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Darko Suvins Metamorphoses of Science Fiction Essay

Understanding The Concept Of Depression Sociology Essay

Understanding The Concept Of Depression Sociology Essay A comparison of the social constructs of emotion in Asian and Western cultures shows that Asians are more prone to experience depression and suicidal behaviors than are Westerners. Studies highlighting the cultural similarities and differences in display rules, the emotion regulation norms, and the physical and emotional expression of depression in these two cultures are cited to support this claim. The Basic Emotion, Component, Appraisal, and Neo-Jamesian theories show that only elements from each provide a complete explanation of why Asians are predisposed to depression because of culture. The Social Constructionist Theory offers a thorough explanation of this phenomenon. The problems and possible remedies facing Asian cultures and the heightened risk of depression among its members are also addressed. Culture and the Understanding of the Concept of Depression Through numerous studies on cultural relativism and cultural categorization of emotion, emotion is shown to be, to a degree, contingent on cultural factors such as display rules, social roles, and culturally determined appraisals. The interpretation of depression eliciting stimuli and situations and expression of depression, in particular, is also influenced by these cultural factors. Furthermore, the social constructionist view of depression makes it possible to compare the concept of depression in Western and Asian cultures. The contrast between the relatively individualistic nature of Western cultures and the collective nature of Asian cultures, and their associated norms for emotion regulation, may offer differing perspectives of depression and therefore help form a cultural observation of depression within the two cultures. The cultural display rules, socially learned performances, and emotion regulation norms that guide the interpretation of and behavioral responses to depressi on in these cultures reveal that Asians are more prone to depression and suicidal behaviors than are Westerners. Cultural differences between Western and Asian cultures in individualism-collectivism (I-C), a dimension of cultural variability, show a strong possibility that Asians are predisposed to more negative emotions than are Westerners. Individualistic cultures, most of which are Western, promote individual needs, wishes, desires, and values over group and collective ones (Matsumoto, 1990). Consequently, hierarchical differences in status or power are minimized while equality is emphasized (Matsumoto, 1990). In contrast, collective cultures, many of which are Asian, promote the opposite; they stress the needs of a group, individuals identify themselves as members of a group, and ones social role is defined by an entrenched system of hierarchical differences and vertical relationships (Matsumoto, 1990). The I-C difference is also related to the social distinction between ingroups and outgroups (Matsumoto, 190). Members of individualistic cultures tend to display more negative emotions to in group members and more positive emotions to outgroup members. Conversely, members of collective cultures tend to display more positive emotions to members of ingroups and more negative emotions to those of outgroups (Matsumoto, 1990). These display rules should predispose Asians to more negative emotions, which may result in depression, at least in the social interactions with outgroups. Power distance, another dimension of cultural variability, which refers to cultural differences in status and power, is positively correlated to cultures that are more individualistic and negatively correlated to those that are more collective. This dimension may already show that Asian cultures foster more opportunities for the occurrence or passive harboring of negative emotions, while Western cultures seem to dissipate many of these potential risks. The importance of equality and the needs of the individual in Western cultures may make it less likely for people to experience depression on a large, societal scale. On the other hand, the vertical relationships encapsulated in collective cultures may make it more likely for people to acknowledge their differences from one another and any perceived inadequacies with those higher in power and status may contribute to the occurrence of depression. A Japanese-American comparison study by Matsumoto (1990) explored the relationship between I-C and PD cultures and the display rules of the members of those cultures. The study was conducted in two sessions; the first measured display rules through the subjects judgment of the appropriateness of displaying emotions in different situations, and the second measured how they judged the intensity of the same emotions. The results of the experiment supported the views that Japanese display rules made it appropriate to show negative emotions to outgroups and lower-status others while American display rules allowed people to express negative emotions more openly in ingroups (Matsumoto, 1990). In addition, Americans rated happiness in public and to outgroups as more appropriate than did Japanese. The Japanese display rules, indicative to some degree of Asian cultural display rules at large, show that in order to foster ingroup harmony and maintain the hierarchical differences in power and st atus, people find negative emotions to be appropriate when interacting with outgroups and lower-status others but not with ingroups and higher-status others. These display rules may reveal that Asian cultures are less tolerant than Western cultures of negative emotions in ingroups, which discourages them to express and share their negative emotions with their ingroups. A further finding from Matsumotos study suggests that although Asians may be more likely to express negative emotions to outgroups, they mask their negative feelings in the presence of others (Matsumoto, 1990). Overall, Asian cultures seem to discourage any expression of negative emotions whether with ingroups, outgroups, or those of different status. Emotion regulation norms for Asian and Western cultures also demonstrate a greater likelihood for depression among Asians than among Westerners. Since emotion regulation refers to the ability to manage and modify ones emotional reactions in order to achieve a desirable outcome, it reflects the different ways that culture tries to achieve social order (Matsumoto, Yoo, Nakagawa, 2005). Two aspects of emotion regulation, reappraisal-the way individuals appraise an emotion-eliciting situation to change its impact on the emotion-and suppression-the inhibition of emotional expressive behavior-can be used to compare Asian and Western cultures. Individualistic cultures are associated with more reappraisal and less suppression because these cultures value emotions and free expression more than collective cultures, which are associated with less reappraisal and more suppression in order to maintain ingroup cohesion and harmony (Matsumoto et al., 2005). Studies have linked emotion regulation t o different types of adjustment. Individuals high in reappraisal and low in suppression experienced more positive and less negative emotions, were more open in sharing their emotions with others, had better social support, were less depressed, and reported higher self-esteem, optimism, and life satisfaction; in essence, reappraisal has been associated with positive outcomes and suppression with negative emotions (Matsumoto et al., 2005). These conclusions can also be applied to individuals from Asian and Western cultures at large-Asians may feel more negative emotions, have less social support, and be more depressed than Westerners. Although suppression has been associated with negative consequences on the individual level, a study by Matsumoto et al. (2005) shows that it may have positive consequences on the social level. Suppression may play an important cultural function in organizing and maintaining cultural systems and groups. Thus, the social order is preserved at the expense of the emotional well-being of the individual. Part of their study, which held data about country-level emotion regulation, reveals that emotion regulation is positively correlated with both positive and