Character Analysis Of The Clean House By Sarah Ruhl

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In The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl, two characters stand out to me. Virginia, who is Lane 's sister and Lane 's estranged husband, Charles. The traits, characteristics and dialogue develop these characters in my mind 's eye. The personality of Charles is that he is smart, charismatic as well as a detail-oriented person. He is a surgeon with a specialty by trade, indicated by the dialogue in Act 1, scene 10. As far as Virginia, we learn that she is depressed with her life, she is college educated and dealing with some obsessive behaviors indicated in her conversation with Matilde. In Act 1, scene 7, Virginia meets Matilde for the first time. It is revealed that she is wearing a skirt. Given her need for cleanliness and the fact that she is a …show more content…
It is at this point we learn he is a surgeon successful to the point of attaining a specialty. He is the man responsible for the hiring of Matilde, a house-keeper. His trade and the employment of Matilde indicates that he is more than comfortable financially. When Virginia enters the stage she wipes a piece of furniture for dust and then immediately wipes her finger on her skirt. Therefore it is not yet very apparent that she is a clean freak. In order to give an appearance that is appropriate for everyday travel and errands as well as cleaning the house, a brightly colored bandanna worn around her head would help distinguish her from the neatly kept appearance of her sister and oppose that of the house-keeper. It would also help to give her the 3rd wheel appearance to Lane and Ana. Charles, opening Act 2 should be wearing rubber gloves to perform surgery. Removing them as he begins his dialogue in scene 3 and conclude the usage of them by scene 5. The significance is the hiding of the truth until he introduces Ana to Lane, a bare …show more content…
He is in love with physicality of Ana. As in the past, it would be expected of him to bail on while her health is in decline. However, he does make an effort to assist her while her health deteriorates. He is still driven throughout as well as misguided. But it is maturity and thoughtfulness that shows through as the play progresses. As mentioned, it is important that Charles be displayed as determined, at times very foolish and adventurous, unafraid to make a leap to change his life. His occupation demands a driven personality. His unawareness make him appear foolish. However his most foolish moment displays his adventurous side, willing to go the ends of the Earth for his love. Virginia displays the emotions of a depressed person. Receiving very little interest from her husband she longs for something more. This leads to her dynamic thoughts about what is normal. She is afraid of the outside world and has even been separated from her sister by her own admission. She is apprehensive in her abilities to make a significant change to her life and tries to live vicariously through her sister, until she realizes what Lane really

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