Women In Arthur Miller's Play It As It Lays

Nonetheless, ownership of property does not only apply to things, but also to people such as Maria. She is an asset to the studio that employs her as an actress until she is not. Maria is also a property of Carter as her husband, at least that comes from an actor in the elevator she meets. (Didion, 23). Helen May reaffirms this sentiment of property, like any other women in entertainment business, a statement mentions “That women are nothing more but a prop” (May, 9) taken from the word “use” in one paragraph from Play It As It Lays,
I don’t know if you know this, but he wanted you in this picture very badly. At one point he was ready to scrap the deal, jeopardize the entire project, just because he wanted to use you (Didion, 26).
May translates “use” from the paragraph as an indication of an inequality role between Carter and Maria. Furthermore, May suggests that Carter overpowers Maria and uses her as whatever he sees fit. (May, 10). It is not only Carter, other people too, including the doctor who performs the abortion also determines how Maria should feel and experience during the procedure. The doctor does not only drill into her womb, in fact further into her mind, senses and her sanity. He defines what to feel, to hear, and to act like …show more content…
But the true characters of the people who work for the movie are more riveting to watch. No rehearsed dialogues, no cuts, no cosmetic edits, just twenty-four-seven reel of actual drama. The scenes where Maria, Carter, BZ, Helene, Susannah and others live in their agony, fight for their survival through the ways they just accustomed to. Maria’s haphazard life illustrates randomness like a crap game, she can win or lose on the role of the dice. But again, nothing applies to her concept of reality. Porterfield accentuates Maria’s life as