negative indices of adjustment (Matsumoto et al., 2005). In other words, while individualism may promote high levels of both positive and negative adjustment because it values free, uninhibited emotional expression, collectivism may promote only either positive or negative adjustment. Despite the fact that suppression in collective cultures may lead to greater social harmony and a high level of positive adjustment, individuals may sti ll experience negative consequences. Therefore, while Asian countries and cultures may report a relatively positive adjustment for society in general, individuals themselves may report negative adjustment. This phenomenon may very well show that Asians who suffer from depression are stifled by cultural emotion regulation norms from receiving psychological or emotional help and support. The Social Constructionist Theory has helped define the social constructs of Asian cultures that make Asians more prone not only to negative emotions but also to social anxiety, a precursor to depression. Cultural display rules, social roles, and emotion regulation norms have effectively contributed to the predisposition of Asians to be more passive, non-assertive, and anxious in interpersonal situations than Westerners (Okazaki, Liu, Minn, 2002). The results from a study that examined differences between Asian American and White American on a trait measure of social anxiety and self-reports of anxiety-related emotions during a 3-min social performance task indicated that Asian Americans reported more anxiety than White Americans (Okazaki et al., 2002). Their data also revealed that some differences among Asian Americans of various ethnicities in their levels of social anxiety are related to their levels of acculturation. If there are indeed significant differences among Asian Ameri cans depending on their level of acculturation to American culture, they would be due to whether Asian Americans still prescribe to Asian social constructs of emotion. Although Asian Americans reported more social anxiety, they did not behave in an observably different manner than White Americans during the anxiety-provoking social task (Okazaki et al., 2002). In light of the emotion regulation norms that guide behavioral responses, both Asian Americans and Asians may be less willing to express any type of strong emotions, positive or negative, in front of people. This observation may support the view that Asians are exposed to social rules that increase the likelihood for anxiety, and subsequently depression, because those same rules prevent them sharing their emotional burdens with others. This culturally embedded formula for Asians to experience more social anxiety than Westerners is reinforced by culturally relevant risk factors for suicidal behaviors among Asian American youths. Asian American youths are at greater risk for suicide than majority group youths (i.e. White Americans and African Americans) because they experience risk factors that every youth experiences such as antisocial behaviors, substance abuse, and lack of familial stability, and those related to acculturation to the majority culture such as discrimination, alienation, and identity confusion (Lau, Jernewall, Zane, Myers, 2002). Asian American youths who fail to acculturate properly and develop an adaptive ethnic identity are prone to maladjustment, which entails life dissatisfaction, low self-esteem, pessimism, and depression. It is primarily the parents of Asian American youths that confound their efforts to acculturate and thus contribute to stress and frustration (Lau et al., 2002). Acculturat ion stress and intergenerational acculturation conflicts have been identified as factors that influence suicidal behaviors among Asian youths in Great Britain (Lau et al., 2002). A struggle between Western cultural norms and Asian cultural values can be seen in the parent-child conflicts of Asian American youths. A medical record abstraction at a mental health outpatient clinic identified correlates of suicidal behaviors in a sample of 285 Asian American youths (Lau et al., 2002). The records pointed out that adolescents were at the greatest risk for suicidal behaviors and were more prone to depression than were younger children. Consequently, depression was a strong predictor of suicidality as well (Lau et al., 2002). The data showed that youths who were less acculturated and experienced high parent-child conflict were at significantly greater risk than youths who were more acculturated and had lower conflict. Interestingly, youths who were diagnosed as suicidal displayed a higher number of internalizing symptoms and fewer externalizing symptoms (Lau et al., 2002). Perhaps the cultural sanctions against expression of negative emotions and the Asian cultural tendency to portray mental disorders as shameful and the tendency to downplay such disorders as temporary emotional states that do not r equire treatment, medical or otherwise, contribute to the prevalence of suicidal behavior among Asian American youths (Lau et al., 2002). Asian Americans as a whole, including both youths and adults, have had their mental health needs neglected by United States federal mental health policies (Nagayama Hall, Yee, 2012). This neglect is perpetuated in part by the three myths about Asian Americans: they are a small group; they are a successful group and do not have any financial or cultural problems; and they do not experience mental health disparities (Nagayama Hall, Yee, 2012). Although many, especially White Americans and the government, see Asian Americans as the model minority, they are not by any means exempt from problems surrounding their social and cultural position in the United States. The first myth is debunked by data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census showing that Asian Americans are proportionally the fastest growing ethnic group in the U.S. The second myth can be disproven by the sheer fact that not all Asian Americans receive the same education and opportunities to advance in society. Some groups have l ess education, greater unemployment, and higher poverty than others (Nagayama Hall, Yee, 2012). Moreover, even Asian Americans who are successful by educational, employment, and income standards encounter problems associated with their ethnicity. The stress of acculturation contributes to the occurrence of mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety disorders. Their overall success in integrating with American culture belies the reality that many experience mental health disparities due to clashing cultural values and display rules; as a result, this conflict and the neglect of their mental health needs predispose them to an increased risk of depressive symptoms and behaviors and (Nagayama Hall, Yee, 2012). A specific look into the avoidance of mental therapy in South Korea further strengthens the argument that Asian cultures foster societies in which Asians are more likely to experience depression and less likely to seek help for it. Academic and corporate pressures contribute to an alarming rate of stress and suicide among South Koreans (Kim, Won, Liu, Liu, Kitanishi, 1997). Many Koreans, however, largely resisted Western psychotherapy for their growing anxieties, depression, and stress. The Buddhist and Confucian values that dictate much of South Korean society emphasize stoicism and modesty while subordinating individual problems and concerns to the good of society. In line with these ethics is preservation of face, or dignity for the family (Kim et al., 1997). If they do seek help, Koreans are compromising the dignity of their families by indirectly stating that they need mental therapy because their families are at fault. Koreans decide not to seek professional psychotherapy or c ounseling because the culture considers open expression of emotional problems as taboo. Thus, many Koreans forgo mental help and cope with their problems on their own (Kim et al., 1997). However, the suicide rate has doubled in Korea between 1999 and 2009 and it may continue to grow if Koreans do not seek therapy or some form of counseling to cope with depression and stress (Kim et al., 1997). The problem of depression in Korea is mirrored in other East Asian cultures perhaps because they all share the same cultural prohibition of expressing negative emotions to both ingroups and outgroups