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Gender inequality in the work force
Womens roles in the 1950s
Does gender inequality in work still exist
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Shelagh Delaney’s, “A Taste of Honey”, is a great example of what life was like for women in England in the 1950’s. Women were not offered reliable jobs and were sometimes not treated well by men. “A Taste of Honey” exemplifies the weaknesses and the spirit of women in a poor and restless world. The play also depicts the lives of the working class British citizens. The main characters, Jo and Helen, are an image of the treatment of women in post-war Salford, England (Manchester).
After War World War II, most women lost their jobs because priority was given to war veterans. If women still held jobs they were not well paid. In the play, Helen, the mother, finds herself in desperation many times and offers her body for money. She insinuates prostitute behavior when she says, “I’m thinking of giving it up…Sex! Men!” This type of behavior in Helen is also seen when Jo says, “And we’re supposed to be living off her immoral earnings…” (Delaney,). This line proves that Helen makes a living and supports Jo by accepting money from her lovers. It is obvious that making money and supporting one’s family was difficult in this period of time. Women were seen as prostitutes or “semi-whores” sometimes, and this led to the degrading of women by men. This is probably why Helen’s lover, or boyfriend, Peter uses her and then leaves her. Then, again, Helen is attracted to Peter more for his money than actual love. Peter would sometimes verbally abuse Helen and Jo. In one scene of the play, he states, “I’m not having that bloody slut at our place. I’ll tell you that for nothing.” Alcohol also played a large role in the treatment of women from men. Helen and Peter’s relationship, apart from sex, was based on alcohol. In the play we see this when Pete...
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...(Coob). In the play, Helen did not fulfill any of these roles. She was a cold and uninvolved mother, she did not care much for the needs of her daughter and she never had a stable marriage. In turn, Jo is following the steps of her mother in assuming these roles. She rarely goes to the clinic to check on her pregnancy, Geoff does most of the homemaking and she seems to hate romantic love.
Nevertheless, I think this play does a great job at depicting the scene of the 1950’s. Women were beginning to find independence from men and were making a living for themselves, as did Jo.
Works Cited
Delaney, Shelagh. A Taste of Honey; a Play. New York: Grove, 1959. Print.
Phillips, Ella. "Themes and Issues - A Taste Of Honey by Shelagh Delaney." Prezi.com. N.p., 26 Nov. 2012. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
Coob, Roobix. "A Woman's Role in the 1950's." N.p., 17 Nov. 2005. Web.
Brown, Rosellen. “Honey Child.” Women’s Review of Books. Vol. 19. No. 7. Philadelphia: Old City Publishing. 2002. 11. Print.
She allows her mother to control her and make decisions for her. During their conversation, she asks her mom if she should marry Mr. Jones even if she does not love him. Her mother does not seem to care until Helen mentions that he is Vice-President of the company. Her mother says that she should marry him whether she loves him or not because he will be able to take care of her and Helen. They continue to discuss how Helen can marry this man that she doesn’t like so she will never have to work again and he can support her mother, or she can say no at the risk of losing her job and not being able to support her mother anymore. Helen ties in how life is making her “feel like I’m stifling!” (591). Again, I feel this is another representation of Helen not being able to handle the pressures of society. Helen can’t talk about important decisions she has to make without feeling claustrophobic and blowing up by saying things like “I’ll kill you!” (592). I think she blows up because her mother is always nagging her and she can’t handle it in that moment anymore, especially since it is a conversation about
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