DAFNE ROS GARCA No.

DE CUENTA: 303096447 A SADISTIC RELATIONSHIP IN THE PLAY BEFORE BREAKFAST Before breakfast is a monologue from the beginnings of the twentieth century that tells the story of a marriage, Mrs. Rowland and Alfred Rowland, but totally shown from the perspective of the wife; actually during the play the husband is a kind of ghost that never speaks and tolerates stoically the abuse of his wife. Maybe we can justify the wifes attitude saying that she suffered from abandon, loneliness and slavery because she has to work in order to pay the rent; thus, we victimize her role in the play. We can ask ourselves: if she was so miserable, why did she stay? And why did not her husband say a word? Does he feel guilty? Was he deeply in love? The aim of this paper is to show that the Rowlands marriage has a sadistic relationship and as a result their decisions couldnt have been made in another way. Firstly, we have to say that a sadistic relationship involves two complementary parts; the sadistic person, in this case Mrs. Rowland, makes use of psychological violence like aggressions; as we can see when Mrs. Rowland said: All you do is moon around all day writing silly poetry and stories that no one will buy1; manipulations: It, dont take long to get breakfast these days, thanks to you. All we got this morning is bread and butter and coffee; and you wouldnt even have that if it wasnt for me sewing my fingers off. 2 Also a sadistic person is characterized for his necessity to have control of the relationship and we can notice that in the following part: What does she expect, then? That I'll divorce you and let her marry you? Does she think I'm crazy enough for thatafter all you've made me go through? I guess not! And you can't get a divorce from me and you know it3.
1 Idem, page 2
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2 Id., page 3
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3 Id., page 5
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Revenge is another feeling that characterize sadistic people like Mrs. Rowland detect in this fragment: {With satisfaction} There! I knew youd cut yourself. Itll be a lesson to you.4 Another characteristic of sadistic people is their tendency to narcissism. These kinds of people are always eager of admiration and the approval of his/her actions; as we can see when Mrs. Rowland says: And you cant get a divorce from me and you know it. No one can say Ive ever done anything wrong.5 Sadistic people, are known to be egocentric, they do not really care about other people: Did you cut yourself again? Serves you right. {Gets up and takes off her apron} Well, Ive got to run along.6 What is more, the simple fact that we are seeing a monologue means that the only thing that matters is what the speaker feels and what, in this case Mrs. Rowland has to say. It does not matter if the people to whom she/he is talking to or if someone gets hurt, he/she thinks that deserve and need to be heard. Within a sadistic relationship we also find a masochist (the complement to the sadist), we can find this kind of personality in Alfreds character, that doesnt mean he is a victim, people like him use passivity and absence of feelings or response as a kind of weapon against their opposite (sadistic person). If something happens it would be the sadist guilt, so he will be responsible from how the things end. Actually masochists have their own way of dominate, because in the end they decide to allow the sadist abuse and they know that they can say no, thus let the sadistic person without power. We can perceive that with Alfreds suicide. More than a desperate act to stop suffering, it is a form of revenge because the thing that Mrs. Rowland enjoyed the most was her husband suffering and when he kills himself, he keeps his wife from getting pleasure of her sadistic role.

4 Id., page 4
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5 Id., page 5
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6 Id., page 5
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In conclusion we can say that sadistic relationships are based mainly in violent interactions and in the acceptance of that, so this kind of liaison tend to be selfdestructive and in some cases, as we saw in the play Before Breakfast, have a tragic end.

SOURCESS O Neill, Eugene. Before Breakfast. http://www.eoneill.com/texts/bb/contents.htm, 4.08.2011 BEFORE BREAKFAST, directed by Warren Sherrill, on a double bill

with Susan Glaspell's TRIFLES, directed by Linda Ben-Zvi with set design by Cristal Martinez and Ric Lantz. Bas Bleu Theatre Company, Fort Collins, Colorado, 12 October - 4 November 1995. http://www.eoneill.com/library/review/19/19m.htm, 28.08.2011 http://wps.prenhall.com/hss_master_lit_1/140/35960/9205840.cw/ind

ex.html, 28.08.2011

Ducach, Perla y Carlos Tabbia.

Sistema de valores del

sadomasoquismo: la fascinacin por el poder, la venganza y la supervivencia. http://www.gpbarcelona.org/doc/articulos/lossistemas.pdf, 28.08.2011