Summer_of_the_17th_Doll

The characters in The Summer of the Seventeenth Doll by Ray Lawler, all hold different views on the importance and desirability of marriage and change in the 1950s, and these views influence their actions and decisions. Olive and Roo had a de facto relationship; While de facto relationships were not unheard of in the 1950s, they were far less common and accepted than they are now. Where as Nancy, however not a main talking character in the play her views are still shared, joined the statues quo; Where women were expected to marry and fulfill the role of housekeeper and mother. This idea of settling down and getting married was also shared with the character of Pearl. In Olive, the reader sees a woman desperately trying to hang on to the past. Remaining stagnant, Olive is like a small child who clings to her kewpie dolls for security and comfort. All her energy and time is spent on trying to make the lay-off season work after Nancy had left. The lay-off arrangements have all the advantages of marriage - sex, companionship, mutual care and affection - and none of the disadvantages - possible boredom, and the dulling effect of day-to-day routine. Olive obviously considers that her ‘five months of heaven’ (page 13) is much better than a traditional marriage. She prefers the excitement of anticipating Roo’s return each year, unlike the wives whose husbands are ‘the sort we see go rolling home to their wives every night.’ (page 14). Olive is constantly in denial that things are failing and even at the end refuses to conform to a traditional marriage and instead walks away from Roo as she is unable to achieve her idealised and romanticised dream. She represents the part of society that was unwilling to grow up and change, as the nation itself starts to age. Pearl’s views on marriage and relationships with men contrast strongly with Olive’s. Pearl’s attitude, which may have been more closely aligned with audiences in the 1950s, now seems narrow, judgmental and hypocritical in comparison. She believes women should play hard-to-get and not cheapen themselves in ensure their success in obtaining a partner. ‘So long as a woman keeps her self-respect, any man will marry her.’ (page 9). Pearl represents the ‘new’, a woman not easily swept away by the so called romance of the past which Olive has described so enthusiastically to her. She is not willing to accept what Barney has to offer her, instead wants security and direction and rejects the old. In many ways Pearl is blamed for the failure of the seventeenth summer; if she had only been more yielding, everything would of have been just like before. Pearl is the metaphor for the changing nation, the old to the new. Roo displays a reluctant acceptance to change and marriage. In the past, Roo has avoided marriage or seen it as unnecessary, content with the initial arrangements and the stability of his time with Olive. Although not taking on the traditional role of a husband, Roo demonstrates a traditional view on the importance of the man taking care of the woman. It is only when Emma forces him to see the fact that things have changed and he must face up to the future that he considers marrying Olive. He appears to think that this is what Olive wants, although his cry ‘ This is the dust we’re in and we’re gunna walk through it like everyone else for the rest of our lives.’ (page 93) doesn’t present a positive image of marriage, but rather a reluctant acceptance of joining the common herd of married people in the city and a life of ordinariness. The importance and desirability of marriage and change in The Summer of the Seventeenth Doll are displayed through the characters and their thoughts and actions. Each character represented a different view that society had on marriage and change at the time. Olive; the people who held on to the past and refused to grow with the nation. Pearl and Nancy; the part of society which embraced change and grow. Then Roo; the people who were reluctant to change but could see it was needed.