The absence of both Rebecca's father and Sojourner Truth from the play’s action allows the focus to remain on the conflict between the two generations of women, highlighting differing perspectives on women's rights and social justice. By not including them, the playwright emphasizes the internal struggle and the societal pressures women like Rebecca face when advocating for change. This choice also illustrates the contrasting influences of patriarchal figures and the voices of marginalized individuals, like Sojourner Truth, while allowing Rebecca's determination to stand at the forefront of the narrative. The tension created by their absence underscores the importance of women's voices in the fight for equality, making their presence felt even when they are not physically on stage.
Two of the women at the forefront of these struggles were Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Stanton. They traveled widely, meeting with women, speaking to audiences large and small, urging an end to slavery and voting rights for all. Often traveling with them was a six-foot-tall black woman, a freed slave named Sojourner Truth. Her voice was heard in every hall and at every meeting, declaring “liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof,” the words etched on the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. The end of the Civil War in 1865 brought about one of their goals: Slavery was no longer the law of the land. And in 1870, the right for black men to vote came with the passage of the 15th Amendment. However, the right for women to vote was no farther along in reality than it had been before the war.
For 70 years, women battled against the wrongfulness of the early laws that refused their rights as voting citizens. They also battled within themselves and with each other. That’s where this story begins, a year after the end of the bloodiest war in our history, the Civil War. Two generations of women find themselves in a room filled with tension, frustration, and fear. (NARRATOR exits as curtain opens.)
TIME: 1866. SETTING: New England. AT RISE: MAMA is in a rocking chair, knitting. REBECCA is walking around the room in a state of agitation.
REBECCA: I must go, Mama, I must! MAMA: There is no such thing as must. REBECCA (Vehemently): Not for you, perhaps, but there is for me! MAMA (Warning): Watch your tongue, little girl.
REBECCA: But, Mama—I’m not a little girl any longer, and neither are you. MAMA (Turning abruptly): What is that supposed to mean? REBECCA: I don’t need supposedly “learned men” to think for me. You shouldn’t either. We should vote as we think best. MAMA (Shaking head): So that’s it again. Your father and I have warned you about attending those meetings. (Shakes head) Women voting! It’s absurd. (She returns to her knitting.)
REBECCA: As absurd as holding other human beings as slaves? It’s really the same issue, Mama. Can’t you see that? MAMA: No, I can’t. Your father had better not hear you talking like this. REBECCA: He will and more. (Defiantly) I’m going to tour with a former slave woman named Sojourner Truth. MAMA (Shocked): What? Never!
REBECCA: We’re going wherever people with open minds will listen. Perhaps we’ll open a few closed ones. MAMA: I’ve heard of her. She’s been spreading lies about her treatment as a slave in New York. REBECCA: They’re not lies. She shows her audiences the lash marks she bears from cruel beatings. MAMA: Perhaps she needed them to make her a better worker.
Use the passage to answer the question. Both Rebecca’s father and Sojourner Truth are influential in the play, but neither of them appears. In 3-5 sentences, draw conclusions about why the playwright did not include these characters in the play’s action. (4 points)
9 answers
The absence of both Rebecca's father and Sojourner Truth from the play’s action allows the focus to remain on the internal conflict between Rebecca and her mother, emphasizing the generational divide in perspectives on women's rights. This choice highlights the societal pressures women face while advocating for change, making Rebecca's determination more pronounced. By excluding these influential characters, the playwright underscores the significance of women's voices in the struggle for equality, allowing their impact to resonate through dialogue rather than physical presence.
The playwright likely left out Rebecca's father and Sojourner Truth to keep the focus on the conflict between Rebecca and her mother. This choice highlights the different views on women's rights within their family. By not including them, the playwright emphasizes the importance of women's voices in the fight for equality, making Rebecca’s determination stand out more.
The audience knows that despite the struggles the characters face, significant progress in civil rights will eventually occur, including the abolition of slavery and the eventual fight for women's suffrage. This knowledge creates a sense of urgency and hope, contrasting with the characters’ frustration and limited understanding of the future. As a result, the audience is likely to empathize with the characters’ struggles but also feel a sense of impatience, wishing for the characters to recognize the importance of their fight and the eventual changes that will come.
The audience knows that even though the characters are struggling now, important changes will happen in the future, like the end of slavery and women gaining the right to vote. This knowledge creates a sense of hope and urgency, as the audience can see the characters are unaware of the progress that is coming. Because of this, the audience may feel both sympathy for the characters' frustrations and impatience for them to realize how important their fight really is.