Women In Cathleen Ni Houlihan

There are comparisons and contrasts between the way that women were represented within the cultural society and the plays of 20th century Ireland. Here in Sheehy-Skeffington’s quote on women, it is clear to see that the writer believes that women are an allegory for nationalism, which can be argued for and against. In relation to the plays Cathleen ni Houlihan by Lady Gregory and The Playboy of the Western World by J.M Synge, Gregory’s work plays up to the idea of a woman Ireland while Synge’s work does not initially. However, both plays discuss the representation of women in relation to gender, sexuality, feminism and transformation. Firstly, it is clear to see that there is a difference in the way that each of the plays conveys gender

However, it could be suggested that Cathleen is powerful as she has the ability to persuade men into fighting for her freedom and glory which would aid to find her identity. ‘If anyone would give me help he must give me himself, he must give me all’ (Yeats, p. 217, 209-210). There is sympathy searching as well as a sexual undertone to Cathleen as she transforms from an old woman into a beautiful queen to manipulate men to the depths of desire so they will be persuaded to follow her to battle. ‘With all the lovers that brought me their love, I never set out the bed for any’ (Yeats, p. 217, 212-213). As a result, it is clear that this play displays the dominance of women and a slight insight into the submissiveness of men. However, on account of the dowry being brought into the household, Michael’s soon to be wife, Delia is seen as an entity or commodity to bring money into the household and therefore has no control. ‘Have you got the fortune, Michael?’ (Yeats, p. 212, 39). Furthermore, she has no control over Michael when he is summoned by Cathleen to fight for her freedom. This demonstrates that the fighting for freedom and an independent future for the nation holds more importance than marriage and his personal future. ‘What wedding are you talking of? What clothes

Around the time of Cathleen ni Houlihan, the political and cultural nationalist group known as Inghinidhe na hEireann were placing emphasis on the idea of Ireland as a mother to remove any attention that would have been placed on the distressed Irish women (Bradley, p. 41). With this in mind, it could be said that Cathleen ni Houlihan represents the disguising of the harsh realities of the 20th century Irish woman’s life. Issues that women had such as gaining accesses to the contraceptive pill were placed to the side for a free Ireland as the Criminal Law Amendment Act made it ‘illegal to import or sell contraceptives’ (Howes, p. 135). Furthermore, Gregory’s play was ahead of its time as the text places a ‘heavy emphasis on gender roles and sexuality as important indicators of and potential threats to national identity’ (Howes, p. 131) which was a hard hitting issue in 1930’s Ireland. As a contrast, Synge displays the harshness that women of the 20th century can face in their day to day lives but in an exaggerated sense. This is as a result of the secondary women characters within the text being represented as crazy and sex driven. 20th century Ireland was very comparable to 19th century Britain as women from both isles were seen as the submissive gender that, were under the control of their husbands and had to remain within the household to