and the view that depression is not a serious mental health problem. A dangerous threat that can result from ignoring cases of depression and when individuals neglect or are incapable of seeking mental aid is a rising suicide rate. China, India, and Japan accounted for more than 40% of all world suicides in 2006 (Beautrais, 2006). Surprisingly then, although many Asian cultures believe that suicide is a source of personal and family shame, much of the worlds reported suicides occur in Asian countries. Problems of underreporting cases of suicides and suicide attempts such as inaccuracy of reports, prohibitions against the collection of suicide data, and the stigmatization of suicide make it difficult to assess the true numbers of suicides that occur in Asian countries. Nevertheless, limitations aside, there is still an alarming number of suicides that take place in Asian countries every year. As in Western countries, mental illness is strongly correlated with suicide in Asian countries (Beautrais, 2006). Indeed, many of the life stresses that cause dep ression-poverty and marital, family, and relationships problems-are equally shared by Asian and Western countries. However, some cultural, historical, and contextual features of suicidal behavior in Asia may show that life stresses may more often lead to suicide than in the West (Beautrais, 2006). The struggles of young rural families involving early marriage, low social status, and lack of personal autonomy; economic stresses for Asian businessmen who are pressured to work long hours and drink away their stress; and academic stresses for adolescents in Japan and Korea who compete for admission to prestigious schools may invariably lead to suicide. Not only do the societal conditions in which Asians live may engender more cases of depression and suicide, but also the social constructs of emotion particular to Asian cultures. While the Social Constructionist Theory argues that social roles, emotion regulation norms, and cultural display rules explain why Asians may be more prone to depression than Westerners, appraisal theories help highlight the role of appraisal as interpretations of emotion-eliciting situations in this phenomenon. Appraisal, which is involved in reappraisal in emotion regulation, is defined as the evaluation of an event. Appraisal, therefore, plays a significant role in emotion regulation because it allows an individual to interpret a situation as positive or negative, thereby influencing the emotion felt. Whereas in Asian cultures, appraisal is framed by values that promote embeddedness, power distance, and hierarchy, in Western cultures, appraisal is perceived through values that promote individualism, egalitarianism, and affective autonomy (Matsumoto et al., 2005). Asian cultures assess appraisal through the collective mind, or through the socially desirable outcomes of ingroup harm ony and maintenance of power distance. Therefore, Asians may tend to appraise situations as positive or negative depending on the goals of their societies. However, because Asians may appraise emotional situations under the context of social values, they may run the risk of both diminishing positive emotions and exaggerating the negative emotions for the individual. For example, if an Asian youth receives a relatively poor grade based on his parents standards, he may ignore the fact that although he did not please his parents, he scored the highest out of his class. Nonetheless, the youth appraises the situation negatively because he places the needs of the group (his family) ahead of his individual needs and concerns. In contrast, a Western youth may appraise the situation differently, seeing his performance as satisfactory and thereby feeling happier and less stressed. Appraisal theories are thus contingent on the social goals and values pertaining to culture. Component theories further elaborate how components that lead to depression occur more often in Asian cultures than in Western cultures. In addition to appraisal, subjective feeling, action readiness, expression, and instrumental behavior are all emotion components that help construct an emotion. Through Ortony and Turners conclusion that emotion components are dissociable elements and the results of the study by Okazaki et al., (2002), we can see that depression is caused by various components that by their own may not be indicative of the emotion. Asian cultures define these components in relation to social order and harmony, once again subordinating the needs and desires of the individual to those of society. Naturally, appraisals and behaviors that reflect restraint and inhibition of expressing negative emotions are more prevalent and readily used in Asian cultures. However, even if one were to experience components of depression, the full manifestation of the emotion may not occ ur because depression and other mental health disorders are looked down upon in Asian cultures (Beautrais, 2006). The individual would likely associate an experience of depression, despite having all the components that form depression, with a general negative emotion that can be overcome by sheer willpower or other non-professional therapy; in addition, the individual can choose to ignore one or several components of depression to deny that they are depressed. Unfortunately, component theories, like appraisal theories, do not offer a full explanation of why Asians may be predisposed to depression because they do not ensure the full manifestation of depression. The Basic Emotions Theory may support the universality of depression, but does not explain why or how Asians are more prone to experiencing it. The study on social-anxiety for Asian Americans and White Americans by Okazaki et al., (2002) showed that facial expression is not a primary or even reliable indicator of emotion. Likewise, another study exhibiting display rules in Japanese and American subjects showed that while the Japanese felt the same emotions as the Americans, they did not show negative emotions to strangers (Matsumoto, 1990). Facial expressions of emotion are but one part of socially defined components that generate an emotion. Depression is interpreted differently by Asian cultures than it is by Western cultures due to differing social values and roles (Beautrais, 2006). Moreover, the expression of depression is inevitably different for Asian cultures and Western cultures because of cultural display rules. In short, the Basic Emotions Theory merely states that depress ion exists, but not to what degree individuals in different cultures experience it. There is a link between the Neo-Jamesian Psychophysiological Perspective and a study by Arnault Kim (2008) that shows that Japanese and Korean women had higher somatic distress and depression than American women. The results of the study showed that there were certain somatic distress symptoms unique to depression among the Asian women: gastric and abdominal upset, weakness, dizziness, aches and pains, and palpitations (Arnault Kim, 2008). Through a comparison with American women, Japanese and Korean women were found to experience culturally-specific somatic symptoms. This finding supports the psychophysiological perspective that each emotion has its own pattern or signature of bodily changes. Therefore, according to this perspective, depression should also have its own unique signature of bodily changes. Although the study may support the claim that emotions are equivalent to physiological changes or can be purely defined by them, it also showed that the somatic symptoms felt by t he women were culturally-specific. American women would not be able to experience the same symptoms as the Asian women did, and they would probably not label their symptoms collectively as depression. Furthermore, the Japanese and Korean women used an idiom of distress used to describe their symptoms that highlighted the importance of cultural values and beliefs. The Social Constructionist Theory is, therefore, the best theory illustrating how Asians are more prone to depression and suicidal behaviors than are Westerners. It encompasses elements from the Appraisal theory, Component theory, Basic Emotions theory, and Neo-Jamesian Psychophysiological Perspective. Emotion components that form the emotion of depression are all influenced by the social norms of a particular culture. Asian