The resentful working class: an analysis of the effects of the oppressive and materialistic values of 1960’s Quebec.
The successful and controversial play Les Belles Soeurs written by Michel Tremblay, shows the effect and restrictions of oppressive and materialistic values of 1960’s Quebec on women in their home, work and status. This play has now been translated into 20 languages, allowing it to now be performed all over the world (larevolutiontranquille). For this play to have been successful, it had to be relatable. Allowing for a universal truth to be unveiled, that from its popularity, all cultures have some form of oppression.
During the 1960’s in Quebec, most women are housewives (Chowdhury, Khan, Koronoes, Petteplace, Poulton, 7). …show more content…
All of the housewives are not happy in their position as a housewife and complain about their expected daily chores in a repeating chorus of; “I get up and I fix breakfast. Toast, coffee, bacon and eggs. I nearly go nuts trying to get the others out of bed. The kids leave for school, my husband goes to work” (Tremblay, 12). This quotation confirms how deeply rooted these oppressive values are, seeing as none of the women consider rebelling against doing all the chores and instead will settle for complaining. The chorus continues with “I work. I slave. I kill myself for my pack of morons” (Tremblay, 13). The author uses a chorus to prove that all of the housewives have resentful emotions towards their place in the house, but cannot do anything to change it, demonstrating the oppressive values that housewives have against them. All of them hate their life and regularly talk about having dreams to become something amazing in life but never been able to achieve it. This is seen in a motif throughout the play is the phrase “This stupid rotten life!” (Tremblay, 13). The author uses this often to show their feelings of being trapped by their lives but wanting to escape. Yet they cannot due to them being housewives and it being a full time
The successful and controversial play Les Belles Soeurs written by Michel Tremblay, shows the effect and restrictions of oppressive and materialistic values of 1960’s Quebec on women in their home, work and status. This play has now been translated into 20 languages, allowing it to now be performed all over the world (larevolutiontranquille). For this play to have been successful, it had to be relatable. Allowing for a universal truth to be unveiled, that from its popularity, all cultures have some form of oppression.
During the 1960’s in Quebec, most women are housewives (Chowdhury, Khan, Koronoes, Petteplace, Poulton, 7). …show more content…
All of the housewives are not happy in their position as a housewife and complain about their expected daily chores in a repeating chorus of; “I get up and I fix breakfast. Toast, coffee, bacon and eggs. I nearly go nuts trying to get the others out of bed. The kids leave for school, my husband goes to work” (Tremblay, 12). This quotation confirms how deeply rooted these oppressive values are, seeing as none of the women consider rebelling against doing all the chores and instead will settle for complaining. The chorus continues with “I work. I slave. I kill myself for my pack of morons” (Tremblay, 13). The author uses a chorus to prove that all of the housewives have resentful emotions towards their place in the house, but cannot do anything to change it, demonstrating the oppressive values that housewives have against them. All of them hate their life and regularly talk about having dreams to become something amazing in life but never been able to achieve it. This is seen in a motif throughout the play is the phrase “This stupid rotten life!” (Tremblay, 13). The author uses this often to show their feelings of being trapped by their lives but wanting to escape. Yet they cannot due to them being housewives and it being a full time