butterfly attack the views of Oriental women as probably the most submissive among all females. M. Butterfly is a rare combination of innocence and magnetic sex appeal which made Gallimard hopelessly in love with her. Asian girls are depicted as shy and beautiful women and often give in top white males even if he is not attractive. Unfortunately, Gallimard falls victim to this fallacious preconceptions. He merely sees what he wants to see. So much so that he overlooks the fact that M. Butterfly, the Oriental woman he is so madly in love with is not a woman but a man. M. Butterfly even gets naked in front of Gallimard and he did not notice anything suspicious. The deception works because according to Butterfly "only a man knows how a woman is supposed to act". Butterfly exploits Gallimards misconceptions and uses it against him.

Edward Said's Orientalism aptly characterizes the play M. Butterfly since it in a way depicts Western writers picturing and promoting the East according to their limited views and their set of prejudices. The play M. Butterfly aims to deal with this cultural blunder and destroy these patterns.

The first act introduces the main character, Rene Gallimard, who works as a civil servant in a French embassy in China. He falls in love with a beautiful Chinese opera diva, Song Liling, who is actually a man pretending to be a woman. During earlier times, women were not allowed to play stage roles in Beijing opera. All female roles were performed by men actors who were specifically trained to do female roles.

Song also works as a spy for the Chinese government and uses his relationship with Gallimard to extract important information from him. Song used his wiles as the submissive Asian female to get Gallimard to confess vital information.

Gallimard was found out to have a role in misinterpreting the native Vietnamese and Chinese in the Vietnam War due to Song's surveillance and was sent back France in disgrace. He divorces his wife Helga upon his return because he falls madly in love with Song. Since Gallimard was sent back to France, the Chinese government tortured Song for having sex with a man since he no longer serves a purpose to the government.

In Act Two, Song followed Gallimard to France and they resumed their illicit affair. They were together for 20 years when the truth about Song's real identity and sexuality was revealed. Gallimard was found to be guilty of treason and was imprisoned. Gallimard retreated into himself and his memories of the woman he once loved because he could not face the harsh reality of Song's ultimate act of betrayal.

The third act portrays Gallimard committing seppuku or suicide as Song smokes a cigarette and watches him commits the act.

The play is poignant tale of secrecy, betrayal and deception of the highest order. Song's ultimate act of deception led to Gallimard's breakdown and untimely demise. The clash of culture between Gallimard and Song became of paramount concern in the story because it became the primary reason why Song need to deceive Gallimard into thinking he is a real woman.

Song used women's wiles and the illusion of love to extract vital information from Gallimard. Gallimard fell badly for the illusions Song created just for him because of his preconceived ideas of docile, ideal and perfect Oriental women. In the end, Gallimard paid dearly with his life for Song's deceptions and his misconceptions. This goes to show that misconceptions on gender and cultural clashes carried to the extremes could have tragic consequences.

References:

M. Butterfly. (2007). Wikipedia.com. Retrieved December 17, 2007 from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._Butterfly

M. Butterfly. (2007). Amazon.com. Retrieved December 17, 2007 from

http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0452272599/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful?%5Fencoding=UTF8&coliid=&showViewpoints=1&colid=&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

Synopsis: M. Butterfly. (2007). AOL, LLC. Retrieved December 17, 2007 from http://movies.aol.com/movie/m-butterfly/8381/synopsis

Maggie, Brick's wife, could be fighting for several different reasons. This may be a very important part of her, because she came from a poor environment. Thus, Maggie wants to ensure that she won't have to go back to being poor. To ensure that both Maggie and Brick are in Big Daddy's will, she lies to everybody, even saying that she is pregnant. In this case, she isn't just doing it for herself, but also for Brick, even though he doesn't care whether he's in Big Daddy's will or not. Maggie also could be fighting for Brick's love and attention. For example, in the first act of the play, Maggie is talking to Brick and he isn't listening to what she is saying. Brick keeps asking “Did you say something, Maggie?' Against Brick's will, Maggie keeps talking to him. Maggie seems to be the kind of person who needs attention. So she could be fighting for Brick's attention to ensure that she maintains her position in the family and is able to get closer to Big Daddy. And therefore assure that she and her husband stay in Big Daddy's will.

During the whole play, Gooper, Big Daddy's eldest son and Mae's husband, is fighting for several reasons and still doesn't get what he wants. For one thing, and maybe the most important, Gooper wants Big Daddy's love, but Big Daddy loves Brick instead and doesn't care for Gooper. Big Daddy never has and never will care for Gooper. He did everything that Big Daddy wanted him to do. He went to law school, got married, had six children, and still doesn't get any of Big Daddy's attention or love. He also wants his share of the will, which would be every thing that belongs to Big Daddy. Even when it comes to the will, Gooper won't get anything or much, because Big Daddy prefers Brick. It's apparent that whatever he wants, he will never get, because it involves Brick and Big Daddy. He fights for these certain possessions, because he should get Big Daddy's property and money, since he's the eldest son, and at least some of Big Daddy's love, for he is still one of Big Daddy's son. The audience can feel that Gooper thinks it's unfair and, in a lot way, it is normal for him to think so.

Mae is her husband's shadow or his other half, in a lot ways, because she supports everything he does or says and does what he asks her to do. She probably even thinks the same way as he does. She might be fighting more for Gooper's sake and for the same reasons as he does. Mae is really helping Gooper achieve what he wants and has always wanted. She is always behind him and supports him. She even fights and hates Maggie, because she wants every thing to go to Gooper and thinks it's unfair that the property and the money go to Brick, who is the youngest son, and to his wife. Mae thinks it's unjust, because Gooper has done every single thing that Big Daddy wanted him to do and still doesn't get anything, as mentioned earlier. Brick, on the other hand, is an alcoholic, the youngest son and gets everything. This is the irony. The character that seems least concerned about the family wealth, stands to benefit the most.

In Tennessee William's “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”, Maggie, Gooper and Mae are fighting for similar purpose, but with different arguments. This play really shows how life is in certain families and the audience may or may not relate to the situation that the characters are living. The will is the focus of emotion and tension in the play. Big Daddy's will is a big part of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”.