The Women in these Men's lives...

At first women do not seem to have a very important role. They seem to be almost an after thought. Just the other part to these important men. But even though they don't seem to have significant roles they do hold a lot of leverage in their hands. Deals are made or broken because of them and husbands appear to not be able to make decisions without them. Their apparent need or association with control contrasts incredibly with the business men's lack of control. Men give the impression that they are very manly. Being a man is a very important characteristic that they are all trying to attain or believe they have. And one of the most dominant traits of being a man is control. They seem like in control kind of guys at first but as you go through the story time after time they are shown to have little to no control over the situations around them. At the beginning when Levene talks about having closed the deal and then had an un-lucky break because the deal went down because the guy was married (again result because of a woman). And when Levene and Roma feel like they are on top of the world because of the incredible closings they made that then end up failing because for Levene the Nyborgs are crazy, and for Roma, Lingk's wife doesn't agree with it. Then only way they feel they can get control back into their hands is by cheating. Playing the customer, bending the rules, stealing the GlenGarry leads...etc. It is the women who seek and find control by actually doing the right thing or just playing the men. Perhaps this is the purpose of the women. To just have characters who contrast completely with the men that Mamet is writing about. They helped to really point out their already exaggerated traits. Roma who thinks he is always in control loses to a wife who is never introduced. Levene loses to a crazy lady who never intends to make good of the contract she has signed, and also the daughter who is depending on him for medical bills, which he can't seem to pay unless he steals.