Alfie's 'Social Expectation Of Love'

The play took place in Dublin, Ireland in the 1960s. At this time, homosexual relations were not socially accepted. The one who made the laws were the people of the church. In this century, their bible was like our modern day US Constitution. Therefore, there were gender roles and practices that were strictly enforced.
One societal expectation that affected the characters was that you must marry. This affected Alfie because he was tortured by his friends and even his sister Lilly because he is in his 40s and have not had a woman. To them, this was a sign of failure in life. Secondly, another expectation was that a man cannot love a man and women cannot love another woman. This affected Alfie because he has been hiding this secret from everyone and it made him an outcast. He cannot be his true self and openly love the person he loves. Lastly, it is believed that one should not have sex before marriage or they have committed adultery. Adele had a boyfriend named John and they have had sexual relations that is unacceptable to the church. This is why Adele was so ashamed that she was pregnant and fled the town.
In the end, I think Adele wins love because she gets the opportunity the leave and be with her boyfriend. I believe Alfie wins sexual …show more content…
In Alfie’s case, he desires to love Robbie but fears judgement. He cannot help that he loves men and because he cannot change this, he has been suppressing his true identity his entire life. In Adele’s case, she loves a man who doesn’t live in her town and she is pregnant with his child. Because being pregnant will become visible, everyone will know that she has a significant other in her life. “Welcome to the World” is a song of sexual liberation for Alfie. Now that everyone knows that he is homosexual, he does not have to hide anymore. This gives the viewers relief also because we know that Alfie will not be chastised