Females’ Objectification of Others in Eugene O’Neill’s Strange Interlude and Desire Under the Elms

Abstract

Men’s objectification of females is a common subject in literature but women’s objectification of others is a less common issue. This study aims to investigate the extent to which the main female characters in O’Neill’s two selected plays objectify others. Nina, the heroine of Strange Interlude and Abbie, the heroine of Desire Under the Elms are objectifiers of other people. This study focuses on three elements of Nussbaum’s theory of objectification: instrumentality, fungibility and ownership. Results indicate that these female characters have objectified others by following the above mentioned elements of objectification theory. The study concludes that the two female characters are objectifiers of others as they do not want to lose their domineering status. Keywords: female characters, O’Neill, instrumentality, fungibility, ownership.