Usually, identifying the protagonist of a story isn't difficult. The story is about them. They are often the first character we meet and the character that we follow throughout the plot. however in The Glass of Water, we follow the lives of five characters. They each have their struggles and triumphs. however, the character whose struggles are most central to the plot would have to be Abigail's. To determine this, I thought about the goal of each character. Then I asked three questions: "which 'want' is the most important to the plot?", "which 'want' is the most difficult to satisfy?", and "which 'want' is satisfied?". Abigail's was the answer to all three. Abigail's want is centered around Masham. Therefore anything in the play that sets him back or separates the two of them counts as an Abigail struggle. Almost every conflict in the show does or both of those things. The feelings of the queen for Masham, the feelings of the Duchess for Masham and even Masham's mistake of killing Bolingbroke's cousin all stand in the way of Abigail and Masham's happiness. Scribe makes it easy to lean towards Abigail as the protagonist because he gives her a lot of stage time and made her a likeable character. She is the most innocent character that we follow and her wants are the most pure.
There are times that we root for everyone in the play. I would say that the next most frequent would be Masham. He is the second most innocent character with the second purest motives. After him would be Bolingbroke because he is an advocate for peace and is constantly aiding Masham and abigail. The Queen and the Duchess would probably be tied for last because they are what intentionally stands in the way of Masham and Abigail. There are times that we feel pity for the Queen and times that we like the Duchess. For example the first time that the Duchess and Bolingbroke, she keeps up with him while they banter. It presents her as a sort of badass female character. That said, if I had to chose a protagonist for The Glass of Water it would definitely be Abigail.
I really liked your explanation of why Abigail was the protagonist. I wrote that Bolingbroke was the protagonist, but what you wrote about the obstacles Abigail must overcome is really true. I honestly feel that Abigail, Masham, and Bolingbroke could all be protagonists, and Scribe wrote it that way. All of their goals depend so much upon the others, that it is hard to distinguish one protagonist.
ReplyDeleteOkay, at first I didn't think I agreed with you that Abigail was the protagonist, because I thought Masham was more important and more often sympathized with by the audience. However, now that I read your explanation as to why the fact that it is Abigail whose "want" is ultimately delivered, I understand why she fits as the stories protagonist.
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