The Ancient Man and the New Modern Man
Comments(2) As time past, being an Earl, Lord, Noble does not seems to fly, for they are the rich players who just spends money without working for any of it. Not reading the entire play “The Shoemaker’s Holiday”, I can only concluded that Lacy very much wants to change Rose’s father outlook of him, perhaps by obtaining a simple yet hard working trade such as a shoemaker. He manage to live and work with the lowry people (beneath him) thus crossing the barrier from “high birth” to “gentle craft” by living as one of them. Also bringing him close to his love, Rose, whose father disagrees with the relationship, thus sending his daugther away. Yet, surprising to find that Rose refuses to marry a rich Londoner against her father wishes, ironically she is her own woman and is in control of her life in that time era, but still unable to love freely for both sent away unwillingly.
In the opening of the play, readers are given a glimpse of Lacy’s lavish lifestyle as his uncle, Lincoln, implies it by recalling how Lacy had squandered away a substantial amount of money. Although painted in a negative light, that trait alone is not the sole reason for Lincoln and the Mayor to prevent the marriage of Lacy and Rose. While I agree that Lacy’s rash decision to avoid leading the army is done out of his love for Rose, I disagree that Lacy’s choice is to change the Mayor’s outlook on him. If anything, his decision has had quite the opposite effect as Lincoln and the Mayor see just how irresponsible Lacy is. Present day, one may not see anything wrong with a person of higher birth entering a trade that is considered to be “beneath” their status. However, during the time in which the play was written, it was unheard of that an Earl, a Lord or a nobleman would willingly enter a trade such as shoe-maing. Although the trade takes a considerable amount of labor and training, that is not something that a person of status would partake in. Hence, I hardly believe that Rose’s father would appreciate the good nature and gentle craft of shoe-making that Lacy partakes in as Hans.
Also, his rash decision in contrast to Ralph makes it even harder for one to appreciate what Lacy has done out of love. Ralph loves his wife Jane very much as well, but he is forced to go to war because of his lower status and is eventually rendered lame. Lacy, because of his higher birth, finds a way out of avoiding responsibility is able to do as he pleases. There is little in the play to show that he is unhappy as Hans. He may lack the unlimited funding that he had as Lacy, but his experience is hardly comparable to what Ralph has endured. Because of that, I refute that Lacy’s decision is done to impress Rose’s father. If anything, it is done to impress Rose, and benefit himself in the meanwhile.
I am, of course, cheating since I have finished the play. But I never got the feeling that either Lacy or Rose cared anything for what Rose’s father thought about their relationship. Their lack of interaction with each other made it hard for me to think that Lacy wanted his approval and more think that Rose and Lacy just wanted a way around his restrictions.