The Role of Women in The Zoo Story Essay -- Zoo Story Essays

The Role of Women in The Zoo Story Although the women characters in "The Zoo Story" are never front and center staged, they have leading roles in shaping the conditions and sensibilities of Jerry and Peter. The women referred to by each of the male characters affects, or has affected, their perceptions and routines in life. Jerry has had many encounters with various women, while Peter speaks only of three. The quantity of women roles in each man's life is not the dominate cause of their behaviors; it is the quality of the women. In "The Zoo Story" the women "backstage" are unseen influences that cloud reality for Jerry and Peter. The few women in Peter's life keep him relatively tamed. He is the male underdog of the household, surrounded by a wife and two daughters. Indicated by the dialog, Peter does not appear to be an assertive man. The women of the house are the dominate decision-makers. . .cats instead of dogs, two parakeets (one for each daughter), two television sets (one for the children). They represent the middle-class, happy family, ...