The father-daughter relationships in G.E. Lessing's domestic tragedies

Patriarchs in three of G.E. Lessings domestic tragedies abide by the unspoken rules set forth during the eighteenth century as they try to control their daughters lives and relationships. Within all three domestic tragedies, Lessing conveys the roles the patriarch and the daughter play, as well as how these roles were effectively compromised by outsiders. Lessing also portrays the price the daughters must pay as a result of their fathers following a system dictated by society.