cultures, which value embeddedness, power distance, and hierarchy, evaluate emotion components and somatic symptoms according to these cultural orientations. On the other hand, Western cultures evaluate emotion components and physiological symptoms according to individualism, egalitarianism, and affective autonomy. The culturally specific evaluations of Asian cultures increase the likelihood of people experiencing depression than in Western cultures. The downplay of negative emotions may also reveal that in Asian cultures, negative emotions are relatively hypo-co gnized concepts, emotion concepts that are not so thoroughly mapped out in a cultures emotion lexicon. Nonetheless, the expression of negative emotions is confounded and inhibited by a cultural reluctance to acknowledge that people have mental health problems. Socially learned performances, syndromes, and language all contribute to create a high disposition for depression in Asian cultures. While Asian and Western cultures seem to be the primary culture groups in the world, we can observe similar cultures such as that of the Utku if we focus on the more fundamental I-C dimension of cultural variability. The Utku society shares more values and traits with collective Asian cultures than with individualistic Western cultures. The Utku value ingroup harmony over individual needs and desires, which have the potential to disrupt society. Parents show affection to their children up until a certain age around 3 and 4 years old, in order to assimilate them into the larger social context of society (Briggs, 1970). Adults expect children to eventually abandon their childish, selfish ways and adopt a communal mindset of equal distribution of food and goods. In order to maintain their social harmony, the Utku try not to exhibit anger, which would be detrimental to the carefully monitored society by causing conflict and breaking relationship ties. In their efforts to avoid anger, they have effectively made it a hypo-cognized concept, indirectly doing away with one of the precursors to depression. Because none of the Utku claim to be angry and no one can observe any signs of anger, the Utku may not even experience depression. By eliminating not only anger but also negative emotions in general, the Utku may only perceive positive emotions. Unlike other collective cultures like Asian cultures, the Utku have a relatively limited and simple emotion vocabulary and thus may not even consider depression to be an emotion concept, much less experience it. While studies on cultural display rules and emotion regulation norms suggest that individuals in collective cultures are more prone to negative emotions, this does not seem to be the case for individuals in Utku society. The only possible instances where depression may have occurred, in Raigili and Saaraks sullen moods when their mother no longer carries them, do not guarantee that the children felt depression (Briggs, 1970). Even if they felt sadness, it would have been construed and interpreted through social values; they experience emotions through the context of their society. In essence, the Utku reveal one exception to the commonly held view that individuals in collective cultures are more prone to depression. The comparison of Asian and Western cultures and their disposition for depression brings up a problem of the immutability of culture. If Asians are truly more prone to depression because of culture, then how do we rectify this problem, if there even is a solution save the complete upheaval of deeply entrenched social norms and values? Even with the evidence citing that Asians experience more depression and are at greater risk of suicidal behaviors than are Westerners in America and in their native countries, the global rates of suicide in Asia seem to increase every year. The medical findings can be a starting point to influence government health, economic, and educational policies to change or perhaps sway cultural values. While the thought of completely or irreversibly altering a cultures values and beliefs is not only near impossible but controversial, government and public awareness of depression and suicide may help decline the rampant number of suicides that occur in Asia. Ther e is an important distinction to be made between countries and cultures-countries may comprise of one or several cultures, and conversely, a culture is not indicative of any countrys beliefs or values (Matsumoto et al., 2005). Changes in other dimensions like international politics have translated into changes in public sentiment and even cultural values. There is a great possibility for governments of collective cultures to perhaps assuage the dangers of emotion suppression and allow for more open and free expression of emotion. They can also try to establish medical and mental health institutions that allow people to meet with psychiatrists privately to prevent the patient from any associated familial or individual shame for having depression. The medical records of Asian American outpatient youths and U.S. mental health policies that neglect the special needs of Asian Americans can help direct attention to the increased likelihood among Asian Americans to feel depression. The transcultural study by Kim et al., (1997) showed that even Asian students have developed coping methods to deal with stressful events. Health reforms that pair Asian patients with those of same ethnicities may alleviate any barriers to full expression of emotion and provide a chance to better diagnose and remedy depressive symptoms among low acculturated Asian Americans or immigrants. An observation that American psychiatry should be more sensitive to the relationship between the mind/emotions and the body would also help assess and treat Asian patients who experience depression and stress (Arnault Kim, 2008). Programs to help Asian immigrants to become acculturated with American or Western culture may dissipate any tension between Asian values and Western values. Understanding of emotion concepts across Asian and Western cultures could also be more easily facilitated through these acculturation programs. These civil policies and other measures may make it easier for Asian Americans to adopt American or Western culture while at the same time not relinquishing their native Asian cultures. This process of integration would ensure that they do not lose their cultural identities but rather focus on the values and emotion constructs that promote emotional well-being and health. Although Western cultures seems to be a better culture in terms of emotional expression and general individual well-being, it is far from perfect and may even be worse than Asian cultures in maintaining social order. Cultures all share the desire for social order (Matsumoto et al., 2005). Western cultures seem to promote this relatively well by emphasizing individualism, egalitarianism, and affective autonomy. Individualism ensures that the needs of the individual are met and attention and care is given to the individual who has problems. Egalitarianism promotes the idea that everyone, regardless of any actual differences in power or status, sho

Analysis of the Free Movement of Goods and Services Policy

