Guide Mentor

Character Role Analysis

Lin

Lin isn't perfect. She's pretty rough with her daughter Cathy and flat out hates men (those are her words, not ours). But she also has a much more progressive understanding of gender than any other characters in the play.

For starters, she is more politically active than other characters, having participated in a "Troops Out March" (2.1.92-93) that got her blacklisted by her family. Just for background info, this would be a march to protest the colonial presence of England in Northern Ireland. Lin's own brother is in the English Army, so you can see why her family would dislike her for choosing her political beliefs over her own brother.

On top of that, Lin is also the only woman in the play who (from the get-go) is totally comfortable without a man in her life. Victoria, on the other hand, still has some traditional ideas about gender and says that Lin "shouldn't be grateful" (2.1.100) for being alone. Over time, though, Lin convinces Victoria not only to become more independent, but also to have sex with her. While doing that Lin also helps Victoria's mother Betty learn to be happy without a husband. When it comes to women's independence and sexual freedom, Lin is definitely way ahead of the curve in this play, and the other characters are lucky to hear her advice.