User:Seanc98/sandbox

Wartime and Disability
The male artisan body is prominent in the play, with many descriptions of male hunger, thirst, sexual activity, and, most prominently, labor. The labor and strength of the male artisan body, which is "generally written as 'low' in early modern discourses," here stands in for the strength of the nation as a whole. Emphasis of the male body is one way the play valorizes artisanship. The character of Ralph in the play, a shoemaker who returns from the war disabled, contributes to the uniquely artisan conception of the body in the play. Ralph's disability, although it does literally hinder his ability to work, is not viewed as a hindrance by his community, which values labor in and of itself. Because of this conception of labor and the body, Ralph's disability does not exclude him from his fellow artisans, as evidenced by Hodge's encouragement of him after he says he "wants limbs." It is instead viewed as an opportunity to be supported by his community, and to take comfort in labor. As an artisan, Ralph's body is his livelihood. When his livelihood is threatened by disability, he is able to turn to his community of artisans.

A constant undercurrent in the play is the war between England and France. Each character's reactions towards the war are used as litmus tests of their personalities. Lincoln and Otley, for example, use the war as an excuse to break up Rose and Lacy, demonstrating their opportunistic qualities. Simon Eyre dislikes war but supports his country's participation in it strongly, accentuating his role as a stand-in for the common citizen. Each of these reactions reveals The war in France underpins the many conflicts of the play, "uniting them under a common metaphor"