Spike Heels

Andrew’s character begins and ends with his profession: He teaches political philosophy, which means that he theorizes from the safe distance of his classroom about the chaotic world of political revolutions. In his private life, he assumes the role of teacher rather than friend to a woman his age, trying to shape Georgie into his idea of the perfect woman by treating her as an object he can manipulate. Andrew sees in Georgie a chance to test his theories of self-improvement and character development.

Andrew’s academic credentials and seemingly selfless interest in Georgie at first suggest that he is a positive influence in her life. However, we quickly learn just how self-serving, manipulative, and controlling his relationship with Georgie actually is. By erasing her South Boston accent and other features of her working-class upbringing, Andrew is not so much reaching out as undermining George, constantly reminding her how lucky she should feel to be the recipient of his efforts despite her lack of college degree and lack of middle-class affect. Andrew arranges for Georgie to work at a law firm under his predatory college buddy Edward, even going so far as to ask Edward to aggressively hit on Georgie in a misguided attempt to develop her professionalism. Finally, Andrew disregards the impact that his involvement with his neighbor has on his fiancée Lydia, blaming their estrangement on her when it is his ambivalence that threatens their relationship.

Andrew has limited access to his emotions, needing alcohol to engage with the world. Toxically cerebral, he cruelly declares his love for Georgie in front of Lydia, never worried about sparing her feelings, and then cannot even muster a passionate kiss to convince Georgie he is being honest at last. In the end, it makes sense that both women reject him; the graceless exit that ends his presence on stage makes him literally odd man out. 

Edward enters the play as a caricature of a workplace predator, whose inappropriate leers and jokey threats of rape signal textbook sexual harassment that even audiences in 1990 had to acknowledge as grotesque. As Georgie’s boss, he represents the epitome of the objectifying misogynist, using his lawyerly skills to “have a debate about the pros and cons of whether or not [Georgie] should screw him” (19) and dismissing sexual harassment as an overused and thus meaningless term. Edward is proud of his moral flexibility: His job is to defend obviously guilty people despite the facts against them. Similarly, in conversations with Georgie, Edward manipulates language to create confusion and encourage her complicity. He goes so far as to offer her more money to make up for his continual campaign of sexual predation, knowing that her fears of losing her job will sway her to accept.

However, after their date, Edward has a personality shift. Refusing to have casual sex with Georgie, he instead fixates on ascertaining her feelings for Andrew, unwilling to get physically involved without her emotional commitment. This character revelation makes the audience sympathize with Edward, whose workplace persona, however, repugnant, is the creation of the patriarchal strictures within he is just as trapped as Georgie. The version of masculinity he performs there is the only one available to him.

The play ends with Edward and Georgie discussing their burgeoning relationship with honesty. Edward has limited interest in sexual conquest, while Georgie has become a capable player who out-negotiates her skilled boss. “I accept your terms” (99), he tells Georgie as the two prepare to hammer out her position in the firm.