Historical Context
The Great Depression
By the year 1933, the shadow of the Great Depression had loomed over the United States for four long years, marking it as the most severe economic downturn in the nation's history. As jobs vanished and wages dwindled, poverty engulfed millions of Americans. In response, President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal ushered in a wave of social welfare programs, placing the responsibility for healthcare under the embrace of the federal government.
The Field of Medicine
Throughout the 1930s, the American healthcare sector found itself in dire straits, as many citizens found medical care beyond their financial reach. As a consequence, countless individuals cut back on visiting doctors and hospitals, while those who did seek help often struggled to pay their bills. This financial strain led to a significant decline in revenue for physicians and hospitals alike, further exacerbated by dwindling charitable donations. However, initiatives like the Blue Cross hospital insurance plan, introduced in 1933, offered some respite for those who could afford to invest in such coverage.
During this decade, hospitals came in three varieties—voluntary, public, and university. Voluntary hospitals, though privately owned, operated on a nonprofit basis, striving to attract paying clientele by enhancing their facilities with private rooms, quality cuisine, and superior nursing care. To maintain financial viability, these institutions reduced their charitable offerings and welcomed private practitioners, sometimes even extending surgical rights to less qualified surgeons. Meanwhile, public hospitals began collaborating with medical schools, enhancing their educational and specialty training programs. Although these advancements improved care quality, hospitals still grappled with insufficient resources and funding. University hospitals also emerged, focusing on research and teaching, while catering to patients with unique medical challenges.
The standardization of medical education became a hallmark of the 1930s. With higher admission benchmarks, the caliber of medical students saw notable improvement. Graduates faced mandatory internships, involving one to two years of unpaid postgraduate training. Yet, hospitals struggled with inadequate staff and facilities to support these interns. This period also marked the rise of the residency system, offering specialized post-internship training.
New Developments in Medicine
The 1930s witnessed groundbreaking discoveries in drug therapy, notably insulin injections for diabetes and remedies for bacterial infections. Surgical practices underwent significant transformations as well. Prominent American physician Karl Landsteiner identified blood groups, paving the way for blood transfusions and complex surgeries. Surgeons embraced new techniques, such as intravenous administration of salts, fluids, and nutrients, alongside the use of X-rays. Despite these advancements fostering life-saving operations, some surgeries remained unnecessary or even detrimental.
Abortion and Birth Control Reform
In 1930, the movement to reform abortion and birth control laws began to gain traction. At this time, abortion was illegal nationwide, posing substantial health risks to women who pursued it. The Depression era saw a dramatic increase in the abortion rate. Some medical practitioners and clinics provided abortions, and "birth control clubs" emerged, enabling members to pool funds for abortion costs as needed. Despite reform efforts, abortion laws remained unchanged for decades.
Prior to 1930, existing obscenity laws prohibited the dissemination of birth control information, with penalties for mere possession of contraceptives. Margaret Sanger emerged as a leading advocate in the birth control movement. Defying legal constraints, she established several birth control clinics in New York and organized both domestic and international conferences in the 1920s. By 1930, the National Committee on Federal Legislation for Birth Control supported lifting these prohibitions, and in 1936, the courts ruled that birth control did not breach obscenity laws. Within months, the American Medical Association incorporated birth control into medical practice and education, and all but three states repealed their anti-birth control...
(This entire section contains 602 words.)
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statutes, with these exceptions following suit in 1938.
Literary Style
Realistic Setting
Men in White unfolds against the bustling backdrop of a New York City hospital in the early 1930s, capturing the essence of urban medical institutions of the era. This play meticulously crafts a vivid portrait of its setting and inhabitants, steeped in the authenticity of the time. Every element, from cutting-edge medical procedures to the tools and treatments of the day, mirrors the early 1930s medical landscape. This was a time when insulin was emerging as a treatment for diabetes and blood transfusions were pioneering new frontiers in patient care. The dialogue is peppered with references to the challenges confronting the medical community, invoking real doctors, surgeons, and the rigorous path through medical education, not shying away from topics like illegal abortions. Conversations among committee members bluntly address the dire financial straits hospitals found themselves in during the Great Depression. The doctors' discussions reveal their anxieties over governmental intrusion into medical practices—a prevalent concern of the period. For its 1933 debut, the script of Men in White was sprinkled with footnotes to elucidate the dense network of references and medical jargon permeating the play.
Conflict
Ferguson is ensnared in a web of tumultuous conflicts. He clashes with a seasoned doctor, suffers the loss of a patient, quarrels with Laura, and entangles himself in an affair with a student nurse. Yet, the most pivotal of these struggles is the internal war waging within him, as he grapples with the decision between pursuing a personal life of fulfillment or a professional life of ambition. To Ferguson—and every person entwined in his life, from Laura to Hochberg—it seems an insurmountable task to balance both worlds. He finds himself torn as Laura threatens to sever their engagement should he continue his studies under Hochberg, while Hochberg persistently champions the noble cause that demands a doctor's personal sacrifice. Ferguson’s journey to reconcile these conflicts stretches over three intense months, marked by a series of dramatic and transformative events.
Compare and Contrast
1930s: By the twilight of the 1930s, a striking three-quarters of Americans surveyed yearned for government assistance in covering medical expenses.
Today: Fast forward to 1999, a survey by NBC and The Wall Street Journal reveals that two out of every three Americans advocate for federal assurance of universal health care.
