Introduction 37

7. IMAGES AND SYMBOLS IN LOOK BACK IN ANGER

Look Back in Anger abounds in recurrent images which gather meaning
as the action of the play procccds Jimmy Porter's flat is set in a large
Victorian house which obviously indicatcs Victorian primncss and the
prudery of Englishsocictythat he so vchemcntly attacks. His denuncia
tion of individuals likc Alison, Alison's mother and Hclcna is couched
in beast imagery of substantial variety. Thus Mrs Redfern is called a
rhinoceros in labour' (p.96), a female rhino' (p.99), 'an old bitch
(p.97),'an overfed, overprivilcged old bitch' (p.110). Helena too is seen
as abitch (p.79) to which Jimmy adds,...she is a cow...she seems
to have becomes a sacred cow as well' (p.99). Alison is referred to
contemptuously as a 'stupid bitch' (p.57), that bitch' (p.117). She is
also a 'python. She just devours me whole every time, as if I were some
over-large rabbit (p.81),) Again in his lyric in Act IIl sc. i, he sings,
'avoid that old python coil when he rclers to women in love (p.94).
Here it is relevant to recall M. D. Faber's article on The Character of
Jimmy Porter in which he, as mentioncd earlier, discusses Jimmy's oral
fixation andrefers to his fear of being eaten or devourcd'.So Alison
beçomes the devouring python."
(Jimmy's »orality' is also cmphasised when once, for a change, Cliff
usès beast imagery to denigrate Jimmy, calling him a bloody pig' (p.54)
for his hunger. However,Clilf uses the samc image in a ifferent sense
when he says that Jimmy is too much of a pig' to appreciate Alison's
beauty,
At the same time, Jimmy, Alison and Cliff refer lovingly to each
other as the bear, the squirrel and the mouse respectively. The heavy
chest of drawers' has a large tattered, toy bcar and soft, woolly
squirrel.As Jimmy, Alison and Cliff have fun, Jimmy points out that
He getsS more like alittle mouse every day, doesn't he? and Alison
explains That's because he is a mouse.' Even Cliff responds by squea
king, T'm amouse, I'm a mouse, I'm a randy little mouse. (p.75). He
soon tells Jimmy, you're a stinking old bear' (p.76). Within a few
minutes of Cliff's exit Jimmy tclls Alison, You're very beautiful. A
beautiful, great-eycd squirrel.")As 'she nods brightly', he continues,
hoarding, nutmunching squirrc!...with highly polished, gleaming fur,
trich feather of a lail'.As she rcsponds by calling him a really
'marvellous bear', their sourds and gestures culminate in the
50. "The Character of Jimmy Porter: An Approach to Look Back in Anger,
Modern Drama, 13, 1(May 1979) , 67-77.
 38 Look Back in Anger
statement, Bears and squirrcls are marvellous (p.78). In the Sccond
Act, Alison explains it to Hclena, You see thát bear, and that squirrel?
Well, that's him and that's me.' Shc calls it'a sortof unholy pricsthole
of being animals to onc another. .. Asilly symphony for people who
couldn't bear the pain of bcinghuman beings any longer.' (p.91). When
much against Jimmy's wishes, Alison goes to Church with Hclena, ás
he feels that she no longer carcs for him, he picks' the teddy-bear up
gently, looks at it quickly and throws it downstage. It hits the floo, with
a thud and it makes arattling groaning sound (p.107)." When Alison,
having finally decided to leave, starts packing her things, She picks up
the squirel from the chest of drawers, is, about to put it in her suitcase,
hesitates, and then puts it back' (p.112)(The squirrel, which symbolizes
her role as Jimmy's wife and beloved, cannot be hers when she leaves
him. Even Helena 'picks up the toy bear and holds it when waiting for
Jimmy to break the news of Alison's departure. She is reflecting on
Jimmy and perhaps unconsciously preparing for her future with him.
Quite appropriately Jimmy and Alison's reunion is againdramatized
with the images of the bear and squirrel. Jimmy says,
We'll be together in our bear's cage, and our squirrel's drey, and we'll live
on honey, and nuts lots and lots of nuts And you'll keep those
because I'm a bit
big eyeS on my fur, and help me keep my claws in order,
of a soppy, scruffy sort of a bear. And Ill see that you
keep that sleek,
squirrel.
bushy tale glistening as it should, because you're a very beautiful
[p.140].
profound
These animal images thus suggest love, cosy intimacy and conscious
or
Concern even as they indicate an escape from a mental
comprehension of the nature of their relationships.
In their flat, the ironing-board is prominently displaycd, for both
Alison and Hclcna use it for extended periods. The work of ironing
represents the domestic chorcs and pcrhaps the attempts of these
women to iron out their domestic difficulties. Jimmy's trumpet which
sounds in parallcl situations is an organ of defiance. On both the
Occasions, Jimmy plays alone on the trumpet in Cliff's room as Helena
and Alison are engaged in conversation, In Act IIsc. iwhen Hclena
tells Alison emphalicaly 'or you must get out of this madhouse', we
hear "Trumpet crescndo' (p.91), as if in total defiance. Similarly in A
III sc..i, when Hclena indicatcs her own dccision to leave andjustifies
hersclf by saying, Iknow itl's right', thc tnun1pet getslouder (p.134). In
J1. M, D. Faber argues that Jimmy's throwing the teddy bear on tne n
an example of regressive behaviour The Character of Jimmy Porter:
Approach to Look Back in Anger', p.75.
Introduction 39

