Gender in Translations

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‘The play tends to leave conventional gender stereotypes in place and perpetuates the gendered discourses by which Irish identity is constructed.’ Discuss the representation of gender in the play in the light of this statement. Translations by Brian Friel is a play that explores the imposition of an English colonial force onto Ireland by an Ordnance Survey which will dispossess the Irish of their language. The play may present one strong, independent female character, in the figure of Maire, but women are still shown in gender stereotypes. Moreover, the play constructs Ireland and the Gaelic language as feminine and English as masculine. In this way it perpetuates the gendered discourses that have traditionally constructed Irish identity and there are many aspects of the play that do not problematise gender. Maire is a strong independent woman who is pragmatic in her view of the world. She wants to learn English and leave Ireland. She is promised to Manus, but it is an unsuitable match as he is poor, dominated by his father and lacks ambition. She wants a man who will allow her to escape a world where she is rendered powerless by social and political forces. In many ways she is one of the cultural stereotypes of Irish women: the feisty, head-strong girl. However, the play represents her as unsuccessful in her attempts. At the end of the play she still wishes to learn English and escape Ireland, and significantly she is the character left holding the Name Book, but there is a sense of hopelessness. Sarah can be seem as symbolising a traditional Ireland that is in the process of change. She is the figure onstage at the start of the play and attention is drawn to her by her inability to speak without great difficulty. She is being taught to articulate her name and it alerts the audience to the importance of identity and being able to express it. She is
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