Shirley Valentine
...speaking there is no such thing as a limit to self-improvement nowadays. In most cases, women (who have been for many years the main victims of this problem) have a career, are more or less independent, and it is assumed that they can do whatever they feel like doing without any restraints. On the other hand, for many generations before our own, this limitation to self-improvement was a reality. Women, once they got married, were supposed to stay at home raising their children, cooking, cleaning up, without a life of their own, just living for the family. Russell¡¦s Shirley Valentine could be considered as a symbol or an icon, representing women who were a part of those generations. Her own words prove this point better than any others could: ¡§I used to be the mother. I used to be the wife, but now I¡¦m Shirley Valentine again.¡¨ (p. 89, l. 10-11). Shirley¡¦s problem and so many other women¡¦s problem was that living for the family meant being someone¡¦s daughter, mother and wife, but not knowing how to be themselves. It is worth pointing out that there were (and are still) those who argue that it might not be so negative to limit ones self-improvement. In the ¡§old days¡¨, they might say, divorces were not so common as they are today. Women used to dedicate more time to their families, as I have said before: cooking, cleaning up ¡V doing what women were supposed to do! And one could argue that doing so they kept the family relations more stable, in other words, they protected they were the link that kept the whole chain (family) together. However, it can also be said that this limitation has some negative effects. When a person is somehow unable to develop ¡§normally¡¨, to really get to know who he/she is that person will probably suffer from that. To limit the opportunity to self-improvement might cause a closed mind, unable to understand or accept new things. At the same time, it may lead a person to burying his/her dreams ¡V and a person with no dreams or hopes will very unlikely enjoy living. Shirley Valentine is, once again, a clear example of this when she acknowledges that her life is not exactly what she had expected: ¡§I¡¦ve lived such a little life. [¡K] I¡¦d allowed myself to lead this little life ¡V when inside me there was so much more. An¡¦ it¡¦s all gone unused [¡K] Why ...