NOSTALGIA AND ROMANCE: A STUDY OF RELATIONSHIPS IN LOOK BACK IN ANGER

Abstract

NOSTALGIA AND ROMANCE: A STUDY OF RELATIONSHIPS IN LOOK BACK IN ANGER (pp. 90-107): Jun 2023 : I [I] Monisha Rai Dastidar DOI Link : https://doi.org/10.51767/JEN010107 NOSTALGIA AND ROMANCE: A STUDY OF RELATIONSHIPS IN LOOK BACK IN ANGER by Monisha Rai Dastidar is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Look Back in Anger is about the feelings of fury of the post-war penetration that felt betrayed, sold-out and irrevocably ruined; of the older generation that is like the “sturdy old plants left over from the Edwardian twilight who cannot understand why the sun isn’t shining anymore”; of women who seek identity in age-old practices and relationships like marriage only to find themselves gasping for “a little peace”; of people who cannot save their love from the “cruel steel traps” of society. The consciousness of “high noon” of the Victorian and Edwardian era looms painfully over the breeding ground of the post-war city of London and its emotionless existence. Nostalgia seems to be the only way to survive the emotional and social claustrophobia. The fate of each individual lies as if in looking back. This paper attempts to explore the different relationships that John Osborne offers in his play. This paper also seeks to know about the pitfalls of romance where neither looking back is pleasurable, nor does it hold anything to look ahead. Can a relationship sustain without a future but only a bitter past? Does the same thing happen to friendships and other filial relationships? Does love fall apart due to external forces or if the lovers do not know the way to hold on? Can love really be held on to? These are some of the questions that this paper seeks answers for.