Otherwise Engaged (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Simon Gray
- First Published: 1975
- Type of Work: Play
- Type of Plot: Comedy
- Time of Work: The 1970’s
- Setting: London, England
- Genres: Drama, Comedy
- Subjects: 1970’s, Intellectuals, Self, Emotions, England or English people, Victims, Adultery, London, Publishing or publishers, Success or failure
- Locales: England, London, England
Characters Discussed
Simon Hench, a successful, middle-aged publisher who is trying throughout the play to listen to a new recording of Richard Wagner’s Parsifal while his wife is out of town. Simon is the central figure, toward whom all the characters gravitate. He is interrupted by the romantic and career problems of his student lodger, his brother, his friend Jeff, Jeff’s girlfriend, an old schoolmate, and finally his wife, Beth. Each interruption casts a different light on Simon through his relationships with the others. At first, Simon seems a paragon of virtue...
[The entire page is 1027 words long]
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