Oleanna

            Whether Oleanna is a misogynistic play, can be argued either way. It depends on which point of view one sees it from. The play portrays Carol, a woman, as a manipulative character lacking any positive qualities. She is portrayed as a feminist that is out to get her "sexist" teacher, John. However, John is no angel. He misuses his power as a teacher and under minds her. Although it seems that Carol is solely responsible for John's demise, he too played a part in it. Carol sets him up by putting him in an awkward situation where he is most certain to fail. She succeeds by manipulating the facts and eventually driving him to madness. .
             It is clear that Carol is failing the course because she is incapable. However, Carol feels that it is not because she is a bad student, but because John is a bad teacher. She goes to his office to tell him that she couldn't afford to fail and that she has tried everything to try to understand but she still can't. John understands her problem and offers to give her an "A" for the term if she stops by his office more often and talk about what she doesn't understand. Carol asks "why would you do this for me" and he replies "because I like you". Carol doesn't understand why he likes her and John tells her that he believes that "perhaps we"re similar". This is where John's demise starts unraveling. .
             Although Carol is mostly responsible for what happens to John, he too made certain mistakes. John abused his power as a teacher. He was even going to break the rules for Carol by giving her A when she didn't deserve one. He under minded her by using his large vocabulary that he knew that she wouldn't understand. He made Carol feel dumb. John would talk of schooling as hazing and this somewhat angered Carol because she worked hard to get into the University. He would also cut Carol off whenever she tried to speak. This angered Carol and caused her to want revenge.