Introduction

'night Mother is a play by Marsha Norman, debuting in 1982. Many of Norman's plays focus on issues of loss and bereavement, crises of faith, and mother-daughter relationships. 'night Mother provides examples of all of these themes, focusing on the interactions between a mother (Thelma, or "Mama") and daughter (Jessie) on the evening that Jessie has planned to commit suicide.

Plot Summary

'night Mother opens in a cluttered but cozy country house. Mama is humming a tune and searching a cabinet for desserts. She calls Jessie and asks her to put more snowballs on the grocery list. Jessie asks if they have any old towels, blankets, trash bags, or rubber sheets. Mama tells Jessie that it is too late to be making a mess. Jessie then asks where her late father's gun is, and Mama tells her that it is in a shoebox in the attic. 

Mama then asks Jessie why she needs the gun, to which she responds, "protection." As Jessie enters the attic, Mama expresses reservation, saying they don't own anything worth stealing. During this time, they also mention Ricky, Jessie's son, who is a thief and drug addict. Throughout the conversation, Jessie prods her mother to wash and dry her hands to prepare for a manicure.

Jessie sits and polishes the gun, and at Mama's insistence, Jessie explains that she plans to kill herself with it that night. Mama takes this as a joke, but Jessie is serious. Mama threatens to call Dawson, Jessie's brother, to stop her, but Jessie says she will just kill herself before Dawson arrives. When Jessie takes the gun, towels, and garbage bags into her bedroom, Mama begins to call someone on the phone but stops and decides not to.

Jessie returns and goes about housework, and Mama asks about Jessie's motives. Jessie explains that she is not mad at her mother, Dawson, or Dawson's wife, Loretta, and begins showing her mother how to take care of herself. Mama attempts to find reasons for Jessie's decision, such as her epilepsy or her failed marriage with her ex-husband, Cecil. Jessie explains she has felt generally sad and tired for ten years. Mama suggests a variety of potential options for Jessie: getting a dog, taking up a hobby, getting a driver's license, or getting a job. Jessie tells Mama that she would not find fulfillment in any job. She would rather just make her life stop.

Jessie then asks Mama to make her a caramel apple and hot cocoa. As Mama begins making the cocoa, they gossip about Agnes, one of Mama's friends, who used to be an arsonist. Annoyed, Jessie determines that Mama has exaggerated some of Agnes's eccentricities and asks why Agnes won't come over. Mama admits that Jessie makes Agnes uncomfortable.

As Mama finishes making the cocoa, Jessie asks about her mother and father's relationship. Mama resents that Jessie was closer to her father than Mama was. Mama becomes angry from the conversation and begins throwing kitchenware onto the floor, saying she will no longer cook with Jessie gone. Jessie refuses to throw away the kitchenware despite her mother's insistence. Jessie then asks what her father had said to Mama on his deathbed, and Mama reveals that he had nothing to say to her at all.

Mama continues to grow irritated with Jessie and asks why her husband, Cecil, left her. Jessie says that he made her choose between smoking and him, and she chose smoking because it is more predictable. Mama speculates that it was because of the seizures. Jessie denies this, although Cecil blamed himself for...