spite of Helena'sprotest, thetrumpet goes on.' Jimmy willnot give in.

Hecannot however challenge the Church bells. The bells ring, and
Alison under Helena's influcnce responds to them and gocs to Church
much against Jimmy's wishes. She has gonc back to her traditional
background. As Hclena firmly sets out to leave Jimmy towards the end
of the play (p.137), the Church bclls toll again, indicating thc triumph
of traditional religious values.
(All these images are confined within the paramctcrs of realism.
Thus the verbal imagery which consists principally of brute inmages
quite suits theunconventional conversational style of Jimmy and his
associates.On the other hand,-the visual and the aural symbols limited
lo the sets and the properties do not disrupt verisimilitude. Osbornc
by using imagery in dialogues and stage symbols-has like Ibsen and
Chekhov, effcctively enriched his rcalism instead of disrupting ity

8. GAMES OSBORNE PLAYS: LITERARY ECHOES

AND ROLE- PLAYING

Osborne plays a number of literary games in Look Back in Anger.

Characters in the play often enrich their immediate contexts by
iniroducing references to other litcrary works. They also step outside
their 'sclves' by identifying with literary figures and characters or by
playing roles.
Literary cchoes are scattered throughout Jimmy's conversation. He
occasionally tends to modify the original quotations or exprcssions in
almost the same way as in Joseph Heller's Catch-22. Thus he refers to
the White Woman's Burden' (p.55), changing Kipling'soriginal, as he
talks contemptuously of Alison's inability to think, thus deflating both
Alison and Kipling. Later in the Act, refcrring to his experience with
Alison, he says, 'I've just about had enough of this expense of spirit"
lark as far as women are concerncd' (p.79). The allusion to
Shakespearc's Sonnet no. 129 (cxix) expressing the poet'sagony at the
tormented affair with the Dark Lady of the Sonnets' both parodies
Shakespecare and shows by contrast that Alison is inferior to the Dark
Lady. Somewhat different is the comparison of himself with
Wordsworth, Writtcn in flames a mile high. And it won't be recollected
in tranquility either, picking daffodils with Auntic Worsworth. Itll be
recollectcd in fire, and blood' (p.98). Hcre the idea is to cxalt himself
at the expense of William Wordsworth, who is condemned for his
tamencss and pusillanimity.