Dec 9, 2009

Night, Mother | Introduction

'night, Mother, written in 1981, was Marsha Norman's fifth play. The work received generally favorable reviews when it was first produced on stage in 1983. Among the numerous honors bestowed upon the play, it was awarded the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for drama. Critics have lauded the play for its emotional honesty and realistic dialogue, with much of the praise focused on the play's unflinching depiction of a family—specifically a mother and daughter—in crisis. This lack of sentimentality and the play's focus on the loneliness and emptiness of the two women's lives are often cited by those praising 'night, Mother. In contrast, those who did not like the play most often complain that it is drab and lacks any significant development in its two characters. While this was not intended as a condemnation of the play, dissenting critics also said that those reviewers who praised the play so lavishly were over-reacting to a dramatic work that was adequate but not great—let alone deserving of a Pulitzer. On balance, however, 'night, Mother was well-received, by audiences and critics alike, for its realism and honesty.

When 'night, Mother premiered in Canada in 1984 the notices were favorable. Although reviewers in the United States had not generally reviewed the play as feminist, Canadian critics did note that the work presented men only as peripheral characters in the women's lives and that women were central to the play's themes. Although the topic of 'night, Mother is unhappiness that results in suicide, Norman manages to interject some macabre humor through sharp dialogue. Despite its impartial (even negative) stance toward suicide, 'night, Mother nevertheless became a source of controversy due to its inclusion of that subject. The issue was intensified by the Pulitzer Prize going to the play. Yet Norman's work is viewed by most as a depiction of a failed mother/daughter relationship, a chronical of the daughter's deep unhappiness, and, ultimately, her inability to deal with her lot in life. In this sense the play is valued as both a gritty work of fiction and a cautionary tale that has bearing on real life.

Night, Mother Summary

'night, Mother takes place in the living room and kitchen in the rural home of mother Thelma Cates and her daughter, Jessie. The play follows real time as displayed on a clock on stage. The hour and a half length of the play matches exactly the hour and a half of dialogue and action between Thelma's opening lines and her final call to Jessie's brother to inform him of his sister's death.

'night, Mother opens with Jessie Cates asking her mother for a piece of plastic sheeting and for the location of her father's gun. After Jessie finds the gun hidden away in an old shoe box in the attic, she begins cleaning the weapon. As she does, she calmly tells her mother that it is her intention to commit suicide later that evening. She accompanies this announcement with a stream of idle chatter that describes the ease with which she has purchased the ammunition and even had it delivered to their rural home. Thelma, is at first disbelieving. When she realizes that Jessie is serious, she attempts to dissuade her. Taking little note of her mother's arguments, Jessie continues with her preparations for death. She cleans the refrigerator and instructs her mother on how to order groceries, how to use the washer and dryer, and when to put out the garbage. She tells Thelma that she has stopped delivery of the daily paper, ordered her favorite candy for her, and arranged to continue the delivery of milk—although her mother prefers soda or orangeade, Jessie has even prepared a Christmas list of gift suggestions for her brother for the next several years.

To keep her mother busy and to create a semblance of order, Jessie asks her to make some hot chocolate for them—yet neither women drinks it because... » Complete Night, Mother Summary