Analysis of the Free Movement of Goods and Services Policy The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has developed an extensive body of case law on free movement in relation to persons, goods, services and establishment. Over the years, the Courts approach to free movement as evolved and adapted to the modern European Union (EU) today. Through comparison of the case law it will be clear that how the Court deals with free movement is similar in all the areas of persons, goods, services and establishment. In the beginning the CJEU would only strike down legislation which was discriminatory to nationals from other Member States. It then began to strike down rules that were non-discriminatory and more recently rules that act as a barrier or hindrance to market access. Analysing these areas of the Courts jurisprudence, it will be evident that the Courts early approach was a more literal interpretation of the treaties towards a more teleological approach that expanded the Courts powers but perhaps this is ultimately needed if the CJEU was to every achieve the Internal Market.[1] As already mentioned in the early case law the CJEU would strike down national legislation due to them being discriminatory on the basis of nationality.[2] This approach was clearly based on the treaty articles that prohibited this.[3] Rules where initially struck down because they were obviously discriminatory such as in Commission v French Republic[4]in relation to workers and Humblot[5] with regards to goods. This approach was echoed across the freedoms.[6] It was clear though, that from the jurisprudence across these areas striking down barriers that were obliviously discriminatory would not be enough as often there was national legislation that was indirectly discriminating against nationals.[7] Therefore indirect discrimination was present from the beginning to tackle the double burden that was often placed by Member States on free movement. This move by the Court is comparable across the freedoms such as Uglioa[8] in relation to workers. Critically though the Court might have created indirect discrimination criteria to stop dual burden but this has raised problems from the Court as not all indirectly discriminatory rules create such a burden.[9] Even with these potential issues the practice was echoed across the jurisprudence of goods, services and establishment.[10] The case of Dassonville[11] further increased the Courts ability to strike down national legislation for being discriminatory measures having equivalent effect in relation to goods.[12] This is interesting as the expansion of the Court powers arguably goes beyond a literal interpretation of the treaty articles. It had a big effect not only on the subsequent cases regarding goods but also free movement of persons, services and establishment.[13] The CJEUs application of a wider definition in Dassonville[14] is comparable to the other freedoms particularly services and establishment.[15] The broader scope the Court has given themselves across the freedoms is a move towards a more cohesive internal market. On the other hand though, the Court was always very clear though from the beginning that free movement of persons, goods and services are not absolute.[16] This is evident from the Treaty articles in so far as certain discriminatory restrictions can be justified.[17] This indication by the Court might initially seem to be just following the Treaties but ultimately, they expanded the remit of these justifications in relation to indirectly discriminatory restrictions in all of the areas through case law.[18] The early jurisprudence shows that the Court was not willing to strike down non-discriminatory legislation such as in Chemical Farmaceutici.[19]This all changed though and the Court no longer stopped at discrimination but expanded to striking down barriers that were non-discriminatory.[20] This was possibly in order to fulfil the aims of the treaty provision, in so far as to create an successful internal market.[21] This resulted in further autonomy for the CJEU through case law in 80s but mainly 90s.[22] The CJEU developed an approach to free movement that restrictions which are non-discriminatory in nature fall within the scope of the relevant treaty articles and have to be examined for validity.[23] Similarly to the earlier jurisprudence the Court applies this thinking to all the free movement areas.[24]Bosman [25] open up this idea within free movement of persons and expanded the Courts ability to strike down national legislation.[26] Cassis de Dijon[27]had a big effect on the area of non-discriminatory national rules arguably more than Bosman[28], when you compare the effect Cassis de Dijon had.It is seen as a landmark decision in the area of indistinctly applicable restrictions.[29] It and the subsequent cases have extended the Courts ability to declare a barrier to trade unlawful.[30]In a sense it has reduced the need for harmonisation and instead has advanced the internal market ideals through case law.[31] In comparison to this development within the free movement of persons, Cassis de Dijon resulted in a surge of cases.[32] This resulted in CJEU departing from the previous case law in Keck[33] to deal with the flood of cases. It is interesting to note that at the time of the Cassis de Dijon judgement was at a time of legislative stagnation which was impeding the development of the Internal Market.[34] Therefore the Courts decision meant that the negative integration rate was speed up.[35] Arguably the Court was attempting to full the requirements of Article 26 of the TFEU and but as they couldnt do this within the treaty itself they needed to expand the parameters of their power. Similar to the free movement of persons and goods, services jurisprudence developed to include non-discriminatory barriers, meaning that anything which impedes free movement is struck down.[36] As in the earlier cases and to the other areas where it is seen to be a dual barrier that barrier is struck down such as in Sager.[37] Interestingly AG Jacobs makes a direct comparison to Cassis di Dijon here and that cases approach to non-discriminatory restrictions.[38] Similarly, the free movement of establishment the old point of view discrimination only can be seen in Commission v Belgium[39]which allowed member states to make their own rules in the absence of Community harmonisation. Klopp[40] shows the change in the Courts jurisprudence for establishment in the same way as the other freedoms. The key case here is Gebhard[41]which repeated the view the Court highlighted in Sager.[42] According to Spaventa, Gebhard[43] was not only an expansion but a qualitative leap for free movement rights.[44] It indicates a further move away from a literal interpretation towards a more teleological approach to the internal market that can be seen across the freedoms. The success of the implementation of non-discriminatory ground has dispelled any argument, according to Connor, of ever full achieving an Internal Market on the basis of discrimination alone.[45] It is important note that as the CJEUs capacity has increased across the free movement, the Member States ability to justify them continued to grow exponentially.[46] The Court has been clear that the creation of the internal market through the harmonisation of laws does not mean that all barriers to trade will be abolished.[47] Instead they will engage in an assessment of balance.[48]The Court will essential look to see if the measure can be justified and if the restriction was appropriate and ensure that it doesnt go beyond what is necessary.[49] The more the CJEU gives itself the ability to strike down legislation, the more the Court creates justifications through case law to allow for this but it needs to be careful to ensure that it does not step into the legislative realm.[50] The increase in ways to justify restrictions has been demonstrated across free movement and as the Court expands its parameters into the market access test the justifications continue to grow.[51] In recent years the Court has again expanded free movement provisions through the market access test.[52] The Court refined their approach from Keck[53]in the cases of Commission v Italy[54]and Mickelson and Roos[55]and embraced the market access test.[56] Not only does this test include measures that are a barrier to goods entering the market but also once the good is in the market.[57] This shows a clear expansion of the Courts powers in relation to free movement of goods. Comparing this development to the other areas, establishment is   another area where this test has clearly been discussed and accepted by the court in Commission v Spain.[58] These cases demonstrate the CJEUs liberalising view of the free movement doctrine in recent years.[59] In comparison, the case law in the other areas of free movement seems to suggest that the market access test is are less severe than the restrictions in Commission v Italy and Mickelson.[60] The market access test has be subject to criticism with some questioning the basis of the test and whether the CEJU is potentially violating the separation of powers within the EU.[61] Some academics believe this market access test is a development as a result of Union Citizenship and this is the basis for the test.[62] The test marks a move towards convergence and harmonisation of the internal market.[63] The idea of citizenship seems to have taken hold and it is evident that it has had an impact on free movement.