Victimized Woman in George Ryga’s Ecstasy of Rita Joe

Abstract

This is a play by George Ryga, a Canadian playwright. This play was first performed in the ’Play House Theatre’ at Vancouver in British Columbia in the year, 1967 November 23.1967 is the year of the centennial celebration of Canada. Through this play George Ryga puts into work the conscience of the Canadian whites. The play was really meant to give the Canadian whites a rude shock. As expected, the play put to shame into the racks, the Canadian whites, who subjugated the natives. We also find that this play gained popularity, universal recognition and fame. There was a tremendous response to the technical innovations of Ryga, who attempted to write a very modern drama at a time when Canadian drama was treated as a second class stuff. By writing this play, Ryga has provided to the world that Canadian drama has come of age and the Canadian dramatists can address the plays directly to the needs and aspirations of the Canadian theatrical community. This play provided the right impetus for the Canadian artists to move forward. “Ecstasy” is a word usually used for saints. All  saints attain this state after undergoing immense suffering. The heroine of the play, Rita deserves to be a saint as she is undergoing unexplainable sufferings till the end of her life. This paper analyzes how she is victimized to find the meaning of the title word ‘Ecstasy’.