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

ABSTRACTLook 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 riftbetween 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.Keywords: Redern's arrival, his role, good nature, attitude to his daughter and son-in-lawINTRODUCTION:According to Hayman in Look Back in Anger John Osborne " . . . focuses so intently on the hero(Jimmy) in the foreground that the group and the background often get blurred" (Hayman,9). But Taylor suggests " . . . the surprising fact is that the only character apart from Jimmy who is allowed his say and some measure of genuinely independent existence is Alison's father . . . "(Taylor,49). The minor character Colonel Redfern, a retired army officer who served in India from 1914 to 1947, plays an important role by revealing his humane side. He is also integral to the theme and plot of the play. He is a sensible man who is somewhat puzzled by post World-War II England. Despite being a minor character, Colonel Redfern performs an important role. To understand Jimmy and Alison fully, Redfern's role should be taken into consideration for he is not soulless and is someone who can empathize with the problems of his son-in-law although he could not understand them before his daughter's marriage with Jimmy. Through the figure of Colonel Redfern, Osborne negates Jimmy's assumption that all the upper-class members are unfeeling or egotistical. His arrival at his daughter's house gives him the opportunity to reassess Alison and her husband, Jimmy and readers then get a chance to know his goodness. Hence, the mould-breaking drama: ". . . stands up as an impassioned domestic melodrama that advances to a truthful climax and projects an intensity of human feeling . . ." (The Sunday Times, 2nd November, 1968).The play is set in a cheerless one-room attic apartment in the Midlands of England. Jimmy stays with his wife, Alison and their Welsh friend CliffLewis in this house; however Clifflives in a separate room. When Alison marries Jimmy, the contrast between the two families and the world views become clear.This play has two groups of characters. One group belongs to the upper-class and another to the workingclass. Colonel Redfern, his wife, Mrs. Redfern, son Nigel and daughter Alison are members of the upper class. Helena, Alison's friend, is also from the same social class. On the other hand, Jimmy, his friends Hugh, Cliff, and Mrs. Tanner belong to the proletariat.The arrival of Alison's actress friend, Helena, near the end of Act I complicates the plot and causes Alison, who, without Jimmy's knowledge, has become pregnant, to decide to leave him as she has given to Helena a detailed account of her marriage and the kind of pathetic life she has been leading with him. …