Look Back in Anger

what's jimmy's attitude towards women in look back in anger?

how jimmy think about women?

Asked by
Last updated by awat a #230629
Answers 2
Add Yours

Masculinity in Art

Osborne has been accused by critics of misogynistic views in his plays. Many point to Look Back in Anger as the chief example. These critics accuse Osborne of glorifying young male anger and cruelty towards women and homosexuals. This is seen in the play in specific examples in which Jimmy Porter emotionally distresses Alison, his wife, and delivers a grisly monologue in which he wishes for Alison's mother's death.

Osborne, however, asserts that he is attempting to restore a vision of true masculinity into a twentieth century culture that he sees as becoming increasingly feminized. This feminization is seen in the way that British culture shows an "indifference to anything but immediate, personal suffering." This causes a deadness within which Jimmy's visceral anger and masculine emotion is a retaliation against.

"Jimmy has his good points, including real affection for Alison when they manage to get on the same emotional wavelength, sometimes helped by a childish game where they pretend to be a bear and a squirrel. He's also fiercely devoted to Mrs. Tanner, the old cockney woman who provided the candy stall he operates. But his hostility can be explosive toward people he doesn't like, such as Alison's friend Helena, an actress who needs a place to stay while she prepares for a new play. Alison invites her to move in, making Jimmy so furious that he and Cliff barge into the theater where she's rehearsing and embarrass her in front of everyone. Things get worse when Alison goes to church with Helena instead of visiting Mrs. Tanner in the hospital, where she's lying gravely ill. Alarmed at the extent of Jimmy's all-encompassing anger, Helena calls Alison's father to come and rescue his daughter, and he soon arrives, taking Alison back to the family home. Returning from the hospital, Jimmy berates Helena so viciously that she slaps him – and then passionately kisses him, starting a love affair that reinvents the household with Helena in Alison's place. Feelings continue to run high as Cliff moves out, Alison returns after undergoing a new tragedy, and Helena grows increasingly ambivalent about her effect on the couple's lives. Subplots center on Alison's relationship with her befuddled father, a retired military man, and Jimmy's attempt to help an East Indian market vendor stave off the racism of a mean-spirited cop."

Source(s)

http://www.gradesaver.com/look-back-in-anger/study-guide/major-themes/ http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/191929%7C0/Look-Back-in-Anger.html

His attitude is love in one hand and hatred in the other hand which is behind some past reason.

Source(s)

look back in anger's play