Masculinity & The Role of Women in Glengarry Glen Ross

                Although no women are present in Glengarry Glen Ross, Levene and Roma use patriarchal concepts of women in their dialogue and action to assert their own dominance and traditional masculinity to themselves and to the other men around them.
                In his book The Art & Craft of Playwriting, Jeffrey Hatcher notes how powerful Levene’s twice-occurring line about his daughter is within the context of the play (Hatcher 28-29). “Out of context,” says Hatcher, “it could mean anything,” but within the confines of the narrative, it is both a “plea and a weapon.” When Levene tells Williamson, “John, my daughter….” he is pleading with Williamson to sympathize with his daughter’s dependence on him as her father (Mamet 26, 104). I would push this farther and say that Levene is wielding the patriarchal construct of a vulnerable daughter needing assistance from her father. Through this, he is able to assert his masculinity as a father figure. A dual-edge to this rhetorical weapon is that he is also manipulating Williamson to accept this patriarchal construct and sympathize with him so that Levene can gain the upper hand. Although Levene seems to be casting himself as a victim, all the men in this play are obviously opportunists, so it is clear that Levene is still using the plea to sway Williamson into cooperating.

                 In Act Two, Levene brags that he has closed a major deal with a couple over units in Mountain View (Mamet 73). When he later tells his story to Roma, Levene says that he was in the couple's kitchen eating crumb cake provided by Harriet Nyborg, the wife. When Roma asks how it was, Levene responds that it was “from the store,” to which Roma simply responds “F*ck her” (72). This negative and vitriolic response to a woman giving a man a store-bought food item also coincidences with patriarchal masculinity that serves as an assertion of masculine dominance. Women are expected to make homemade food, and when they purchase store-bought items, a patriarchal worldview deems it a step outside of female responsibility. By mentioning that the cake was store-bought, Levene undercuts Harriet’s worth within his patriarchal construct. By cursing, Roma has secured his masculinity while also using an imperative, dominant voice toward Levene. Through this piece of dialogue, both men are confirming their masculinity to each other by belittling a woman who has not adhered to their shared patriarchal concept of female duty.



                After Roma closes the deal with Lingk, Lingk’s wife insists they cancel it (Mamet 82). Roma tries to convince Lingk to put off canceling the deal until the following Monday, in an attempt to make the three open business days elapse that Lingk could use to cancel (83-85). Although the verbal manipulation is between Roma and Lingk, Roma’s actual adversary he is fighting to keep the deal alive is Lingk’s absent wife. Although he never directly insults her, Roma still fights to erase Lingk’s wife’s agency in her marriage and financial security. By attempting to secure the deal, Roma is reinforcing his masculinity while overruling Lingk’s wife’s choice and her husband’s decision to side with her. If Roma loses the deal, his masculinity is not only damaged through the failure to close, but also through losing to a woman and a lesser-patriarchal man who is willing to listen to his wife.
                In Glengarry Glen Ross, Levene and Roma use patriarchal constructs in an attempt to define themselves as traditionally masculine and dominant. By using stereotypes and manipulation of women, the two men try to assert power in their environment.

Works Cited

Hatcher, Jeffrey. The Art and Craft of Playwriting. Cincinnati: F+W Publications, 1996. Print.