THEMES OF BATTLE OF THE SEXES- CONFLICT BETWEEN GENDERS IN A RAPIDLY CHANGING SOCIETY IN LET ME DIE ALONE
The play critiques a traditional culture that insists that women be confined to traditional female roles. in spite of the fact that there have been successful women leaders among the Mende people throughoutbrecorded history. This conflict suggests that a prevailing tension in male-female power sharing exists.
Male and female roles in Mende society are clearly drawn out, but the society also allows women with exceptional qualities to cross gender lines as leaders in various capacities. This paradoxical, boundary-shifting identification often brings a lot of tension between the sexes because of the implications and consequences. Yoko, for instance, had to renounce childbearing in order to become man-woman to be eligible to ascend the Mende throne.