Even Cliff , who is as same as Jimmy in the social status though he is lower in education and world view, could make out the contempt and mental harassment that Jimmy exhibit toward his wife, the result of which was turned to the physical love and desire that Cliff always expressed toward her. Alison, also, could feel more comfort and pleasure when she was under the close relationship with Cliff, because she had highly wished an alienation from the severe mental agony imposed by Jimmy upon her.
Whatever may be the personification of a ‘modern young British angry man’ that the critics had given to the character of Jimmy Porter, the highly demoralized mentality of Jimmy that he does not even disapprove the physical relationship between his wife and Cliff, is taken as very evidence that he sees his wife as a mere object to make his inner satisfaction by abusing her and mocking at her class as well as the women society itself, though there exists a marital relationship between them. Same is Jimmy’s approach with Helena Charles in the first few days of her living in Porters’ apartment.
Jimmy shows his provoking and humiliating abuses and comments upon her also, as he calls her a ‘bitch’, explains that she is one of his ‘natural enemies’ and such like comments. There is no wonder that Helena even get ready to slap on Jimmy’s face as she becomes on the verge of inner destruction and humiliation by the uncontrollable poisoned-talks of Jimmy, but even then he does not stop his misbehaving to her that he even said to her that she will has to be out of his apartment if she slaps him.
But, as the play proceeds, Helena becomes a trouble maker in Porters’ family and she becomes responsible for getting Alison to leave Jimmy. Here, Helena changes herself into the role of a villain that she even calls Alison’s father to tell him to go back with Alison from Jimmy’s apartment through which she plans to begin an affair with Jimmy in the absence of Alison. After Alison left Jimmy, Helena starts to stand with odd views and attitudes of Jimmy which she realizes the way to win Jimmy’s heart.
These scenes could bring to the mind the helpless condition of Alison that she becomes a victim of both deceitful mind of her friend Helena and furious scorns and abusive talks of her husband. Very pathetically, she writes “What I need now is peace” in the letter that she leaves to Jimmy in the hand of Cliff. Obviously, Alison had not gotten any peace in her life with Jimmy that she understands is much needed for her in that time because she was pregnant then.
Though Helena’s sense of morality lead her to leave the Porter’s family and she has been considered the play’s moral compass, she did much to the mental torture and agony that Alison painfully bore even after she left Jimmy for a few months. Whatever the pains which Alison bore by her husband’s approach toward her, she never hated him, instead, she always kept a loving heart to him and she never accuses him for being responsible to her depressed state after her coming to Jimmy second time.
‘Angry Man’ Gets Questioned It is quiet wonder to see that how a man with his anti-conventional contempt deepened in heart, can even turn against his young lovely wife his provoking words and irritating acts, so that he even does not get adjusted to be happy when he knew that she was pregnant. Instead, he throws his full contempt toward her by commenting that it would be better for him to see the baby being dead.
Is not this a cheap and unimpressive method of approach for a man with his etched hostility to the conventional and patriarchal system, to make his young wife whom he married after being in love with her and she even struggled well to the oppose her family restrictions, especially of her mother to get married to a jobless man from the middle class like Jimmy, a prey of all his vulgar reaction and suppressive behavior?. Before giving a haul of ‘revolutionary angry young man’ to Jimmy, the method he had chosen to express his revolutionary spirit should also be taken to evaluate his character in the play.
It is shameful to note that the feminist critics did not voice much to protest against the ‘other side’ of theme in the play. The ‘Look Back in Anger’ was with no doubt, a new step in the upper class dominated world of British drama, and it kindled a fresh spirit among its numerous audiences. But, the way Osborne chose to bring a different taste to world of British drama, could never be encouraged for the inner motif of the play promotes the slavish life of a woman under her rude husband. This kind of plays, surely, could further spoil the already depressed condition of women in the society.
