Free Sample Essays > European Literature
Jane Harrison 'Stolen': Text response
The link between mother and child is one which is very special both spiritually and biologically in many ways. And when these links are broken it can have disastrous effects to both sides. The play Stolen reflects on these effects for five different people who have been affected as child and also as the parent.
This harsh removal which the play reflects on is spiritually deadening because the child gets lost and do not know who they are or where they came from. As in Anne’s case she was lost and did not know who she was because she was lied to in the beginning. This led her to believe that she was of a ‘normal’ family (and I use that term loosely). However when she was finally told of who she was she had a lot of trouble dealing with who she was and who she should be with. Choose the life with the family she grew up with, or take the life of the people she did not even know.
As with the loss of identity, there is also the loss of the culture to which you should grow up with. Having never known what your culture was, who your people are, or even your own language can be a severe consequence, however, having known your culture and stories and language can have an even greater effect when they are taken away from you. In Sandy’s case he was taken away at an older age and therefore knew of his language and stories, and then being told that he could no longer know anything of them and never speak another word of them must have broken him up inside. This is also closely related to the emotional stress that all of the children must have faced when being taken from their families and placed in a strange world where they are seen as ‘different’ and ‘out of character’.
The biological links are those which are upheld by the mother which teach the child how to live and care for themselves and others. By being ‘institutionalised’ as they were they have lost this link and do not learn the life skills which they most definitely need to survive. This is most evident in Jimmy’s case because he’s doesn’t know how to act around people and always winds up in fights which then leads to prison, and eventually his suicide. This death or suicide symbolises the final crushing of his spirit which could have been protected if his mother had not died because of the loss of her son.
Taken at a young age Shirley was put in an institution, as were her children. For this reason she is the clearest symbol of the stolen generations because she suffered constant emotional pain at the loss of her loved ones. However she never gave up the hope of finding her children. She never takes the easy [next page]