Georgina's struggle for freedom in The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her LoverIn her work "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and her lover", Peter Greenaway displays the complexity of his main character Georgina. We witness her constant struggle to free herself from her hateful and disgusting husband. She realizes her pernicious dependence on Albert. His coercion, oppression and abuse make Georgina's life unbearable. Her need for freedom is expressed in her involvement in a sexual relationship with a man completely different from her husband and his cronies. Their relationship begins silently and is based almost entirely on sex. Sex gave him some measure of control in a world in which his true influence was limited and problematic (Giddens, p.70). The happiness that lovers derive from the closeness, affection, and tenderness of their sexuality are things that Georgina lacked in her inauthentic life. Passion emerges as a strong element in their affair and until circumstances allowed them to make love unnoticed, their relationship was a carefree and happy experience. When their affair was discovered by Georgina's husband and Michael was subsequently brutally killed, Georgina was left with confused feelings, unable to assess the true value of the relationship she had with Michael. In Georgina's situation, there is a significant need for a creative approach. and enriching relationship. This physical-psychological desire, however, does not rely on love as the basis of a deep and long-term emotional relationship between two individuals (Goldman, Philosophy of Sex, pp. 78-79). Rather, it is bodily desire for the body of others that dominates his mental life (Goldman, Philosophy of Sex, p. 76). In Georgina's need for...... middle of paper...... Works Cited Greenaway, Peter. "The cook, the thief, his wife and her lover". Say See. Paris, 1989. Singer, Irving. The pursuit of love. The John Hopkins University Press. London, 1994. Soble, Alan., edited by. The philosophy of sex. Contemporary readings. Second revised edition. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1991. Rank, Otto. Beyond psychology. Dover Publications. New York. Copyright (c) 1941 by Estelle B. Rank. 1958. Lepp, Ignace. The psychology of love. Translated by Bernard B. Gilligan. A mentor book from the New American Library, Times Mirror. New York, 1963. Giddens, Anthony. The transformation of intimacy. Sexuality, love and eroticism in modern societies. Stanford University Press. Stanford CA, 1992. Schneider, David J. Social psychology. University of Texas, San Antonio. Addison Wesley Publishing Company, 1976.