Oedipus the King: Jocasta’s Role

the pressure to remain faithful.

Emilia is the wife of Iago and the attendant of Desdemona. She is a cynical and worldly woman who is deeply loyal to her mistress but distrustful of her husband (Shakespeare, 2005). In Tartuffe, Elmire is Orgon's second wife and represents a reasonable attitude towards life. Mariane, also in Tartuffe, is Orgon's daughter who loves Valere but is being forced to marry Tartuffe. Dorine, a common character in Moliere's comedies, is the wise servant who can see through any pretenses. Despite her lower social position, she outwits others in any contest of wits.

Dorine, surrounded by the deluded and tyrannical Orgon, the hypocritical Tartuffe, and the ineffectual Mariane, appeals to us with her winning wholesomeness, directness, and simple honesty. In the social structure of the time, Dorine would be both a servant and companion to Mariane, which explains her open manner compared to a typical servant. She consistently demonstrates her ability to perceive the truth amidst hypocrisy and fanaticism, and satirically expresses the audience's frustration (Moliere, 2000).

The Father Laura is The Captain’s wife. Despite accepting her maternal relationship with her husband, Laura despises her role as a spouse and seeks revenge by ruining him. To prove his madness, she resorts to forgery and distorts the identity of their daughter's father. While both Laura and The Captain acknowledge that it is not feasible to raise Bertha in their household, they have contrasting desires for her upbringing. The Captain wishes for her to be raised as an atheist in the city, whereas Laura envisions a different path for her daughter, possibly as an artist.

Swedish law at the time prevents Laura from having her wishes

about her daughter's future followed. Therefore, she devises a plan to frame the Captain as mentally insane in order to gain control over her daughter's future. As part of this plan, she hints that Bertha may not even be the Captain's daughter, suggesting that she had been unfaithful. Additionally, Laura intercepts the Captain's mail and deceives the influential Doctor to convince him of the Captain's insanity (Weinstein, 2011). Waiting for Godot is a two-act play.

Samuel Beckett's decision to not include women in his plays was motivated by his belief that they lack prostates. This is significant because Beckett argues that having a prostate is crucial for the character Vladimir, who frequently leaves the stage to urinate. Moreover, he asserts that females would struggle to accurately convey the character's vocal tone. Nevertheless, I personally think that introducing female actors in the play could introduce a unique dynamic in portraying relationships, like friendship or marriage, between men and women.

According to Weinstein (2011), various interpretations of Godot exist, with some suggesting religious connections and comparing him to Jesus Christ. Changing the gender of Godot could potentially alter the play's meaning, implying sexual motives if two men were waiting for a woman, or similarly if two women were waiting for a man. However, if all actors were female, their gender would not impact the meaning as they belong to the same sex. It is when genders are mixed that different meanings and portrayals can emerge (Weinstein, 2011).

Retrieved from http://www.archive.org/stream/tartuffe02027gut/trtff10.txt
Shakespeare, W. (2005). Othello. Retrieved from http://www.william-shakespeare.info/script-text-othello.htm
Sophocles. (1999). Oedipus the king. Retrieved from http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/sophocles/oedipustheking.htm
Weinstein, A. (Performer). (2011). Godot absent - didi and gogo present. [Web

Video]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Pb8oNOYLAU
Weinstein, A. (Performer). (2011). Strindberg's father - patriarchy in trouble. [Web Video]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q-yNsh8lBQ