[64] Tryfonidou argues that these judgements indicate a move away from assessing impact of barriers on cross-border trade to promoting free movement of commerce by Union Citizens.[65] Ultimately the jurisprudence shows that the market access test has become the main principle for the free movement cases.[66] To conclude, the CJEU has moved from a discriminatory based approach to restrictions on the free movement of goods and services to non-discriminatory one to a market access test. The jurisprudence in the area isnt clear cut but the general understanding of academics seems to be that the move towards a non-discriminatory approach was needed to have a successful internal market. The subsequent move to a market access test seems to be founded on the idea of union citizenship and perhaps a deeper idea of ultimately, in so far, as possible having the freedoms converge. Through comparison, it is clear that each section of the free market is different but ultimately the CJEU feels similar. What is evident though is that the removal of regulatory barriers CJEU feels is needed, across the free movement of persons, goods, services and establishment, in order to fulfil the aims of the internal market.[67] [1] Eleanor Spaventa, From Gebhard to Carpenter: Towards a Non-Economic European Constitution, (2004) 41 Common Market Law Review 743 [2] Paul Craig and Grainne De Bà ºrca, EU Law: Texts, Cases, And Materials (6th edn, OUP 2015) 758 [3] Consolidated version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union [2012] OJ OJ C326 Article 26 and Article 45 Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union [4] Case 167/73 Commission of the European Communities v. French Republic [1974] ECR 359 [5] Case 112/84 Michel Humblot v Directeur des services fiscau [1985] ECR 1367 [6] Case 8/74 Procureur du Roi v Benoà ®t and Gustave Dassonville [1974] ECR 837 [7] Tim Connor, Goods Persons Services and Capital in the European Union/ Jurisprudential Routes to Free Movement (2010) German Law Journal 159 [8] Case 15/69 Wà ¼rttembergische Milchverwertung-Sà ¼dmilch AG v Salvatore Ugliola [1970] ECR 363 [9] n7, 165 [10] Case 71/76 Jean Thieffrey v. Conseil de lOrdre des Avocatsà   la cour de Paris [1977] ECR 765; Case 33/74 Van Binsbergen v Bestuur van de Bedrijfsvereniging voor de Metaalnijverheid [1974] ECR 122 [11] n6 [12] Ailbhe ONeill, The Path Not Taken: The Global Approach to the Free Movement of Persons, (200) 3(1) Trinity College Law Review 111 [13] Case 53/76 Procureur de la Rà ©publique de Besanà §on v Les Sieurs Bouhelier and others [1977] ECR 197; Case 249/81 Commission of the European Communities v Ireland (Buy Irish Case) [1982] ECR 4005; Case 45/87 Commission of the European Communities v Ireland (Dunalk Water Supply) [1988] ECR 4929 [14] n6 [15] Case C-55/94 Gebhard v Consiglio dellOrdine degli Avvocati e Procuratori di Milano [1995] ECR I-4165 [16] Eleanor Spaventa, Leaving Keck behind? The free movement of goods after the rulings in Commission v Italy and Mickelsson and Roos (2009) 34(6) European Law Review 914 [17] Article 36, 45, 52 of the TFEU [18] Laurence W. Gormley, Free Movement of Goods within the EU Some issues and an Irish Persepctive, (2011) 46(1) The Irish Jurist 74 [19] Case 140/79 Chemical Farmaceutici SpA v DAF SpA [1981] ECR 1 [20] n12, 112 [21] n7, 169 [22] Peter Oliver and Wulf-Henning Roth, The Internal Market and the Four Freedoms (2003) 41 Common Market Law Review 407 [23] n12, 112 [24] n12, 112 [25] Case C-415/93 Union royale belge des socià ©tà ©s de football association ASBL v Jean-Marc Bosman, Royal club lià ©geois SA v Jean-Marc Bosman and others and Union des associations europà ©ennes de football (UEFA) v Jean-Marc Bosman [1995] ECR I-4921 [26] Case C-190/98 Volker Graf v Filzmoser Maschinenbau GmbH [2000] ECR I-493;Case C-464/02 Commission of the European Communites v. Kingdom of Denmark [2005] ECR I-7929; [27] Case 120/78 Rewe-Zentral AG v Bundesmonopolverwaltung fà ¼r Branntwein (Cassis de Dijon) [1979] ECR 649 [28] n25 [29] Andrew McGee and Stephen Weatherhill, The Evolution of the Single Market Harmonisation or Liberalisation   (1990) 53(5) The Modern Law Review 578 [30] ibid, 581 [31] ibid, 581 [32] Sunday Trading Cases: Case C-145/88 Torfaen Borough Council v B Q plc [1989] ECR 3851; Case C-169/91 Council of the City of Stoke-on-Trent and Norwich City Council v B Q plc [1992] ECR I-6635 [33] Cases C-267 and 268/91 Criminal proceedings against Bernard Keck and Daniel Mithouard[1993] ECR I-6097 [34] n12, 123-124 [35] n12, 123-124 [36] Case 427/85 EC Commission v. Germany [1988] ECR 1123 [37] Case C-76/90 Manfred Sà ¤ger v Dennemeyer Co. Ltd   [1991] ECR I-4221 [38] ibid [39] Case 221/85 Commission of the European Communities v. Kingdom of Belgium [1987] ECR 719 [40] Case 107/83 Order des avocats au Barreau de Paris v Onno Klopp [1984] ECR 2971 [41] Case 55/94 Gebhard v Consiglio dellOrdine degli Avvocati e Procuratori di Milano [1995] ECR I-4165 [42] n12, 112 [43] n41 [44] Eleanor Spaventa, From Gebhard to Carpenter: Towards a Non-Economic European Constitution, (2004) 41 Common Market Law Review 743 [45] n7, 168 [46]n18, 74 [47] n29, 581 [48] n7, 182 [49] n7, 195; C-434/04, Criminal proceedings against Jan-Erik Anders Ahokainen, Mati Leppik Jan-Erik Anders Ahokainen,[2006] I-9171 [50] n16, 925 [51] n22, 434 [52] Max S. Jansson and Harri Kalimo, De Minimis Meets Market Access: Transformations in the Substance and in the Syntax Of EU Free Movement Law?'(2014) 51(2) Common Market Review 523 [53] n33 [54] Case C-110/05 Re Motorcycle Trailers: Commission of the European Communities v Italy [2009] 2 CMLR 34 [55] Case C-142/05 Ã…klagaren v Percy Mickelsson and Joakim Roos [2009] ECR I-4273 [56] n16, 915 [57] n16, 923 [58] Case C-400/08 Commission of the European Communities v Spain [1995] ECR I-4165 [59] n2, 806 [60] n52556 [61] n16, 925 [62] A. Tryfonidou, Further Steps on the Road to Convergence Among the Market Freedoms, (2010) 35 European Law Review 36 [63] ibid, 49 [64] Pedro Caro de Sousa, Quest for the Holy Grail-Is a Unified Approach to the Market Freedoms and European Citizenship Justified? (2014) 20(4)European Law Journal 499 [65] n tryfonidou50 [66] Sacha Prechal and Sybe De Vries, Seamless Web of Judicial Protection in the Internal Market? (2009) 5 European Law Review [67] Damian Chalmers, European Union Law: Text and Materials (3rd edn, Cambridge University Press 2014)

Cystic Fibrosis :: essays research papers

Cystic Fibrosis   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cystic Fibrosis, is a genetic disorder of the exocrine glands, affecting children and young people; median survival is 25 years in females and 30 years in males. It is caused by a genetic abnormality in the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene that results in the disruption of chloride transfer across cell membranes. As a consequence, chloride ions build up in the cells of the lungs and other organs. Water stays inside the cells to dilute the chloride rather than being drawn out of the cells by normal chloride movement and the normal secretions of the organs thicken. Mucus in the exocrine glands becomes thick and sticky and eventually blocks the ducts of these glands (especially in the pancreas, lungs, and liver), forming cysts. The disease also causes the sweat glands to secrete excessive salt, causing heat prostration in hot weather. Symptoms, which vary according to the severity of the condition and the glands involved, include a distended abdomen ; diarrhea; bulky, foul-smelling stools; and malnutrition. Medical problems include nasal polyps and sinus disease, repeated respiratory infections, infertility, liver disease, and diabetes. Diagnosis is confirmed by a sweat test or measurement of transmembrane potential. Treatment consists of dietary adjustment (low fat—high calorie) and the administration of vitamins, pancreatin, and antibiotics to ward off secondary infections. Special measures are necessary to decrease the viscosity of pulmonary secretions; aerosol application of recombinant human DNA, an enzyme that digests the sticky extra cellular DNA that helps form these viscous secretions, was approved in 1993. In some cases lung transplantation is helpful. The identification of the abnormal gene (1989) paved the way for gene therapy aimed at altering the genetic structure by transferring to the patient cells with normal CFTR genes.

