THE ROLE OF COLONEL REDFERN IN OSBORNE’S LOOK BACK IN ANGER: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

Look Back in Anger is the story of a married couple’s stormy relationship. In it the ill-matched couple, Jimmy Porter and his wife Alison Porter come from different classes. He is a worker’s son, and she is from  an army family. Class tensions are prevalent throughout the play, and much of Jimmy’s abuse is directed at Alison’s family, which reflects the deep rift between different classes in England of the 50s. Class conflict worries Jimmy greatly and he wants to root out the social disharmony created by it. In Jimmy’s view, the upper-class members symbolize the fake aristocratic society which is incapable of genuine feelings for any human being. Besides Jimmy and his wife, there are three on-stage characters. One of them is Colonel Redfern. He is Alison’s father who shatters the traditional image of upper-class members and projects a new concept about their nature. His attitude towards his daughter, Alison, and Jimmy is poignantly realized when he has given several very thought-provoking speeches after his arrival at Porter house. Actually, our whole approach to the man alters radically after his arrival in Act Two, Scene Two of the play. The full extent of his good nature is seen in his wisdom about marital relationship.We find him admirable  as a father and  a human being  and  he is gifted with self-realization, sensibility, politeness, patience, keen insight and perception.  In this paper an attempt has been made to analyze the role of Colonel Redfern.