Q. Role and Function of Kate Doogan in 'Philadelphia Here I Come' by Brian Friel.
Compared to the male characters in this drama the female characters are arguably weak. They haven't been given major function and Friel has accepted the responsibility of this neglect. Nonetheless the few women in this drama have been shown to have some effect on Gar's decision to move to America. One of them is Katherine (Kate) Doogan.
The audience's first encounter with Katherine is in a flashback. She is illustrated as the young daughter of a senator, filled with hopes and love for Gar who has been shown to be in a relationship with her. Her feelings for Gar can be seen as sincere but her lavish lifestyle baffles Gar, making him hesitate to ask her father for her hand. Thus, this relationship fails and miserable Gar decides to leave his sorrows behind and move to Philadelphia.
A vivid contrast the audience notice is the class difference between Kate and Gar. Kate is worried about Gar's income, noticeably not the fulfil her own needs, but to be able to convince her father. She is even seen to be lying about Gar's wealth knowing her father is listening. The audience can sense that her feelings were probably as genuine as Gar's. Despite her father's opposition she is still respectable towards him just as Gar is towards S.B., but we can not know what goes on in her mind like we know what goes on in Gar's mind through Gar Private. Friel has presented three different women whom have a hand in Gar's decision to move away from Bellybag.
Kate is a respectable and wealthy lady, Madge is a house maid yet is also portrayed respectably. Aunt Lizzy is also seen to be wealthy but it is clear that the ales dominant in this play do not respect her due to her boisterous behaviour. Gar loves all three of them. He has more of an unconditional love for Kate which lasts even after they're separated as can be seen by the way he thinks of her in his flashbacks, and his affection for Madge is similar. On the other hand we see how Gar expresses love towards Aunt Lizzy because he probably pities her and her connection to his late mother. We see him craving for a mother's affection that he believes he can find in her if that were not the case he perhaps would not love her the way he does. Thus, by placing Kate and Madge on the same platform, the audience realise her importance in Gar's life.
The next time the audience see Kate they see that her attitude and perhaps even her feelings towards Gar have changed, she has a more serious attitude towards him than the one she has shown in her first appearance. This could be due to numerous reasons. The audience do not know how much time has passed between Gar breaking their relationship and the present. She must have matured by age, or moved on from Gar, but her appearance is ambiguous. It allows the audience ask themselves why she would bother meeting him and wishing him luck when he clearly abandoned her; allowing her father to push her into marrying someone she probably didn't want to. The audience get the idea that perhaps she still has feelings for him and after seeing Gar's harsh attitude towards her where he tries to make her regret not marrying him because of his future wealth and prosperity, they perhaps realise how she must feel at the moment to have the blame placed on her. In spite of that she is mature and leaves without uttering a single impulsive word. This allows the audience to see Gar as more than just the victim.
Friel has represented Kate as a symbol of young love and all the promises people make and all the dreams people have, like how Kate and Gar imagined their future, their kids, and how sometimes these dreams shatter apart due to society. Kate and her father represent how the upper class decide who their children marry on the bases of weals and class ignoring their feelings and thus leading towards broken relationships. It brings the audience's attention towards the unfairness of society as Friel depicts the characters in such a way that the audience sympathise with them and dwell over this message.
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English Literature 9695
Non-FictionThis is a compilation of all the essays and notes I wrote while I was in ALevels. It must be noted that not all of of these are A* material (though none goes lower than a grade B) so they aren't meant to be copy pasted for your school assignments. U...
