The Skin of Wrath?
"Sabina: Mrs. Antrobus, I want to take back the notice I have you. Mrs. Antrobus, I don't want to leave a house that gets such interesting telegrams."
The Skin of Our Teeth Act I p. 20
I have to say that this play is definitely...different? It seems to be so off the wall, yet that seems to be drawing me in and making me see what odd things I will find next. The relationship between Sabina and Mrs. Antrobus seems strange. Although I may be wrong, from what I have been able to understand - Sabina was the mistress of Mr. Antrobus until he become tired of her and moved on to his wife. The line from Sabina just stuck out to me because it seemed like such a weird reason to stay after she had already made up her mind to leave. This made me think of The Grapes of Wrath. While I am still only reading Act I as I write this, I can not help but think that the characters in this book are in such a state of panic and depression, that they will take drastic measures to survive. I think that Sabina stayed because she was afraid of what she may find in the cold, and what might happen to her. The house now had fire, and it was safer to stay in a bad environment, than an unknown one for her. The family seems to need to keep up hope - I already have a feeling that if they don't, all will be lost - and it will be lost quickly.
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Chelsie Bitner on The Skin of Wrath?: I believe it is a little weird
I believe it is a little weird about Sabina wanting to stay at the house because of interesting telegrams. I think she is an odd character. Why would she want to stay there unless it was because of Mr. Antrobus and wanting to still be around him? I think maybe she thought that they’d beg her to stay because they would need help around the house but they didn’t. I agree with you that she is afraid to go out into the world by herself because she has nowhere to go and won’t know what to do. The characters are in a state of panic and depression but I don’t believe it is until later on during the war. I think they get by with what they have in the first act, have a good life in the second, and the panic and depression sets in in the third act. Interesting blog, interesting play.
It makes sense. Her character does flip flop a lot throughout the play. First she says she wants to quit, but she sticks around as soon as it seems convenient for her to do so. She does quit before Act II, but rejoins the family when the flood comes and sticks around through the war.