1930s: A mere sliver, only 5 percent, of medical students are women, painting a stark picture of gender disparity in the halls of medicine.
Today: Women now stand shoulder to shoulder with men, comprising nearly half of medical student populations, with more women than men eagerly applying to enter the field.
1930s: Many Americans struggle to afford health care, prompting the government to step in, altering both health insurance frameworks and its financial involvement in public health support.
Today: Despite an ambitious health care overhaul led by President Bill Clinton aiming for universal coverage, the plight persists as nearly a quarter of Americans remain without health insurance. By the decade's end, 42 million are uninsured, with another 20 million inadequately insured.
1930s: In 1933, a typical hospital stay stretches to two weeks, reflecting the era’s slower-paced medical care.
Today: By 1998, the average duration of hospitalization has shrunk dramatically to just 5.1 days, indicative of rapid advancements in medical practices.
1930s: Taxpayer dollars account for a mere 14 percent of the nation’s medical expenses in 1932.
Today: By 1998, government funding shoulders over half of the costs associated with hospital care and physician services.
1930s: In 1931, America boasts 156,440 physicians, roughly tallying to 12.74 doctors per 10,000 citizens, with urban areas flourishing with doctors while rural pockets remain underserved.
Today: By 1998, the number of medical professionals swells to 777,900, enhancing the ratio to 29.03 doctors per 10,000 Americans.
1930s: Feminist trailblazer Margaret Sanger, dismayed by the fatalities from self-administered abortions she witnessed as a nurse, sparks the birth control revolution in the United States. Prior to the decriminalization of birth control information in 1938, abortions accounted for a quarter of maternal deaths, with 58 out of every 1,000 pregnant women dying in 1933.
Today: Though legally accessible, birth control and abortion continue to face legislative scrutiny. By 1997, maternal mortality plummets to 1 in every 1,000 pregnancies.
Media Adaptations
Men in White, a cinematic adaptation crafted by the talented Waldemar Young in 1934, found its way onto the silver screen with the visionary direction of Richard Boleslawsky. This masterpiece was brought to life under the prestigious banner of MGM. A stellar cast illuminated its narrative, featuring the charismatic Clark Gable, the enchanting Myrna Loy, the seasoned Jean Hersholt, and the elegant Elizabeth Allan.
Bibliography and Further Reading
Sources
Atkinson, Brooks, ‘‘Men of Medicine in a Group Theatre Drama,’’ in New York Times, September 27, 1933, p. 24.
Bailey, Paul M., ‘‘Sidney Kingsley,’’ in Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 7: Twentieth-Century American Dramatists, edited by John MacNicholas, Gale Research, 1981, pp. 31–41.
Brown, John Mason, ‘‘Hospitals and the Stage: Further Remarks on the Group Theatre’s Production of Men in White,’’ in New York Evening Post, October 7, 1933, quoted in Sidney Kingsley: Five Prizewinning Plays, edited by Nena Couch, Ohio State University Press, 1995.
Couch, Nena, ed., ‘‘Introduction,’’ in Sidney Kingsley: Five Prizewinning Plays, Ohio State University Press, 1995.
Huxley, Aldous, Brave New World, Harper & Row, 1989. Kazan, Elia, A Life, Alfred A. Knopf, 1988.
Krutch, Joseph Wood, ‘‘An Event,’’ in Nation, Vol. 137, No. 3562, October 11, 1933, pp. 419–20.
Luddy, Thomas E., ‘‘Review: Sidney Kingsley,’’ in Sidney Kingsley: Five Prizewinning Plays, edited by Nena Couch, Ohio State University Press, 1995.
‘‘Men in White,’’ in Medical Record, February 7, 1934, quoted in Sidney Kingsley: Five Prizewinning Plays, edited by Nena Couch, Ohio State University Press, 1995.
Morphos, Evangeline, ‘‘Sidney Kingsley’s Men in White,’’ in The Drama Review, Vol. 28, No. 4, Winter 1984, pp. 13–22.
Pollock, Arthur, ‘‘Men in White,’’ in Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 27, 1933, quoted in Sidney Kingsley: Five Prizewinning Plays, edited by Nena Couch, Ohio State University Press, 1995.
Raben, Estelle Manette, ‘‘Men in White and Yellow Jack as Mirrors of the Medical Profession,’’ in Literature and Medicine, Vol. 12, No. 1, Spring 1993, pp. 19–41.
Further Reading
Abbott, Berenice, New York in the Thirties, Dover Publications, 1974. This volume collects photographer Abbot’s blackand- white shots of New York City during the Depression years.
Clurman, Harold, The Fervent Years: The Group Theatre and the Thirties, Da Capo Press, 1988. Clurman, a member of the Group Theater (which first produced Men in White), chronicles the birth and development of this drama company.
‘‘Conversations with . . . Sidney Kingsley,’’ interview by John Guare and Ruth Goetz, in Dramatists Guild Quarterly, Autumn 1984, pp. 8, 21–31. Two noted playwrights discuss Kingsley’s plays, background, and theatrical history with Kingsley.
McElvaine, Robert S., The Great Depression: America, 1929–1941, Time Books, 1994. McElvaine’s revised edition focuses on the human consequences of the Great Depression.
Watkins, T. H., The Great Depression: America in the 1930s, Little Brown & Co., 1995. In this companion piece to the PBS series of the same title, Watkins chronicles American life in the 1930s. The book includes many illustrations.