Revenge in Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights :: Wuthering Heights Essays

Wuthering Heights - Revenge Emily Bronte, who never had the benefit of former schooling, wrote Wuthering Heights.   Bronte has been declared as a â€Å"romantic rebel† because she ignored the repressive conventions of her day and made passion part of the novelistic tradition. Unlike stereotypical novels, Wuthering Heights has no true heroes or villains.   The narration of the story is very unique and divergent because there are multiple narrators.   Bronte’s character Lockwood is used to narrate the introductory and concluding sections of the novel whereas Nelly Dean narrates most of the storyline.   It’s interesting that Nelly Dean is used because of her biased opinions.   There are many major themes of the book, but revenge is the most imminent theme, the factor that leads the protagonists to their dismal fate.   Bronte proves there is no peace in eternal vengeance, and in the end self-injury involved in serving revenge’s purposes will be more damaging than the original wrong.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Heathcliff never finds peace through his revenge.   In fact, the only time he truly finds happiness is when he gives up his plan for retaliation.  Ã‚   Austin O’Malley states   â€Å"Revenge is like biting a dog that bit you†Ã‚   (O’malley 1).   O’Malley’s quote reflects Heathcliff’s immature need to propagate agony in those who have offended him.   Heathcliff’s plan for revenge on Edgar and Catherine is to marry Isabella, who is ignorant of love and of men because she has never experienced either.   He wants to hurt Edgar because of his marriage to Catherine, and he wants to get revenge on Catherine by making her jealous. Catherine’s death proves that this flawed plan of repayment helps nothing.   Heathcliff, haunted by the ghost of Catherine because he is her â€Å"murderer,† still is motivated by the need for revenge and tries to get young Cathy away from Edgar by having her marry his son, Linton.   Heathcliff never finds peace until he gives up his plan for revenge just before he dies.   When Heathcliff gives up his plan for revenge, he meets Catherine in death and truly becomes happy once more.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Catherine’s revenge does not make things better for her.   Her   revenge on Heathcliff by blaming him for her upcoming death does not meliorate her mind.   Just before she dies, she ascribes Heathcliff for her â€Å"murder.†Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"You have killed me, and thriven on it, I think† (Bronte 158).   Catherine resembles what Oliver Goldsmith said,   â€Å"When lovely woman stoops to folly, and finds too late that men betray, what charm can soothe her melancholy?

Music and Memory in D. H. Lawrence’s Piano Essay -- Literature

D. H. Lawrence’s poetry is said to often be of â€Å"great biographical interest† (Encyclopedia Britannica), and his poem â€Å"Piano,† written in 1918, eight years after the death of his mother, illustrates his attachment to his mother through the device of an unwilling memory evoked when he hears a woman singing. Though Lawrence’s relationship with his mother is said to have been â€Å"an intensely—often labeled abnormally—close relationship† (Pearson and Watson), it is also said that it was she who encouraged him to obtain an education and to write. His mother was a teacher, and according to Norton, it is her â€Å"delicacy and refinement† that he â€Å"allied† himself with rather than his less educated, coarse coal miner father (2248). It is she whom he sided with in the conflict-ridden relationship he witnessed between his parents. According to Wart, â€Å"Piano† expresses Lawrence’s personal response when a â€Å"song stirs memories of childhood and his mother,† involuntary as these memories may be. However, though it may be true that we should never assume that the speaker of a poem is, indeed, the poet, according to Semansky, â€Å"Lawrence's work invites us to, as he has always woven autobiographical material into his writing.† Lawrence’s â€Å"Piano† may thus be considered to be the recounting of unwanted and involuntary emotional memory brought about as a response to music. â€Å"Piano† begins by describing a setting conducive to reflection and remembrance, â€Å"Softly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me† (Line 1). Intimacy is implied in the setting: â€Å"the dusk,† the singing being â€Å"soft† and seemingly personally directed to one individual all lend themselves to an aura of intimacy. This encounter draws Lawrence back through the â€Å"vista of years† (Line 2). In fact,... ..., 1900 to Present. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CBPNP235&SingleRecord=True (accessed April 4, 2012). Rexroth, Kenneth. "Introduction." D.H. Lawrence: Selected Poems. New Directions, 1947. 1-23. Rpt. in Literature Resource Center. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 Apr. 2012. Saunders, Clifford. "Critical Essay on 'Piano'." Poetry for Students. Vol. 6. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 Apr. 2012. Semansky, Chris. "Critical Essay on 'Piano'." Poetry for Students. Vol. 6. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 Apr. 2012. Wart, Alice Van. "Critical Essay on 'Piano'." Poetry for Students. Vol. 6. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 Apr. 2012.

Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth Essay

I. Introduction Comparing Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Middleton’s The Changeling seems to be a very unusual topic for the first sight. The earlier is a festive merry comedy and the latter is said to be a revenge tragedy, moreover, is claimed to be a later transformation of Shakespeare’s Othello. Certainly, if we look at the structure of The Changeling on the surface we see a plot of a conventional drama of revenge, but as we observe closer it becomes evident that The Changeling lacks some of the significant features a tragedy has to retain. As far as the situation is concerned the plot could turn out to be a comedy. After some conflict and misunderstanding Beatrice and Alsemero could get married and live happily ever after, as it happened to the two couples in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In fact in the latter the basic situation was even more complicated, Hermia’s father knew that she wanted to marry Lysander and he opposed to it, but in The Changeling the lovers did not really have an objection from the ‘paternal’ side. What are the differences then? How could Shakespeare write his merriest comedy from a situation that turned out to be a cruel revenge tragedy for Middleton? The first part of he answer definitely lies in the different periods they lived in. The Elizabethan and Jacobean age, although they seem to retain little difference for us, hold numerous significant contrasts. Their world picture and understanding life differed in a lot, and so did their dramatists and audiences. Considering the title, characters and the structure of he plays we cannot see outstanding differences between them. Both the titles have comic connotations, suggesting a happy ending to the audience. As for the characters, The Changeling lacks the tragic hero and more importantly the Machiavellian malcontent, which was necessary for a revenge tragedy. What we find instead are simple, everyday individuals who find themselves in a peculiar situation which they cannot handle. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream we also find various situations of disharmony, misunderstanding, quarrel and stress, but they all turn into order by the end. The main contrast is in the attitude of the personae, that is the handling of the situation in a positive or in a negative way. The structural similarity is the use of a subplot, which in both cases serves as an emphasis of the main plot. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream the mechanicals’ earthly word and speech is aimed at stressing the different worlds of the play and also serves laughter. In The Changeling the mad-house plot serves same reason, but as it is a satire it makes us realise that the world of apparently normal people is full of madness, while in a madhouse everything turns out to be fine. Raising these points now we have to have a closer look on the two dramas and see that the so called revenge tragedy is rather comic and the happy comedy held more tragic signs than the actual tragedy. II. Tragedy and comedy The division of drama into comedy and tragedy has always been the first aspect of literary criticism. We have fixed ideas in our minds what are the so called tragic and comic elements. Using Norhtrop Frye’s terms, in tragedies these are the great tragic hero, conflict with something grand, like fate, gods, fortune. According to Frye the tragic hero is somewhere between the divine and the â€Å"all to human†, apparently a type which cannot be found in The Changeling. On the other hand if we put the typical pattern of comedy onto the plot of the drama we can see that it is consistent, whereas, adapting again Frye’s definition, what normally happens in a comedy is that a â€Å"young man wants a young woman, that his desire is resisted by some opposition, usually paternal, and that near the end of the play some twist in the plot enables the hero to have his will. These