The Roaring Girl Analysis
In Thomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker’s play, The Roaring Girl, Moll is presented as a symbol to combat the patriarchal order both within the play and in English society. Moll is given a level of agency that is vastly greater than all the women in the play. She is not restricted to the typical patriarchal order that was present in English society at the time. Moll also constructively uses her agency to challenge the patriarchy, where she not only wins, but emasculates her male oppressors. It is in this manner that Moll affects both the characters in The Roaring Girl and provides a counterpoint to gender roles established by the patriarchy in England at the time. Moll’s agency exceeds all other characters in the play because of her unique socio-economic
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The criticism goes on to say that Moll’s character cannot impact the audience because her actions cannot be replicated by women seeking to resist the patriarchy. This view sees Moll ultimately sympathizing with patriarchal norms because she helps Sebastian and Mary get a dowry from Sir Alexander (Hendricks 195-196). Although this criticism raises some valid concerns, it ultimately misses the mark on historical context. The Roaring Girl, predates 1st wave feminism by almost 200 years so this play must exhibit some conservatism for it to be performed in England. This conservatism takes the form of Moll helping Sebastian and Mary obtain a dowry and by Moll admitting the hardships of a woman imitating her resistance to patriarchal norms before fighting Laxton (Middleton & Dekker 1405). However, Moll fights gender inequality and the patriarchal standards in place for women by resisting their demands. She is not necessarily raising a revolution for woman’s suffrage, but rather presenting an awareness of the inherent gender inequality in English society. Moll also promotes concern for her fellow woman and exemplifies that not all women fit the mold of the gender stereotypes established by the patriarchy. Literary scholar, Ryan Paul sees this impact as:
The Roaring Girl dramatizes and even celebrates Moll’s escape from patriarchal epistemological containment; she defies the expectations of those around her as each transgression suggests another, pointing away from conventions of social practice toward the will that emerges from an unknowable space beyond known discourses
The criticism goes on to say that Moll’s character cannot impact the audience because her actions cannot be replicated by women seeking to resist the patriarchy. This view sees Moll ultimately sympathizing with patriarchal norms because she helps Sebastian and Mary get a dowry from Sir Alexander (Hendricks 195-196). Although this criticism raises some valid concerns, it ultimately misses the mark on historical context. The Roaring Girl, predates 1st wave feminism by almost 200 years so this play must exhibit some conservatism for it to be performed in England. This conservatism takes the form of Moll helping Sebastian and Mary obtain a dowry and by Moll admitting the hardships of a woman imitating her resistance to patriarchal norms before fighting Laxton (Middleton & Dekker 1405). However, Moll fights gender inequality and the patriarchal standards in place for women by resisting their demands. She is not necessarily raising a revolution for woman’s suffrage, but rather presenting an awareness of the inherent gender inequality in English society. Moll also promotes concern for her fellow woman and exemplifies that not all women fit the mold of the gender stereotypes established by the patriarchy. Literary scholar, Ryan Paul sees this impact as:
The Roaring Girl dramatizes and even celebrates Moll’s escape from patriarchal epistemological containment; she defies the expectations of those around her as each transgression suggests another, pointing away from conventions of social practice toward the will that emerges from an unknowable space beyond known discourses