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January 31, 2006
The Name Game
First thing I noticed about this play was that the 2 active female characters don't have their own names - they are only "Mrs. Hale" and "Mrs. Peters". Many years ago, I got a birthday card from my father-in-law addressed to "Mrs. Richard Christeleit", and was less than pleased. Let's just say that it never happened again! LOL. The wives assume their husbands names as well as their husbands identities (Mrs. Peters justifying her husband's investigation techniques more than once to Mrs. Hale, Mrs. Peters "Married to the law"). Mrs. Wright may have been able to abide by her loss of identity as Minnie Foster, but she could not let the murder of her precious canary go unavenged, because it was the only remaining link to her previous identity. How sad that she was a talented singer who because of her choices, had nothing left of her own identity. How sad that the husbands dismiss their wives and their wives concerns as trivial.
Posted by BrendaChristeleit at January 31, 2006 8:11 AM
Comments
Saying Mrs. Peters is "married to the law" also reduced Mr. Peters so that he is not a whole person, he is "the law." This play certainly asks us to sympathize with Minnie Foster.
Posted by: Dennis G. Jerz at January 31, 2006 11:32 AM