Hangman's Beach Character Analysis

Thomas Raddall’s novel Hangman’s Beach is a historical fiction. Raddall teaches the reader about different cultures, war, men, and women. The expectations of women throughout history are engraved in this novel. We learn of how they are treated, the relationships they have, and the way men view and treat them. A woman’s role hasn’t changed much. They fought to be able to vote, have jobs, be able to divorce and choose their own relationships, and they succeeded. But, even in today’s society they are still fighting for respect from their counter sex, and they are fighting for equality for both genders. In this novel the reader learns of the expectations men had for women and how women were treated during a time of revolutions, the build of new …show more content…
He is the head of the household and has high standards for the women who reside under his roof. He makes it very clear what behaviour is appropriate and forces the women to lie for fear that he will think of them as crazy and “lock them up”. Joanna’s character is rebellious, she goes against her husband’s wishes and even lies to him. This goes against the very role of a woman and of a wife, as they are supposed to obey their husbands and be honest. While Johanna is more complacent, Ellie is the image of a woman who is ahead of her time. As an unmarried woman she should be innocent and naïve when it comes to men, the understanding of sex and the marriage bed. Although many women in this society may have known and understood such things even before they experienced it on their own wedding night, they weren’t supposed to talk about it openly or even at all. In doing so is inappropriate and jeopardizes their reputation. The fact that Ellie does this unapologetically shows how advanced she is for a woman during this time. Joanna is realistic in her reaction to Ellie’s blunt talk, as most women in her position would have been, “Joanna’s face went res, as if she herself were the timorous virgin, not this frank young creature beside her.” (73) even as a married woman she has kept part of her innocence, mostly at her …show more content…
Before women fought for their freedom and equality, they were expected to act and be a certain way. In his novel, Raddall expresses that women were made to be wives and caregivers. Pretty women would find love and live a happy life. At a time when no one was certain of anything, one thing stayed true. Women were slaves to the expectations and rules of society that men created. Raddall brilliantly uses history and a love story to mask the underlining issues of this culture. Women were not equal to men and would not survive without a man in their lives to keep them in