Feminist criticism of "Gamma Rays"

Consider the portrayal of the female characters in The Effects of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds from a feminist critic's perspective. What do you notice?

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of a feminist critique or reading of this play is the fact that Paul Zindel, a man, wrote a play that has almost exclusively female characters in it. This would make me want to look closely and try to figure out what he does which each of them-- how he constructs them to represent women or femininity in general. (My personal opinion is that none of the characters have enough depth, and what they do show us is not great).

For example, Beatrice and Ruth are contrasted with Tilly because they both wear lipstick, smoke, and talk about or are referenced as having relationships with men (in Ruth's case not terribly explicitly)-- in other words, they have characteristics that are "stereotypically" feminine or female, whereas Tilly is just interested in her science project, and shows no "typically" (or stereotypically) feminine characteristics. Although a brief and perhaps superficial examination, I feel that this is one example of what a feminist critique might show when thinking about this play.

Although this is certainly not all there is to these characters, I felt that there were no positively strong female characters, and that not of them are telling a "feminine" story that is distinct and unique. Perhaps because the feminist reading can be so diverse and can look at a work from so many angles there might be something in this play that would be positively read in a feminist critique.

What I noticed the most when thinking about this play from a feminist perspective was how flat all the characters were. I know this may be my personal opinion of the play getting in the way... Mostly the fact that it was written by a man and the lack of depth in the characters make me feel like a feminist critique would tear this play apart.