The Women | The Women

At a glance:

Author: Clare Boothe Luce
First Published: 1937
Type of Plot: Satire; women’s
Time of Work: The 1930’s
Setting: New York City and Reno, Nevada
Principal Characters: Mary Haines, Sylvia Fowler, Edith Potter, Nancy Blake, Little Mary, Mrs. Morehead, Crystal Allen, Peggy Day, Countess de Lage, Jane, Maggie, Miriam
Genres: Satire, Drama, Women’s literature
Subjects: Values, Wives, Marriage, Women’s issues, Upper classes, Adultery, Women, Divorce, Gossip
Locales: New York, NY, Reno, NV

The first act of this two-act play, presented in seven scenes, shows the destruction of Mary Haines’s marriage. When the curtain opens, Mary is absent. Four women sit playing bridge, smoking and gossiping as Sylvia Fowler complains about her husband. He expects her to stay home and keep house despite their wealth and servants. The other players include the young Peggy; Nancy, a writer; and Edith, a colorless and sloppy woman unhappily pregnant. When Edith leaves the room, Sylvia tells the others of Edith’s husband’s unfaithfulness. Sylvia has also heard that...

The Women | The Women

At a glance:

The Play

Join eNotes