Betty and Victoria: No Longer Submissive or Dolls

While finishing this play Cloud 9 I was struck by the character of Betty and her transformation. In the first act Betty was the submissive wife, simply doing whatever Clive asked her to do. This is also when she is played by a man. However, in this second act Betty is played by a woman and she becomes a very different person. She is no longer the reflection of Clive or his ideal woman. She is independent, outspoken, involved, and very free. This is all after she left Clive. This shift seems to be Churchill showing how the liberation of women from the Victorian era to the late 1970's. This theme is also shown in the transformation of Victoria from a doll to an actual person, and a mother at that. She is also participating in a sexual relationship with her female friend Lin and her brother. She has liberated herself in every way possible. The restriction of the colonial oppression based on gender seems to be gone, therefore these women have been allowed to flourish and explore themselves. They are no longer bound by the rules of that particular society. This very well may be their cloud 9.