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Viviana Vasquez
Professor Jennifer Rodrick
English 115
17 November 2019

Gender Judged As It Lays

Women were always seen as second, and it started with patriarchy. A social construct

idea that males are the head of most things including family and household. In the novel “Play It

As It Lays” by Joan Didion describes an American living in the 1960s, with the protagonist

Maria Wyeth. Maria is a person who suffers multiple downfalls throughout her life, which brings

the reader an idea of ending her life. “I used to ask questions, and I got the answer: nothing,”

(210). Throughout Maria’s life and her perspective, we encounter several men who objectify,

judge and express negatively towards women in this novel. Women such as Helene, Maria, and

young white dressed lady, are discriminated against, in this novel and are led to a situation that

affects them in a negative way as a person.

Sometimes women are placed in a bad situation which leads to a negative view of the

person because of a bad choice. Maria’s friend Helene, participated and was forced into intimate

relationships with other people at the same time with her husband, BZ. BZ does not like to be

confronted by anyone, especially not by women, as it is demonstrated in this quote “Maria closed

her eyes of the instant BZ’s hand hit Helene’s face. “Stop it”, (164). Before this quote, BZ

reminds Helene of her bad choices with no option of changing her past. He manipulates Helene

with her past actions, in this setting helping to have and having intimate relationships with her

friend. This brings the idea of ‘Is Helene is a good friend?’ She didn’t stop to protect her friend
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Maria, she continued, which can be because of either pleasure or peer pressure. After the

intimate incident with Maria, BZ, and Helene, it was mentioned that “You weren’t talking that

way last night,” (164). This shows how BZ feels empowered and controlling towards both

Helene and Maria. On this occasion, we see how BZ uses Helene as an object to get to Maria and

attains Helene with those passed actions. He gets two girls on purpose, gets whatever he desires,

with the feeling of control and authority. It was mentioned in the novel that Carter and Helen had

intimate relationships, and BZ was starting to get jealous of that because he didn’t have the same

authority over Helene anymore. Referring back to the incident with Maria, Helene, and BZ, one

of the women came out with bruises on her face. Maria had a flashback while she was drunk on

Helene’s bed, “she tried not to look at the bruise on Helen’s face,” (163). This can mean that BZ

uses physical abuse as a technique for authority and control over Helen, in their relationship. In

the article “What Causes Relationship Abuse​” By The Center for Relationship Abuse Awareness

& Action provides information about what causes partners to abuse. It was mentioned that abuse

in a relationship is a “choice and learned behavior”. Some common beliefs of abuse are “they

should have power and control over their partner, belief that they can get away with it, and

learned experience that being abusive gets them what they want,” (​What Causes Relationship

Abuse​). This means that BZ and Helene are toxic and abusive to each other. This is important

because this shows how women in this novel are objectified in many levels. Some men objectify

women with one look, not knowing the women, age or ​if ​interest.

These women are placed in a prey position, where the men made them think they are

interested in you, but they take advantage of you. ​“He was watching a very young girl in a white

halter dress dancing on the Terrance,” (36). This shows the importance of people’s bad intentions
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towards women when objectifying them. This also brings the idea of men stating that the way

women dress, causes men to do unnecessary actions such as intimate relationships or rape. Some

men state that “they were calling for ​it​” or “they caused ​it”​ . This can connect with Denim Day,

in the article “Why Denim?” by A Project of Peace Over Violence which is about an experience

that taught the misunderstanding of sexual violence towards women. This connects because

people can misinterpret something negative by the way they are dressed, according to the novel,

the young lady was wearing a dress. Other people may think that a dress has nothing to do with

intimate relationships, but some men use that as an excuse for something they wanted to do.

These men thought to get towards women as a game, competing who will the girl go with. It also

brings the idea of the innocence of this lady, because it was stated that she was “young”. How

these men have the thought of an easier way to get to what they want meaning that Larry was

thinking about the idea of whiskey, to get his goal. It was stated “Sh*t no. You have to be able to

get her into whiskey,” (36). This proves the bad intentions that these men had towards the

women in this novel and does not show important as a being. In this part, it was said that Maria

started crying after she heard the incident with the lady with the white dress. She can be feeling,

a sign of jealousy because she is thirty-one and not young. She can miss the attention of being

young again, and how the males used to see her. This is significant because of women like Maria

used to be objectified during her youth, when she first started with Carter. The feeling of

attention became a common feeling, which affects her negatively as a person and her confidence.

This has affected her because she always was known as Carter’s wife, and not as her own person.

She can also be crying because she knows now, how these men used to see her and decide to use

her for their advantage. She knows the truth of herself and has a feeling of not exit out. She
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would have felt a feeling of connection with the lady because she is in the shoes of Maria, Maria

sees herself through the lady. This affects her now because after the divorce, she is not referred

to as a label but a nobody. She was known as someone’s property. This means that the young

lady’s future is going to be similar to Maria because she went through the same path. Both

women fell into the hand of men, who used women for their advantages.

In Maria’s story, she has a husband named Carter. She suddenly starts an affair with a

guy named Les Goodwin. Maria gets pregnant with Les Goodwin. Carter finds out about her

baby and threatens with the choice of their child, Kate, and the fetus. Carter uses Kate to threaten

Maria with the baby, he wants her to abort the fetus. He states “All right, don't do it. Go ahead

and have this baby... And I'll take Kate,” (54). Carter uses a tactic that controls her actions,

meaning if you don’t do this, then I’ll take away this. This can issue can be put into a debate

about love, because this shows that Carter does not love her, due to her affair with another man.

Also arguing that Love is unconditional. Others may state that Carter wants to abort because he

cares for her, knows that she is not ready and wants him to focus on herself. Carter can be

judging this action because the fetus was not his, which may the reason for leaving her later in

the story. In the video, “5 Signs of a Manipulative Relationship: Dr. Julie Hanks on KSL TV's

Studio 5” by Dr. Julie de Azevedo Hanks provides information about manipulative relationships

and how to deal with it. She states an idea of manipulation is connected with the idea of

happiness, “the feeling responsible for your partner’s happiness,” (1:34). This connects with

Maria’s and Carter’s relationship because Maria can be feeling responsible for Carter’s

happiness which can be the reason she decided to abort. Carter is manipulating Maria because he

wants Maria to do something for himself. Maria also stating that she wants the baby. Maria
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spoke for herself but has no voice. These women throughout this novel have been shut down by

men because of their actions, history or looks.

Therefore, men in this novel have shown their capabilities of controlling women’s life.

They have shown their ideas through actions, feelings, and thoughts. The ideas of objectification,

judgment, and negatively expression. Throughout this novel, we see that Maria speaks up but

takes it back immediately, which shows the power of women. This shows the impact of a

patriarchal perspective in this novel. These women did not have a voice which affected them as a

person. This affects them because of the men in this novel show possession over women as fast

as they see a girl. As it was described the men would close the doors in a women’s life.
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Didion, Joan. ​Play It as It Lays: a Novel.​ Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005. Accessed 18

November 2019.

“What Causes Relationship Abuse.” ​Center for Relationship Abuse Awareness & Action,​
http://stoprelationshipabuse.org/educated/what-causes-relationship-abuse/​. Accessed 19
November 2019.

YouTube, Julie De Azevedo Hanks, 7 Oct.

2015,​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5qqJdE4vgc&t=94s. Accessed​ 19 November
2019.

“Why Denim?” ​Denim Day​, A Project of Peace Over Violence,

https://www.denimdayinfo.org/about​. Accessed 19 November 2019.