During my read of the first act of "Cloud 9," I found the play to be rather... odd. I found Edward and "his" doll to be very profound characters. Edward is a boy played by a woman that has female tendencies. This reminds me of gender-blending Rosalind from "As You Like It." Throughout the first act, people tell Edward that dolls are for girls and that people would not like him if they found out about it. On page 31, Edward shows his feminine side by telling Maud that the doll loves him. He even claims the doll as his, breaking the social norm being instilled in him throughout the first act! The funny thing is that when he tells his dad, he does not claim the doll as his. Is Edward ultimately afraid of what his father thinks of him and no one else? They claim that his "womanly" tendencies come from him being around women so much, but it seems like all of the male characters are too busy for him (except for Harry, in a different kind of way though).
I would just like to how how you all feel about Edward and the doll (and even Harry and Edward, or Clive and Edward).
3 comments:
I thought the doll situation was really interesting as well. In my opinion, the fact that the boy's attachment to a doll was a cause of family distress really tied into the fluidity of time created by the different eras in which the play is set. Appropriateness of play and toys, as determined by gender norms, is still very much an issue. I also thought the doll's status as an object of contention was almost comical given the bigger issues at stake - like the possibility of getting caught in the crossfire of a war - and that this harshly critiqued our investment in gender norms.
I agree with both of you. I just liked that they ignored everything else in the play and focused only on the doll and how that was basically "ruining" his life. There was no focus on Harry, or raising Edward well or anything besides the fact that Edward needed to "act like a boy".
The doll is definitely used as a tool to emphasize Edward's femininity. At the beginning of the play he states "What father wants I'd dearly like to be. I find it rather hard as you can see" (2).
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