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Harold Brighouse's "Hobson's Choice" Essay

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Harold Brighouse's "Hobson's Choice" In Act two, Alice tells Maggie “I don’t know what you’re aiming at.” She replies, “The difference between us is I do, I always did.” Explain the differences between Maggie and her sisters. ‘Hobson’s Choice’ is set in Salford in 1880, at a time when women tended to occupy largely domestic roles. However, the leading character, Maggie Hobson, is a woman way ahead of her time. Unlike her sisters, she is a demanding and domineering character. She knows what she wants in life and is not afraid to strive for it. Alice and Vicky stand up to Hobson, their father, about small and trivial matters. After Hobson has complained about the bustles the girls wear, Alice says to her father: “We shall …show more content…

He wants her to think that no one would want to marry her. He is extremely patronizing when he laughs in her face but still she does not show any sort of emotion or indication that she is intimidated. She keeps strong and keeps on asking “why not?” By asking the same question over and over it shows that Hobson is not getting to her, that she is serious in what she is saying and it shows him that he has lost in his scheming ways to try and embarrass her. Alice, Vicky and Maggie are in the shop when Albert Prosser enters to court Alice: “father has not yet left, Albert!” she tells her suitor and so he turns to leave the shop. Apart from Maggie they clearly fear their father, who on this occasion is recovering from a previous night’s drinking in the ‘Moonrakers’. On another occasion Vicky shows herself to be afraid of her father. At the beginning of Act III, Vicky is at the reception of Maggie and Will in their cellar, when there is a knock at the door. “It’s Father” Vicky says, in terror. Once again Maggie is the only one not scared of Hobson and so questions her: “Are you afraid of him?” As you can see, Alice and Vicky lack strength whereas Maggie does not. This applies, not just in their handling of people, but also when it comes to managing the shop once Maggie has left to be with Will. Alice and Vicky have very weak characters and so now that the boss has left, they are helpless and vulnerable. The two sisters

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