An Examination of Factors Impacting the Family and Family Values in Dramatical Plays

-The Runaway 1776

Mrs. (Hannah) Cowley

Act II "scene at the garden"

Throughout this term, we have examined many plays for various different literary styles, plots, themes and elements. I have noticed that many of these dramas contained some similar elements, one of which is the notion of family. I have selected seven different dramas to evaluate the idea of family embedded within the text. I am beginning in 1675 and ending in 1895 thus spanning 220 years of literary dramas.

The terms family and family values were best summed up by a web site called "family IQ." They seem to have a definition that nearly everyone agrees upon. Their definition on family and family values consists of numerous aspects but, for the purpose of this paper, we will focus on one ... " Traditional family values usually include such topics such as religion, marriage, communication, traditions, morals, holidays, interactions with relatives and how time is spent together". Obviously this definition will mean slightly different things to different people and maybe that is why this is such an excellent definition. All the characters in these plays seem to have different opinions of what is important and, what is not important within a family system and some of the characters really do not care. In addition, without the risk of sounding "cold" ...both the caring and the non-caring characters are equally important. By comparing the characters that do not care about family to those who do, we the reader, are able to examine the true nature of the characters. The "truth" about the characters values lie somewhere within this binary opposition.

The Country Wife is a play written by William Wycherley. The title alone ascertains some sort of family value within itself. It is solely in my opinion that the title The Country Wife is in fact making fun of the fact that Horner, our main character, was pretending to be impotent in order to be able to get closer to married women with the hopes of eventually seducing them. This tells us a whole lot about family values. The first thing is the Horner had no value of family whatsoever. The interesting thing was that the women he was seducing, did seem to have family values (they were all married) but they were in essence, hypocritical. Technically, they were all pretending to have family values. I was under the impression that these women were used to living a façade. The Country Wife seems to have some demeaning characteristics to it. I cannot imagine a modern women being referred to as a "country wife." This may have something to do with time and it is likely that in 1675 it was not an issue. Such are the complications of using ideals from the year 2011 to analyze values from performances in the late 1600's.

Horner put many women is some strange predicaments all because of his lack of family values. He was essentially a "home wrecker." Most of the women he slept with were of the upper echelon within the caste structure. Their husbands tended to travel a lot. It also seemed to me that not only was Horner a home wrecker but he also knew their husbands. It was only because of the rumor of his supposed impotence that he was even allowed anywhere near the wives. Once again, back to the title...The Country Wife seems to have a wholesome sound to it but it could also portray a "lonely wife" who is home all the time and is basically bored and probably tired that her husband is always gone. The character, Mr. Pinchwife says to Alithea in Scene 2... "Sister, if you will not go, we must leave you"-... I was particularly drawn to that line mostly because it showed a disruption in the family structure. It seemed to portray a sort of, "ironic force," in that the disrupted family values contained within The Country Wife seems to be more normal than the "defined" family values. I would go as far to say that the entire ideal of family seemed to revolve around that one line.

The Recruiting Officer by George Farquhar has a very different dynamic than that of The Country Wife.The Recruiting Officer could best be described as a love story...of sorts. Family values were measured in terms of monetary values. In Scene 2, Plume raises the question "Well, what success?" This was in response to Kite's rambling about the position of the stars. At one point Smith intervenes with an explanation of how poor he is. It is these aspects combined with the fact that Melinda was going to marry Worthy that was until she came into her own money. Most of the "family" and "family values" contained within this production are between characters who are not really relatives but are still family. Sometimes family can extend beyond the walls of relatives and include co-workers or people who merely work close together on a regular basis. I believe that such is the case with The Recruiting Officer.

