Young Woman Gets Biblical

Okay, first of all, I would like to say that this was one of the oddest yet most intriguing plays I have ever read.  I found sometimes that I got lost between all of the characters and would have to reread lines.  This was mostly because the characters weren't really named which provides for a slightly more confusing but nonetheless more powerful play.  However, even though I got a little lost in the dialogue at times, I still found this to be a very captivating play, and I was eager to finish it.

YOUNG WOMAN: "God never had one - Mary had one - in a manager - the lowly manager - God's on a high throne - far - too far - no matter - it doesn't matter" (Treadwell 31)

I thought this quote was interesting because the woman seems to be comparing her situation to Mary.  Now that the woman has just had a child, she is physically sick because of how upset she is.  She definitely does not seem to have wanted this child, and she seems to feel like Mary, simply burdened with a child that she never asked for.  Certainly Mary had much different feelings toward her child than this woman does, but I think the fact that the woman is comparing her situation to Mary gives some insight as to how mentally ill the woman may be.  Also, the way the woman speaks of God  shows how little she thinks of men.  She mentions how He did not have to bear the child and how He was so far removed from the whole childbirth.  This also indicates that either she is not very religious, or there are problems in her mental capacity.  I say this only because while God is seen in a masculine light, God is a supreme being and not man or woman. 

Other students' thoughts on Machinal