Violence in Sarah Ruhl’s in the Next Room

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Shireen M. Ameen
Ahmed A. Mohammad

Abstract

Sarah Ruhl’s In the Next Room or The Vibrator Play investigates the causes of violence against women that constitutes any act of gender-based violence that results in physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to women. Ruhl uses historical facts to make a connection between the events that occurred in the past and the present. This study aims to examine the problem of violence and its effects on women. The study tries to analyze the types of violence based on Johan Galtung’s theory of Violence Triangle as a method of analysis. In his seminal article, Violence, Peace, and Peace Research (1969), Galtung presents his famous theory of the Violence Triangle, which is the best framework for comprehending the concept of violence. He made a distinction between three categories of violence: direct, structural, and cultural violence. This classification enables the examination of many types of violence. According to Galtung, "violence is present when human beings are being influenced so that their actual somatic and mental realizations are below their potential realizations" (Galtung 1969, p. 168). Galtung says that scholars should look at how violence is used to keep people from doing what they want in their daily lives, not just how it affects their bodies. The ultimate goal of this study is to show those causes of violence that result in various types of suffering for women and also to analyze the types of violence in the play under study.

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How to Cite
Ameen, S. M. and Mohammad, A. A. . (2022) “Violence in Sarah Ruhl’s in the Next Room”, Koya University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 5(1), pp. 29-34. doi: 10.14500/kujhss.v5n1y2022.pp29-34.
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Articles
Author Biography

Ahmed A. Mohammad, Department of English Language, Faculty of Education, Koya University, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Mr. Ahmed was born in the Kirkuk in 1974.  He got his  BA from Translation Department, College of Arts, Al-Mustansrya University in 2004. He got his bath MA & Ph.D. from Koya University. Now he is head of Department of English Language at the Faculty of Education at Koya University.

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