The next play The Rivals by Richard Brinsley Sheridan seems to show yet, another presence of family and the values contained within. The interesting thing about this play is that "family" is portrayed as an "ideal" and not necessarily a "reality". It seems as though, the main character, Lydia read many love stories and she wanted to experience love, vicariously through these stories. Her idea of family and family values is in what she had read. It seems as though she wanted to be swept off her feet in some complex whirlwind romance. Lydia's direct family consists of her guardian, Mrs. Malaprop. Lydia wants to run off with "poor" Jack without the knowledge or wishes of her guardian. This play actually takes the financial aspect out of the relationship and is overrun with the aspect of "fantasy." At one point Sir Lucius wants to fight Jack but Jack does not seem to know why. This aspect of fighting for ones' love seems to play out well in romance novels but in real life is far from ideal. I believe that this is actually, what Lydia wanted, or it seems to be what she wished for. Lydia's idea of love and family would include having someone fight for her. Lydia's view on family is unique but is very believable because, I am made to believe that she read an extensive amount of romance novels and it would not be un-realistic to assume that that is all she knows. I must add that Mrs. Melaprop added a comedic element to the story with her constant miss-use of words. According the website, Fun with Words the term Malapropisms was actually taken from Mrs. Malaprop and is used today to explain when someone misuses a word thus changing the meaning of the sentence. A great example of this was when Mrs. Meloprop said "I am sure I have done everything in my power since I exploded[should be exposed] the affair." That also tells us a little something about her family values. Mrs. Malaprop seemed to have family values and morals but it seemed as though every time she spoke; something came out wrong. It became difficult to take her seriously. I was actually picturing Mrs. Malaprop as a character on Saturday night live.

According to Reed Way Dasenbrock, author of Literary theory after Davidson. Mrs. Malaprop may actually be miss using the phrases on purpose. In connection with Dasenbrocks theory, I am going to hypothesize that Mrs. Malaprop actually had extensive family values that were moralistically bound but it was difficult to take her seriously because of her deficient use of the English language. I felt as though her values were easily ignored. Furthermore, I think Mrs. Malaprop is an excellent example of a morally exceptional character, with her beliefs firmly tied within family but her style complicates the believability of her character.

The Runaway by Mrs. Cowley has a sort of interesting twist. I am going to start out by saying that according to the University of Montreal, Mrs. Cowley, the author herself actually had a great notion of what family was and the values contained therein. It seems as though, after seeing a performance, Cowley was convinced that she could write a play. Her family did not have a lot of money because her husband did not make a whole lot so; she took it upon herself to write a play in order to bring in some extra income for her and her family. I think that the "birth" of her plays was in part do the her dedication to her family. And, being a female in the late 1700's and early 1800's definitely had its disadvantages. She prevailed through and became a success.

The Runaway portrays family values in a different kind of light...this play focuses on love rekindled George have previously fallen in love with Emily and they had the opportunity to meet again later. When this happened he of course, was still in love with her. I actually felt it was more of an infatuation or maybe lust but either way it was implied that he loved her. Meanwhile his father wants him to marry someone who is wealthy but he does not want to. I think the "family values" mentioned earlier about the author (Cowley) seem to come through to the characters as well. To George "love" is more important than money but we learn in the end that you really need both. This is implied when George and Emily receive some valuable land. This directly reflects that actions that Cowley had taken when her family was running out of money. This strong notion of family and family values seemed to assimilate through Cowley's reality and onto the pages of the play.

Family values in Frankenstein. I say yes! According to the University of Pennsylvania English department. One of the central themes in Frankenstein happens to be family and family values. Frankenstein could be considered a "creation" play. With that in mind, there seems to be a bond between Frankenstein and pretty much everyone else. The University of Pennsylvania had three main areas of focus regarding family in Frankenstein by Henry M. Milner. They were family in terms of "domestic affections: The value of shared and loving intimacy to be discerned, and experienced, in family life", the second focus was on "Family-Patriarch: The role and relationships established by, or expected of, fathers." Finally, "the responsibilities of male children in the novel." There were other aspects but those three directly related to the role of family in the play. The interesting thing was that in Act II, Scene 5 Strutt says "Faith, my lads, it's cold work of this climbing so near the summit of Aetna, in a chill evening breeze-yes, and fatiguing work too- catching such a game as we've been after is no boy's play." The direct comparison to a "game" makes me question Strutts value on family. Certainly one would not refer to this particular discourse as a "game" at least no one with family values. I am uncertain as to what Strutt's values are in regards to family. I am inclined to believe that Strutt has no regard for family. The University of Pennsylvania had no explanation on this and I could not find any material anywhere else to support or befall Strutt's values. Furthermore, my own opinion is wavering but I am going out on a limb to say that he had no family values and that Strutt, was un-human because of his lack of values. With that in mind, that would certainly put a twist on an already classic play.

In the play Trial by Jury written by W.S. Gilbert, we are introduced to yet, another type of family. It was like Cowley's play on a similar level regarding the connection between the author and the characters in the play. It seems as though the well-known Sir William Schwenck Gilbert collaborated with Sir Author Sullivan (the music composer). That helped both of them to escalate their careers into fame. It is this "family" like relationship that spawned the creation of many other performances.

