WEEK SEVEN
TOPIC : THE THEMES OF THE PLAY
CONTENT :
Themes
.
Class Bias
Until Kate teaches him a lesson, Marlow responds to women solely on the basis of their status in society. He looks down on women of the lower class but is wholly at ease around them; he esteems women of the upper class but is painfully shy around them. Like the London society in which he was brought up, he assumes that all women of a certain class think and act according to artificial and arbitrary standards expected of that class. As for Mrs. Hardcastle, she appears to assess a person by the value of his or her possessions.
.
Love Ignores Social Boundaries
.
Although prevailing attitudes among England’s elite classes frown on romance between one of their own and a person of humble origin, Marlow can’t help falling in love with a common “barmaid” (who is, of course, Kate in disguise).
.
Hope for Flawed Humanity
Although Marlow makes a fool of himself as a result of his upper- class biases, Kate has enough common sense to see through the London hauteur encasing him and to appreciate him for his
genuinely good qualities—which are considerable, once he allows them to surface. Also, Mrs. Hardcastle, in spite of her misguided values, enjoys the love of her practical, down-to-earth husband. He, too, is willing to look beyond her foibles in favor of her good points.
.
Money Breeds Indolence
.
Tony Lumpkin will get 1,500 pounds a year when he comes of age. Thus, without financial worries, he devotes himself to ale and a do- nothing life.
ASSIGNMENT :
HOW ARE THE THEMES OF MONEY,CLASS,POWER,AND SOCIAL STATUS RELEVANT TO THE PRESENT DAY NIGERIA SOCIETY?