Rear Window

During the film “Rear Window,” the main characters comment on how one of the neighbor’s apartment seems to be a mirror for Lisa’s apartment. When Jeffries first says this, it seemed that he meant it as a joke. However, Lisa could see the truth behind the words. If Miss Torso’s apartment was anything like her own, then this meant that she didn’t love any of the men that she was currently entertaining, and she was longing so someone that was never there. At the end of the film, the audience sees just how much these two women are alike when a man that seems to be Miss Torso’s boyfriend shows up in a military uniform. Another similarity between the two women is that Lisa and Miss Torso both seem to be in love with men that most people wouldn’t picture them with.
On the other hand, Lisa is a lot like Miss Lonelyhearts who is wanting someone that never comes to her. Therefore, it was very fitting that she ended up with the composer in the end. This is because the composer is very much like Jeffries. Both are very alone individuals, even when they are surrounded by people. They need someone that seems to understand them and can share the same passions in life. Miss Lonelyhearts seems to share a passion for music since hearing the composer’s song is what kept her from killing herself, and Lisa was willing to change herself just to be with Jefferies. At least a little bit, she was still a strong enough woman to stand her ground on certain things and kept up with her love of fashion, even if it was when Jefferies wasn’t looking.
Since the main focus from the window is the Thorwalds, it would only be fitting if they too were reflecting the relationship between Jeffries and Lisa. Obviously Jeffries doesn’t kill Lisa like Thorwald did his wife, but it appeared that Thorwald felt like her was being suffocated by his wife and that was the reason for wanting to get rid of her. Likewise, Jeffries didn’t want to be tied down by anything, so he was pushing her away. Jeffries obviously has the more healthy way of dealing with his situation. Because of their similar situations, I find it funny that the drama between the Thorwalds is what finally brings Jeffries and Lisa together.
The last window that reflects the main relationship is the one that belongs to the newlyweds. However, instead of the two following along side each other, they do just the opposite. How the newlyweds are acting at the beginning of the film is how Lisa and Jeffries are at the end of the film, and vice versa. The couple at the beginning could be considered foreshadowing for Lisa and Jeffries, but by having the husband being tired and annoyed by the wife at the end brings the situation back in full circle.

Glengarry Glen Ross

While I can understand understand why some people would see this play as being anti-feminist, I would have to disagree. The woman may not be present, but they certainly have an impact on the action of the play. It would also seem that the women are holding all of the cards so to speak. The men in this play would like to think that they "wear the pants," but the truth is that is that it is the women pulling their puppet strings. In the few cases where this is seen, it shows that it is probably a good thing. When left to their own devises, the men of the play seem to have no morals if it gets in the way of making money. Not only do I think this play is not anti-feminist, but I think it paints men as the ones that might be in need of some oppression. The women of this play are not out to hurt other people, they are just protecting what is theirs.

Mrs. Lingk for instance is the initial reason for Ricky Roma losing the contest within the office. While Roma might like to blame his boss for losing the deal for him because he did not knowing the mark, there would not have been any trouble to begin with if Mrs. Lingk hadn't told her husband to get their money back. This also causes a chain reaction and gets Levene caught for what he did the night before. Now, I'm pretty sure that Mrs. Lingk had no idea what her choice was going to ultimately bring about. Then there is Harriet Nyborg. She and her husband take up Levene's time and get his hopes up for something that will never happen. She played Levene like a fiddle just because she liked talking to salesmen for some strange reason. While her motives might have been slightly insane, she still knew what she was doing. However, Levene is hurt by his ex wife before either of these women come into his life. It would seem that she kicked him out and he is still paying her bills. On top of paying her bills and his bills, he also seems to be the main source for taking care of his daughter's medical bills. This once again shows just how much power Mamet has given these unseen characters.

Now, I know that it could be argued that Mamet was using this to show that if woman have this sort of power, then they would have the ability to hurt men. I just don't think that that's the case. Most of these characters are back stabbing con men and all of them are just out to make a buck. Roma didn't care how much money he was taking Lingk for, all he cares about was winning his contest. It didn't matter to Levene or Moss that Williamson would lose his job if the office was broken into. Mitch and Murray only cared about how much profit they were making and not about someone losing his job over impossible sales. In fact, the only male character that wasn't out for himself was Aaronow. The women had the right to not trust these men.