I found D. H. Lawrence’s Tickets, Please, first published in The Strand Magazine in 1919, to be a rather dark short story about working on the tram system in the English Midlands, set at the backdrop of World War I. At face value, the story dips and dives into issues surrounding gender roles, social dynamics, and shared humiliation and pain, but under the surface, Lawrence’s short story supposes that when traditional gender roles collapse, predator-prey dynamics arise, leaving everyone diminished, the ultimate result being neither equality nor liberation, but mutual dehumanisation. Before continuing, I must state clearly that I have read only the original 1919 version, and not the edited 1922 reprint in England, My England.
Firstly, before diving into the plot, I’d like to provide some context for the short story. World War I left many a city and town without men to fill labour vacancies, creating an enormous demand for women to fill the now-empty roles necessary to keep society running, including traditionally male-dominated jobs. …
This is an excerpt from my essay, the full text of which can be found on my website.