How is Godfrey presented in the opening of the play?

Godfrey is presented in this extract as a man who has been so profoundly affected by grief
that he has morphed into a religious zealot who controls and manipulates his daughters
through the guise of love and protection.

Godfrey is profoundly affected by the loss of his wife, and the play opens with the visible
expression of his pain, as if to set the tone for the whole play. Lynn Nottage uses stage
directions and a simile in Ernestine’s opening monologue, “Godfrey wails like a god-awful
banshee”. This is used to suggest that he is completely and utterly inconsolable, and when
performed it would clearly juxtapose Ernestine’s mature and analytical opening monologue.
Furthermore, the use of the noun “banshee” makes his reaction seem almost abnormal and
supernatural. The audience would see from the outset that his pain is so extreme that he is
unable to be a proper father for his daughters. This is also shown through the metaphor,
“death nearly crippled my father slipping beneath the soles of his feet and taking away his
ability to walk” which indicates the physical reaction it has caused, and appears to suggest
that his daughters had to take on the role of parent for themselves as he was so
incapacitated. This is an almost instant indication of the context of the time where men
expected women to housekeep, and it is clear from later in the play that by receding into a
state of mourning he is able to force his daughters to take on greater responsibility and
replace his wife. In this sense although this is not a moment of purposeful control, he still
even in the first stages of grief has the effect of controlling the actions of his daughters.

However, Godfrey’s mourning changes as he transfers his loss onto a steadfast devotion to
Father Divine. Ernestine explains to the audience the impact that father divine has on her
father through metaphor, “he let Divine strip away his desire and demand of him a monk’s
devotion”. Nottage highlights that as part of his service to Father Divine Godfrey has given
up an element of his personality, and perhaps in the opinion of Ernestine has utterly
changed himself. The comparison to a monk’s devotion directly links to the doctrine which
the followers of the peace mission (in real life) had to follow; no sexual relations even when
you were married. In this way the audience understands from the outset that he has given
himself utterly to religion, which makes the arrival of Gerte in the play later on all the more
dramatic, and highlights Godfrey’s later hypocrisy. Godfrey’s own celibacy, takes a much
less central role in the play, and is interestingly not commented on apart from in this quote.
However, the girls are forced to display their devotion at all times and have to “wear the V”
which Ermina and Ernestine explain stands for “Virtue, victory, and virginity”. This control of
his daughters bodies, although somewhat more normative in the 1950’s, appears extreme
and disgusting to 1990’s audience, and an audience today. The fact that he not only seeks
to control their bodies, but outwardly make them prove their devotion to celibacy where he
does not, evidences Godfrey’s misogyny, and highlights the misogyny of the 1950’s. He
excuses his control of their lives through the phrase, which echoes that of abusers, “I ain’t
doing this ‘cause I like to. I’m doing this ‘cause I got to”. This highlights his profound
manipulation, and refusal to allow them autonomy, which whilst incredibly controlling is
excused as a necessity in order to follow Divine’s doctrine.

Godfrey’s control also occurs through more tacit means, bribing them to follow the
increasingly absurd rules which he wants them to follow. Nottage writes that towards the end
of the prologue Godfrey says to his daughters, “I almost forgot, (Singsong) something in my
pocket for my babies” his manner of speaking to them given the fact that they are 15 and 17
is quite patronising. Furthermore, the use of the stage direction “(Singsong)” is used to
emphasise the manipulative tone he is using, and heavily contrast his earlier wails, as if to
show his sudden change now he has found religion. The “something” he is referring to are
cookies taken from the bakery, which highlights that even in acts of giving he is unwilling to
use the families’ actual money to be kind to his daughters. Ernestine emphasises this
through the phrase, “something better is always on the horizon”. Nottage cleverly re-
imagines the cliche “something better is on the horizon” through the addition of “always”
which highlights the fact that Godfrey is perpetually promising them a better world that he
never actually provides. This is perhaps more upsetting than his overt manipulation and
control, as it leaves them in a state where they still love and rely on their father despite his
abhorrent behaviour and lack of support for them.

Whilst grief is an extremely difficult thing to experience, Godfrey’s reaction to it causes more
harm to his daughters, who it must be remembered are also grieving greatly.