patterns tend not to change with time, but certainly in transitional periods the emphasis could shift. The Jacobean period being the age of crisis in both literary and social aspects, it has developed its own characteristics as tragedy and comedy are concerned. Jacobean drama was more concerned with revenge and blood but the focus was not on the individual but on a social type. The same tendency occurred in the comedie s, they were rather satires, parodies than real merriment. Jacobean pessimism, like today that of the post-modern took a reaction against the optimism of the preceding age, which is pointing towards the comedies of the French Classicist period, rather than having roots in the Elizabethan. III. The titles As I have mentioned, the titles both carry the connotation of change, but in a symbolic way, examining how the human power can accept change, how it can adopt to different troubled situations. They both have comic connotation and both suggest some passivity on the side of the characters, that is, they are changed by an external force, something that is standing outside them. The word ‘changeling’ had different meanings for the Jacobean audience, but mainly carried the act of change, transformation from one thing to the other. As the word ‘dream’ would have the same connotation, as our dreams are alterations of real life and of the self. The word ‘changeling’ had four different meanings that time: a person given to change, a half wit, a woman who had sexual intercourse or an ugly and deformed child changed by the fairies. Midsummer night, being the shortest night of the year also suggests change, change in the moon and season, demonstrating the difference in performance at night or day. As Martin White puts it The Changeling is built on a structure of antitheses ironically inverted and juxtaposed. These are castle/asylum, madness/sanity, reason/passion and appearance/reality. These antitheses are also present in the latter, substituting the castle for Athens and the asylum for he forest. The world turned upside down is comic in Shakespeare’s time, the theme of change is more important than that of the characters; on the other hand Middleton stresses the change of characters, and â€Å"the action turns upon the contrast between the character’s demands upon life and their limitations when an unwanted set of circumstances reveals them. IV. The characters In spite of this difference The Changeling also has the elements of comedy. As the characters are mediocre, they differ from the heroes of grand tragedy. In Jacobean times contemporaries would have seen The Changeling as a drama which has a plot based on a conventional revenge tragedy, but Middleton’s handling of the plot and the characters managed to end up in story of a group of quite ordinary people whose fate is the logical consequence of their stupidity and simplicity. On the contrary the protagonists of A Midsummer Night’s Dream are really remarkable as they do not accept their fate and the will of the father, but they try to break out of it by escaping to the wood, that is, by responding positively to the situation. This is the basic difference between the acting of the couples, Hermia-Lysander and Beatrice-Alsemero. Hermia: But I beseech your grace that I may know The worst that may befall me in this case, If I refuse to wed Demetrius. (I. 1. 62-4) Lysander: I am, my lord, as well-derived as he, As well-posessed: My love is more than his, [†¦ And, which is more than all these boasts can be, I am beloved of beauteous Hermia. (I. 1. 99-104) However, Beatrice does not ask his father for permission for marrying Alsemero, she is just asking for more time, and Alsemero does not seem to act either, as he says â€Å"I must part and never meet again / With joy on earth. † (I. 1. 205). He wants to leave, which clearly demonstrates his p assive attitude. They cannot face a situation that is not favourable for them, they are not fighting for their love, which is evident from the fact that much of what they say they say as ‘asides’. Their main problem is the lack of communication and mistrust, although Vermanendro likes Alsemero, and what is more, later admits that if he had another daughter he would give her to Alsemero. So the changes mentioned above has to come in a different way: in A Midsummer Night’s Dream the lovers started to act and the fairies interfere with the magic juice, which causes a crookedness in the play but here all the obstacles are turned into advantages. The remarkable thing is that they never stop communication, which would allow for a tragic outcome. Even when the lovers are completely crossed they manage to cope with the situation, thus making everything in the best possible way, and they are never ready to submit to their fate. Alsemero and Beatrice are entirely the opposite, their failure of communication with each other and their surroundings result in the murder of Alonzo. They are both shallow personalities, going on their own way. Alsemero, when first speaking to Beatrice, immediately kisses her and admits that he loves her. As Beatrice is concerned she has an ignorance of the world and even of herself. Her incapability of seeing reality changes her from a maid to a whore and a urderess, as Farr claims. She is a conventional spoiled child; like a princess in a fairy tale she is acting without calculating the human element. She thinks she will not be guilty as De Flores kills her fiance, and also fails to realise that De Flores will not be satisfied with money. She acts without thinking and consideration, as she says: I sha ll rid myself Of two inveterate loathings at one time, Piraquo, and his dog face. (II. 2. 146-8) Being unable to see what is going on Beatrice unquestionably thinks that this is the best solution for her problem, using a man she hates for killing another man she hates. Reality is not revealed to her even by putting this improbable situation into words. The treatment of the heroine illustrates the difference of Middleton’s drama from the typical revenge tragedy of the age. In fact, no one has the cause to kill in this drama, as Farr puts it: â€Å"Middleton’s presentation is not the conflict between passion and power but the unmasking of lust by the logic of commonplace happenings. † The other difference is De Flores, who is not a characteristic malcontent either. He is in love with Beatrice and it is his lust that makes him a murderer. Although he is always one step before Beatrice and we can assume that he is aware of his murder we do not have the same feeling towards him as towards the typical malcontents in tragedies, such as Iago or Richard III. We feel pity for him from the beginning for the undeserved loathing of Beatrice. He is not evil, he would not have done anything bad to Beatrice or anybody else. It is Beatrice who is evil, but just to a limited extent as she cannot realise the weight and consequence of her ideas and thus starts behaving in a negative way, opposed to the lovers of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She is the ‘deed’s creature’ (III. . 137), nothing else but an unthoughtful person who cannot part reality from her passion. She still thinks at the end that it is a significant basis for her self defence that ‘love has made me / A cruel murd’ress. (V. 3. 64-65). On the contrary in A Midsummer Night’s Dream it is the situation that is foolish not the cha racters: they are intelligent people in an inherently foolish situation, but the plot does not lack the hint of a tragedy, which is present on two levels. On the one hand, it is threatening with the harsh Athenian law, and on the other, it is there in the subplot, in the performance of the mechanicals. Also we must not forget that the closest drama of Shakespeare is Romeo and Juliet, which has much resemblance with this plot. But here, although the characters are the playthings of the fairies, they manage to understand the experience of irrational love and so their behaviour is not at all irrational or foolish. V. The structure Concerning the structure the outstanding similarity is the use of a subplot. It has two functions, reinforcing the twin themes of the dramas, which are castle/madhouse and reality/illusion. The main plot and the subplot are not together at all throughout the action but the presence can be felt in both cases. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream the subplot is the earthly world: the language is ordinary and has a very big contrast with the poetic lines of the lovers, especially with the rhyming couplets of the fairies. In The Changeling the characters of the main plot speak in an ordinary way, and there is more wit in the speech of the madhouse people. Both subplots serve as the comic elements in the drama, but with a different aim. The theme of the jealous husband and the wife is a social satire on the one hand, and on the other, it acts as a reflection and foreshadow of the action of the main plot. It demonstrates the crookedness of the world, that apparently mad people can handle the situation in a better way while sane people’s relationships end with four cruel murders. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, however, the function of the subplot is just the opposite. The play acted by the mechanincs, despite its clumsiness, is a tale of woe, suicide and fatalism, quite contrary to the play which contains it.