Comment on the portrayal of the female characters in the play “The Birthday Party.”
The Birthday Party is a notable literary work by Harold Pinter. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the Main texts, Key info, Summary, Themes, Characters, Literary devices, Quotations, Notes, and various study materials of The Birthday Party.
Answer
Comment on the portrayal of the female characters in the play “The Birthday Party.”
Harold Pinter’s (1930-2008) “The Birthday Party” (1957) is a dark and mysterious play. The play shows the loneliness and fear of human life. The story takes place in a small boarding house owned by Meg and Petey. Among all the strange and silent moments in the play, the female characters, Meg Boles and Lulu, play important roles. Through them, Pinter shows the weakness, confusion, and helplessness of women in a meaningless world.
Meg Boles—The Simple, Childlike Woman: Meg Boles is the owner of the boarding house where Stanley stays. She is a middle-aged woman, but behaves like a child. Her language, tone, and actions are very simple and innocent. She treats Stanley almost like her son. She asks him questions like, “Are you up?” She makes his breakfast every morning.
However, Meg’s love for Stanley is not only motherly; it also shows a strange childish desire for attention. She feels happy when Stanley praises her. He says:
“I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Meg even blushes when he plays jokes on her. This shows her emotional emptiness and her need for love in a lonely life. Through Meg, Pinter presents women as loving but powerless. She tries to create happiness by arranging a birthday party for Stanley. But she does not understand the danger around her. Her ignorance protects her from fear, but it also makes her a tragic figure. She lives in her own little world, unable to face reality.
Meg’s Symbolic Role: Meg represents the confusion and blindness of ordinary people in the modern world. She is busy with small things like breakfast, shopping, and the party. But she never sees the larger danger coming. When Goldberg and McCann arrive, she welcomes them warmly. She thinks of them as nice visitors. Even after the birthday party turns into chaos when Stanley tries to strangle her in the darkness, she still believes,
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