Trial by Jury is a twisted tale of a person who is on trial for "Breach of promise of marriage." It seemed as though Edwin did not have family values but rather he had selfish needs. However, this too had twists; maybe Angelina was really the selfish one, after all she stopped fulfilling Edwin's needs thus forcing him to go elsewhere. Meanwhile the judge is obviously corrupt and it becomes obviousthat that is how he became judge. Furthermore, when the judge announces that he would marry Angelina that, in my opinion makes that judge look selfish and portrays him as having no family values whatsoever. Gilbert and Sullivan, in close conjunction with one another created this masterpiece. It was this "family" like relationship that allowed them to become so successful. It was also through their willingness to allow others into their "family" helped facilitate the process. As I read the performance, my idea of family went back and forth between Angelina, Edwin and the judge. Both Angelina and Edwin just wanted their immediate selfish needs met but they were mutually selfish. Meanwhile that judge was using his "judge" powers to take advantage of Angelina and Edwin. The story ends before we are able to get a grasp the "true" family values of the characters. The one thing we do know is that the Judge has now values whatsoever. So, in the case of Trial by Jury we are left not really knowing the family values of either Angelina or Edwin; the one thing we can be quite sure of is that whatever values they possess, both Angelina's and Edwin's family values appear to be very similar.

In The Importance of Being Earnest takes family values into yet a different realm. It was not until the third act that I was able to draw any sort of conclusion regarding the aspect of family and family values. Oscar Wilde seems to attack the institution of family relationships and just about anything else, one can imagine. He seems to accomplish this through his unique dialogue. He does not seem to have any real family values, in fact the entire play very well may be a mockery of family and family values. It appears that Wilde may be making fun of family and the institution thereof. According to the journal Modern Drama: "Wilde's narrator undertakes a project that is essentially one of recovery - a counter-reading in the face of the heterosexist narratives that have effaced the homosexual desire at the heart of Shakespeare's sonnets. This same assumption informs the arguments of Christopher Craft, Patricia Behrendt, and Joel Fineman; they look in Earnest for representations of a fully formed gay masculinity - a "Uraniste" in Ernest (Behrendt 172-73)." I wasn't really sure what to make of that. I recognize what is being said but I do not totally agree. This is mostly because I have seen the film and I did not recognize any signs that a writer would use to show that a character being portrayed as a "representations of fully formed gay masculinity."

It is quite evident that the role of family and family values are prevalent in numerous plays. Everything from Wycherley's The Country Wife written in 1675 to Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest written in 1895 contain these values in all forms and elements. Family values extend far beyond the characters in these plays and in some cases; they extended beyond the characters in directly into the lives of the authors themselves. Alternatively, maybe it is the other way around. Either way, I believe I have demonstrated that various forms of family values seem to be quite abundant the have been thriving well for the 220 year span of my research. I am confident that this aspect would continue back as long as humans have existed and will continue until we die off.

Bibliography

Cowley, Mrs. Hannah. The Runaway. 1776. Print.

George, Farquhar. The Recruiting Officer. 1706. Print.

Gilbert, W. S., and Sir Arthur Sullivan. Trial by Jury. 1875. Print.

Milner, Henry M. Frankenstein. 1867. Print.

Sheridan, Richard B. The Rivals. 1775. Print.

Wilde, Oscar. The Importance of Being Earnest. 1895. Print.

Wycherley, William. The Country Wife. 1675. Print.

Dasenbrock, Reed Way. Literary Theory after Davidson. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State UP, 1993. Print.

Duffy, Susie. "Defining Family Values, Traditional Family Values." Family Relationships, Web. 24 Feb. 2011. .

Escott, Angela. "British Women Playwrights around 1800." Département D'études Anglaises - Université De Montréal. 15 July 2000. Web. 24 Feb. 2011. .

Lalonde, Jeremy. "A "Revolutionary Outrage": The Importance of Being Earnest as Social Criticism." Modern Drama 48.4 (2005): 659-76. Print.

"Major Themes in Frankenstein." Calls for Papers | Cfp.english.upenn.edu. University of Pennsylvania English Department. Web. 24 Feb. 2011. .

"Malapropisms." Fun With Words The Wordplay Web Site. Web. 24 Feb. 2011. .

"Sir William Schwenck Gilbert." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2004. Print.