Altruism and Egotism in Love: Comparing Doubt and Angels in America
The plays Doubt by J. P. Shanley and Angels in America by Tony Kushner challenge interpretations surrounding the politics of love. Both plays tangle matters of the heart and mind, which figuratively interplay in character relationships to relay precepts of love. In spite of this similarity, the plays differ in how love is essentially attitudinally defined and perceived. Doubt depicts love as a static entity that is grounded in tradition and altruism, and never fulfilled. In contrast, Angels depicts love as a fluid entity, current with modernity and egotism, which envelopes fulfillment.
In Doubt, principal Aloysius embodies tradition, and implicitly represents the Church’s altruism …show more content…
When Joe is offered a promotional opportunity to relocate he hesitates due to Harper’s objections, and his “obligations” and “responsibility” out of love for her (Kushner 15-16; 26; 56-57). Tension from the promotion spurs marital conflict: Joe blames her reluctance on fear of the outside world and her emotional problems; while, Harper condemns their marriage and blames her emotional problems on living with him, his secrets and lies (Kushner 27), and labels them as “pretend-happy” (Kushner 23). As Mormons, key-terms “obligation”, “responsibility”, and “love” implicitly juxtapose the politics of law and religion that epitomize the selflessness of the marriage contract, an emblem of traditional love. The Pitts’ strife, and label “pretend-happy”, reveals the paradox of the traditional marriage contract: personal repression for public persona. Likewise, after Prior confronts Louis with his terminal illness (Kushner 21), and Louis looks to theology to explain his fears and abandonment (Kushner 25) – Louis foreshadows his justification for his actions: “…it should be the questions and shape of a life, its total complexity gathered, arranged and considered, which matters in the end, not some stamp of salvation or damnation which disperses all complexity in some unsatisfying little decision – the balancing of the scales…[Justice]…is …show more content…
Arising from tensions with Aloysius, James has a reoccurring nightmare of darkness hovering over her face while looking at her reflection in the mirror (Shanley 38). Sociologist C.H. Cooley (1902) proposed the theory of the Looking Glass Self, which encapsulates, “that our self-concepts are formed as reflections of the responses and evaluations of others in our environment”, and emphasizes, that self-concept and socialization stem from “reference groups and significant others as the “mirrors” that reflect images of the self” (Gecas & Schwalbe 1983). Tying text to theory, despite James’ outwardly persona, the nightmare symbolizes a rupture of her identity and self-image relevant to how love should be portrayed. Flynn, while confiding in James, is attentive to a vocal crow and after she leaves, he yells at it: “Oh, be quiet” (Shanley 38-42). In literature and in life, crows are either revered or feared. Crows are known to be intelligent, cooperative, sociable, and devious, and are ‘humanly’ perceived (Chappell 2006, Marzluff & Angell 2005). They also easily shift from being friend or foe, depending on stakes, and have been described as “tricksters, liars, and mischievous thieves”, mainly: clever (Chappell 2006, Marzluff & Angell 2005). Contradicting his reputation, because the crow is attributed to Flynn, the bird functions to unveil his cleverness, trickery, and deceit,
The plays Doubt by J. P. Shanley and Angels in America by Tony Kushner challenge interpretations surrounding the politics of love. Both plays tangle matters of the heart and mind, which figuratively interplay in character relationships to relay precepts of love. In spite of this similarity, the plays differ in how love is essentially attitudinally defined and perceived. Doubt depicts love as a static entity that is grounded in tradition and altruism, and never fulfilled. In contrast, Angels depicts love as a fluid entity, current with modernity and egotism, which envelopes fulfillment.
In Doubt, principal Aloysius embodies tradition, and implicitly represents the Church’s altruism …show more content…
When Joe is offered a promotional opportunity to relocate he hesitates due to Harper’s objections, and his “obligations” and “responsibility” out of love for her (Kushner 15-16; 26; 56-57). Tension from the promotion spurs marital conflict: Joe blames her reluctance on fear of the outside world and her emotional problems; while, Harper condemns their marriage and blames her emotional problems on living with him, his secrets and lies (Kushner 27), and labels them as “pretend-happy” (Kushner 23). As Mormons, key-terms “obligation”, “responsibility”, and “love” implicitly juxtapose the politics of law and religion that epitomize the selflessness of the marriage contract, an emblem of traditional love. The Pitts’ strife, and label “pretend-happy”, reveals the paradox of the traditional marriage contract: personal repression for public persona. Likewise, after Prior confronts Louis with his terminal illness (Kushner 21), and Louis looks to theology to explain his fears and abandonment (Kushner 25) – Louis foreshadows his justification for his actions: “…it should be the questions and shape of a life, its total complexity gathered, arranged and considered, which matters in the end, not some stamp of salvation or damnation which disperses all complexity in some unsatisfying little decision – the balancing of the scales…[Justice]…is …show more content…
Arising from tensions with Aloysius, James has a reoccurring nightmare of darkness hovering over her face while looking at her reflection in the mirror (Shanley 38). Sociologist C.H. Cooley (1902) proposed the theory of the Looking Glass Self, which encapsulates, “that our self-concepts are formed as reflections of the responses and evaluations of others in our environment”, and emphasizes, that self-concept and socialization stem from “reference groups and significant others as the “mirrors” that reflect images of the self” (Gecas & Schwalbe 1983). Tying text to theory, despite James’ outwardly persona, the nightmare symbolizes a rupture of her identity and self-image relevant to how love should be portrayed. Flynn, while confiding in James, is attentive to a vocal crow and after she leaves, he yells at it: “Oh, be quiet” (Shanley 38-42). In literature and in life, crows are either revered or feared. Crows are known to be intelligent, cooperative, sociable, and devious, and are ‘humanly’ perceived (Chappell 2006, Marzluff & Angell 2005). They also easily shift from being friend or foe, depending on stakes, and have been described as “tricksters, liars, and mischievous thieves”, mainly: clever (Chappell 2006, Marzluff & Angell 2005). Contradicting his reputation, because the crow is attributed to Flynn, the bird functions to unveil his cleverness, trickery, and deceit,