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"The Letterbox" by Anne Marie Di Mambro is a short play set in the west coast of Scotland on the landing of a tenement building. I believe that Di Mambro wrote "The Letterbox" in order to educate the audience on the topic of domestic violence. It has been said that "drama mirrors the society in which it was written, " this is certainly the case wit the letter box. At the time "The Letterbox" was written domestic abuse was still considered a taboo subject, by writing the letter box Di Mambro wished to lift the veil of secrecy over domestic abuse. The message within "The Letterbox" is that victims of domestic abuse feel isolated and are ignored by the wider society, even looked down on and blamed for their plight. In "The Letterbox" Di Mambro explores the issue of domestic abuse through the use of many devices, of which include 'character', 'relationships' and 'set and location'.
To all extents and purposes "The Letterbox" is a monologue, although more than one character have lines the main body of dialogue comes from Martha. Martha is a working class mother who is the victim of domestic abuse. The characters in the letter box show different perspectives of domestic abuse. Martha, of course, is the victim who feels alone and unable to get help. Wendy is an innocent bystander, a child who is caught in the middle of the conflict between her parents and is confused. Finally there is Jack and Jill, an almost fairy tale couple whose relationship is as far removed from that of Marthas as possible.
The Piece opens with Martha sitting in her close, locked outside her front door. She is alone, this literally shows her feeling of isolation from her family, friends and the public. The fact that there is a door between Martha and her family represents a barrier between them preventing Martha communicating her feelings with them effectively. When Jack and Jill enter, Jack hides Jill away from Martha with his arm around her, this show how the public shuns domestic abuse victims (at the time), and provides a stronger foundation for Martha's feeling of isolation. When the characters of Jack and Jill are Introduces they seem to represent the view of the wider society and are suitably named. The names Jack and Jill suggest that they could be anyone yet arent meant to be anyone in particular, this is similar to the use of the names Joe Bloggs and John Doe.
Jack and Jill also share names with two character from a nursery rhyme, this could suggest that they are in a perfect happiness which is exaggerates or could only be found in a fairy tale or nursery rhyme. Martha also suggests a few other things about the victims of domestic abuse apart from feeling isolated. To me, Martha suggests that victims of domestic abuse are in a state of denial. "Let me tell you something. Your daddy loves us.
I know sometimes maybe its hard to believe - but he loves us. " This quote from the text shows that Martha still believes that her husband still cares for and loves her whether this is the case or not. Through Martha, Di Mambro also shows the fear and mistrusts that working-class victims of those in the upper echelons of society. "If you tell your teacher hen - do you know what she " ll do. She " ll tell the other teachers and they " ll think your mothers a terrible woman. " Arguably, the most important character next to Martha is Wendy. Wendy allows Martha to be seen as what she is, a frightened mother who wants to protect her child. Through Martha's dialogue we can see the effects that domestic violence has on children. It is shown that Wendy has been psychologically affected by her mother getting beaten, causing her to wet the bed. "You what? ...
Oh don't worry about it. Just take off the wet sheet and I'll see to it in the morning. " Through Wendy's involvement in the piece it becomes apparent that Martha expects the same thing to happen to Wendy when she is married, it is even suggested that Martha would allow this to happen. "Its just he way men are. They expect a lot of you, angel... You " ll understand when you " re older. " It is then suggested that if the issue of domestic violence is not addressed then the same thing will happen over and over agin in an almost vicious cycle and indeed the younger generation will grow up accepting the fact that this will happen. It is seen then that "The letterbox" is (or was) an effective vehicle in addressing the issue of domestic violence, the issue is clearly stated and there is no doubt in my mind that those who went to see "The Letterbox" or indeed read the text had their eyes opened. Anne Marie Di Mambro has successfully created a play in which Domestic violence is neither glorified nor condoned.
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Research essay sample on Victims Of Domestic Domestic Abuse
