"The Women-: A Closer Look at Good and Evil.
If you were to take "The Women- by Clare Boothe "straight up-, one would probably get out of it a story of 21 socialites; snobby women who stab each other in the back, and yet swear that they love each other. One would see Sylvia as the temptress, evil head of the pack who only wants disaster to fall on all of her friends. The reader would view Mary as the innocent, frail wife who loves her husband with all her heart and only wants to care for him and raise her daughter to be a delightful young woman. If one digs deeper, however, they will find that in reality, Mary has been the conniving backstabber who had made plans to have everyone suffer all along, while Sylvia is just your typical nave woman who really wants the best for her "crew-. .
In examining the author's preface of "The Women-, there is a list of names that critics called the characters of the play. Among them, "Stalking hussies-, "Spiteful-, "sinister-, "Meddlers-, "Remorseless-, and "Two-faced- were amongst the most vivid descriptions of the various 21 socialites. According to Clare Boothe, these are overstatements. "Characters like Sylvia and Edith can breed no worthy antagonists- (Boothe, 66). If one takes a deep look into Sylvia, numerous instances could have made her a heroine if there was not such a presupposition in the reader to believe that she was out to get everyone. At the very beginning of the play, Edith and Sylvia are discussing the news that Sylvia heard from her manicurist: Stephen Haines was having an affair with a woman of a lower class. When they are discussing the details, a conversation shared between the two women give a great insight into the caring being of Sylvia. .
Sylvia: "If only there were some way to warn her.
Id die before I'd be the one to hurt her like that! I worship her!.
She is my dearest friend in all the world."" (Boothe, 77).