Cosi Louis Nowra
In Cosi, a semi- autographical play by Louis Nowra, various characters are faced with challenges that exist in real life and throughout the play some characters rise to the challenges put before them and overcome them, while others fail. Using that concept Louis Nowra hopes to communicate the challenges that people must undergo in their life and that fairy-tale endings do not exist in real life. Louis Nowra uses the play within a play technique so that he can easily explore various themes such as love and fidelity and growth and change. Louis Nowra manages to use the characters in the play “Cosi” to represent the different themes that both “Cosi” and “Cosi fan tutte” represent.
Love and fidelity are universal concepts. According to Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte, the issue of fidelity is depicted to be an ideal that is never achieved. Since ‘women are like that’. In Cosi Fan Tutte, Mozart encourages the belief that man should simply accept women are indeed disloyal in relationships. Nowra illustrates this same idea about women and infidelity through Lewis and Lucy’s relationship. Lucy cannot understand why Lewis is directing a play about love when thousands are dying in the Vietnam War. Lucy believes that the Vietnam War and politics are more important than anything else. Nowra presents the realities that took place in society with the relationships and the idea of free love. While Lucy is ‘sleeping’ with Lewis, she is also ‘having sex’ with Nick. The idea of free love was popular within the people at the time period and women were all labeled as unfaithful by society. When Lewis discovers Lucy’s betrayal, she waves aside his shock, defending that ‘it is not as if we’re married.’ The revelation does indeed prove that Così Fan Tutte is correct in stating that, ‘woman’s constancy is like the Arabian Phoenix. Everyone swears it exists, but no one has seen it.’ However it is ironic that Lewis questions Lucy’s fidelity when he too is being unfaithful. This is presented as
Love and fidelity are universal concepts. According to Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte, the issue of fidelity is depicted to be an ideal that is never achieved. Since ‘women are like that’. In Cosi Fan Tutte, Mozart encourages the belief that man should simply accept women are indeed disloyal in relationships. Nowra illustrates this same idea about women and infidelity through Lewis and Lucy’s relationship. Lucy cannot understand why Lewis is directing a play about love when thousands are dying in the Vietnam War. Lucy believes that the Vietnam War and politics are more important than anything else. Nowra presents the realities that took place in society with the relationships and the idea of free love. While Lucy is ‘sleeping’ with Lewis, she is also ‘having sex’ with Nick. The idea of free love was popular within the people at the time period and women were all labeled as unfaithful by society. When Lewis discovers Lucy’s betrayal, she waves aside his shock, defending that ‘it is not as if we’re married.’ The revelation does indeed prove that Così Fan Tutte is correct in stating that, ‘woman’s constancy is like the Arabian Phoenix. Everyone swears it exists, but no one has seen it.’ However it is ironic that Lewis questions Lucy’s fidelity when he too is being unfaithful. This is presented as