Are Oscar Hammerstein's musical characters in Carousel and The Sound of Music a true representation of women and family structure at the time where were they written? Between 1945 and 1959, Oscar Hammerstein wrote two successful musicals Carousel and The Sound Of Music. In this independent project, I argue that despite their different temporal contexts, these two musicals explore social issues of the time, including women's rights and the transmutation of roles in American culture, sometimes directly. and sometimes obliquely. Women's activism and the development of feminism can be seen as a response to previous years of national ideology and its contradictions. Over the course of 14 years, Hammerstein traced women's liberation and their role in the family. Carousel and The Sound of Music can be seen as a contradictory response to this feminism. These shows establish the women of their time and their need for stability in relation to their family, emotionally. and the men around them. Carousel represents that previously women had very little say in society and were stereotyped to stay at home, make babies, be a good housewife and a good wife. While in The Sound of Music represents the ideological assault against feminism, the belief that all people, especially women, have the right to freedom. TitleNo name is more admired in the field of American musical theater than Oscar Hammerstein II. He and Richard Rodgers are credited with developing the joining of dialogue, music and lyrics within musical structure. They helped increase the importance of dance through their groundbreaking work with ballet with Agnes DeMille and Jerome Robbins. Hammerstein was among the first writers to consider "normal" people as main characters in his shows and not as the standard prince and character...... middle of paper ...... characters voiced their opinion against Billy's abuse, even Julie herself. , victim of her husband's anger. When he commits suicide, Julie laments his death, but also recalls the man he had become: “It was mean of you to hit me... in the chest, in the head and in the face... but you are gone now. (She sits next to him and touches his face.) You treated me badly; that was mean of you. But sleep peacefully, Liliom... you bad, bad boy, you. I love you. "). The scene where the audience orally acknowledges that Billy is violent towards Julie in Carousel has few, but crucial, differences from Molnár's original work. In Liliom, it is Julie herself who confesses to Liliom's abuse and condemns it in one way or another. In the musical, Rodgers and Hammerstein introduced the character of Cousin Nettie. “Nettie: Do you know anything else, Carrie? Last Monday he hit her.Julie: Nettie!