Introduction
The issue of gender is a widespread experience as depicted in numerous societies, events, publications, and themes. In Büchner’s Woyzeck play, the claim is vivid due to its exemplary use and depiction of male protagonists. Concurrently, the issue of gender is central in this play with females given prejudicial representations evident in Marie’s case (Büchner & Motton, p. 13). This paper analyzes the play in the gender context as evident in its numerous scenes. The author strives to put across his thematic intentions through formal and stylistic manners. There is a need to provide a rational deduction in this particular case. It is important to agree that Woyzeck’s play is interesting and has a global outlook following its nature, style, and thematic representation; nonetheless, the issue of gender is evident and central in the thematic, formal, and stylistic sense.
Supportive Arguments
One of the reasons supporting this claim is the choice and use of characters in this play. The author uses a male (Woyzeck) to be the main character in the play. Although the themes he intended to portray support this choice, he still could have chosen a female as a protagonist in the play. From the publication, other female characters including Marie, Margret, and Kathe appear in the play and could have been given some major roles. However, the author only gives them some supporting roles in the play, a fact that depicts some sense of male chauvinism. Precisely, the use of males in the play is evident in varied aspects ranging from their numbers to roles played as indicated before. The author uses numerous male characters compared to females in the play. This argument just considers the number of male characters and roles they played while more evidence occurs in the themes of the play. Precisely, some of the female characters mentioned earlier assumed minor roles in the play as evident in Kathe’s case. Other characters like the Drum-Major, Andres, doctor, the old man, Sergeant, Showman, journeymen (1&2), and the policeman among others are all male characters despite their roles in the play (Büchner & Motton, p. 4). Woyzeck who is a male assumes a protagonist role in the play as mentioned earlier.
Additionally, how Woyzeck treats Marie (his common-law wife) is inconsiderable and inhuman. Even though Marie gave birth to a child out of wedlock, she never deserved the depictions and treatments she received from his husband and the community at large. The issue of gender emerges in this case where women’s mistakes sound greater than it does for those of fellow men. Concurrently, the doctor used Woyzeck as an experimental being; however, the matter appears less severe compared to Marie’s mistakes. This seems that the play sidelines the female gender in the social context. The issues of gender are quite sensitive in the play following varied stipulations that the matter fronts to the readers. There is a need to change the depiction of females within society. Providing them with reasonable roles is important in the social context. Additionally, the author employs the issue of females in a discriminative manner as indicated earlier.
Another evident observation emerges when Woyzeck killed Marie by the pond side. He accused his wife of infidelity hence opted to kill her using a knife he previously bought (Büchner & Motton 19). This act was not necessary since it was not Marie’s entire mistake. Woyzeck also contributed to the matter since he could not satisfy his wife (Marie) as evident in the play. The fact that he could hardly understand Marie case and opted to kill her is a chauvinistic move indicating how the male character was a protagonist in the story. This scenario indicates that men do not allow the female to express their feelings and follow their heart desires. This is depicted as a crime worth the death penalty as shown by Marie’s malicious demise. In most societies, males usually dominate females in various aspects. The author has strived to indicate this thematic issue vividly. While still considering this aspect, Marie did not commit the alleged adultery alone; nonetheless, she committed it with Drum-Major who never faced any equal punishment comparable to Marie’s death. Arguably, if the play did not consider the aspects of male protagonist/chauvinism, Drum-Major, who contributed to the alleged incident, could have been killed also (Büchner & Motton, p. 12). The author depicts males in the story as more superior in their characters compared to their fellow females. Additionally, it is crucial to consider varied aspects of the play that contributes to this claim. The issue of gender has always been a controversy in various communities as indicated earlier. This phenomenon appears exclusively in Büchner’s play. Numerous characters in the play have varied roles subjective to their gender, social, and economic orientation. Despite this, the aspects of discrimination and male chauvinism are exclusively evident in the play. The gender aspects are critical in varied contexts and require elaborate scrutiny as indicated before. Precisely, Woyzeck is a male chauvinist, gender biased, and an epitome of human torment.
Concurrently, it is arguable that the issue of gender is core, thematic, formal, and stylistic in the play. The doctor’s behaviours and use of Woyzeck as an experimental being is improper and determines the issues of gender and male chauvinism claimed in this paper. Arguably, the doctor could have similarly chosen a female being for his experiment. The fact that he used Woyzeck and forced him to survive on peas (apart from any other meal) might elicit the aspects of gender and male protagonism. Male characters in the play are the ones who assume critical roles in the thematic development. This is evident by the fact that their female counterparts assume minimal roles in the play as indicated earlier. Precisely, the utilization of males in this play is evident following the mentioned claims.
Conclusion
Globally, societies, which have not established and embraced the virtues of equality, have always encouraged male domination over domestic and communal issues. This claim is evident in the play following its setup and plot. Varied characters in the play have proved this claim beyond any doubt. The male domination in varied scenes confers this claim. Another claim is the grandmother’s narration named the ‘black fairy tale’. The tale considers the pessimism and tragic perception of the human’s life. The aspects of men and gender in this context support the previous claims of gender challenges. Conclusively, the issue of gender is evident in Büchner’s Woyzeck play following its plotting and use of male characters as protagonists/main characters. Varied instances within the provided scenes remain contributive to the mentioned claims. The issue of gender is explicit as shown by the utilization of Woyzeck as the male protagonist in the play.
Works Cited
Büchner, Georg, and Motton Gregory. Woyzeck. London: Nick Hern Books, 2001. Print.