Alienation and Loneliness
Alienation and loneliness are pivotal themes in 'night, Mother. Jessie finds herself completely isolated due to her epilepsy and her failed attempts to start a family. Her mother, in an effort to protect her, kept the illness a secret, which inadvertently cut Jessie off from the outside world. Her isolation is so severe that the only way she can meet and marry a man is through her mother's arrangement to hire him for construction work on their home. Jessie is unable to maintain employment because of her condition, and by the time her epilepsy is under control, she is too afraid and set in her ways to interact with the world. Her choice to end her life is a result of the deep isolation and loneliness she feels.
Free Will
Jessie's decision to end her life is an effort to regain control. She had a minor sense of control when she opted for smoking instead of her husband, but this achievement felt empty because she continued to love Cecil. Her epilepsy, combined with her mother's attempts to protect her from understanding her condition, stripped Jessie of the ability to make informed choices about her health and life. Exercising free will means being accountable for one's actions and accepting their consequences; Jessie's act of suicide symbolizes her attempt to assert control and engage the free will she believes has been absent from her life.
Death
Death, characterized as the total cessation of life, is a fundamental theme in 'night, Mother. The play revolves around Jessie's actions and conversations, all focused on her readiness for death. Her wish to offer closure prompts her to disclose her plans for suicide to her mother. The play progresses over an hour and a half, detailing her preparations for dying. During this time, the audience experiences the emotions usually felt after losing a loved one: sorrow, mourning, dread, rage, and hesitant acceptance.
Human Condition
The human condition often highlights the essential drive for survival. In 'night, Mother, Thelma's intense hour and a half effort to save her daughter's life uncovers significant aspects of human nature. The audience gains a deep understanding of the Cates family's experiences, their suffering, and the stark reality of their existence as Thelma desperately searches for a reason to stop Jessie's suicide. Jessie's ability to ignore her mother's pleas and offers of assistance suggests that her wish to die isn't tied to a specific reason; rather, she feels an overwhelming lack of purpose to keep living.
Identity
Jessie is deeply troubled by her inability to form a distinct identity. She confides in her mother, expressing frustration that her brother calls her "Jess like he knows who he's talking to." Jessie also observes that her son, Ricky, is "as much like me as it's possible for any human to be," viewing both of them as failures. Her self-perception is so closely linked with her husband's identity that when he decides to leave, she writes herself a note capturing her understanding of his feelings. Jessie's identity is so tied to those she loves, and she feels too weary to establish a new one in her life, leading her to believe that death is the only way to truly separate herself.
Limitations and Opportunities
Jessie's choice to end her life is a direct result of the limited opportunities she perceives. She envisions no future, no transformation, and therefore finds no reason to keep living. Her epilepsy and past decisions have resulted in a life filled with constraints and missed chances. Although her condition is currently managed, years of limitations have taught Jessie to focus solely on the present. People who commit suicide are often...
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viewed as those who see no alternatives. Jessie clearly aligns with this perception.
Natural Law
Natural law, frequently referred to as the survival of the fittest—a concept highlighted by Charles Darwin in his evolutionary work The Origin of Species—is often used to describe why one species outlasts another. It's also sometimes invoked to explain why one person survives while another does not. In the context of 'night, Mother, this idea is pertinent because not all individuals with epilepsy resort to suicide; in fact, most lead normal lives filled with social activities and work. Similarly, not all women who experience divorce or failed relationships choose to end their lives. Jessie's decision to die can be interpreted as aligning with natural law; however, it's crucial to understand that it is Jessie who feels she doesn't fit into the world, not the world rejecting her. If she made an effort, it is evident that she could engage with the world and find her place in it. The concept of natural law in the play is entirely a fabrication of Jessie's mind; she believes she is too weak to continue living, a notion she has been conditioned to accept.
Success and Failure
Success and failure are pivotal themes in 'night, Mother, shedding light on the reasons behind Jessie's decisions. Jessie chooses suicide as a means to escape from a life she perceives as devoid of meaning and believes will remain that way. While she doesn't overtly describe her life as a failure, the breakdown of her marriage and her son's problematic behavior imply that she sees little to celebrate in her life's accomplishments. She perceives her life as unsuccessful and views her inability to maintain a job as a personal flaw. Even caring for her mother isn't considered a success, as Jessie recognizes that her mother lets her do it simply to keep her occupied, rather than out of genuine need.
Inability to Communicate
Marsha Norman’s ’night, Mother is a play about most people’s inability to communicate meaningfully, even when an obvious crisis requires it. Suicide is merely the catalyst that forces Jessie and Mama to talk with one another. It seems that Mama, at least at first, considers it a considerable sacrifice when she volunteers not to watch television that evening. It is no surprise, then, that the two women learn more about each other in less than two hours than they had in a lifetime of living together.
Lack of Insight and Role Reversal
Jessie, and perhaps her mother as well, had never realized the degree to which the older woman had resented the special relationship of father and daughter. Yet, despite significant discoveries such as this one, neither woman experiences any great insight. Jessie never sees that her father’s withdrawals might have indicated a medical condition similar to her own. Mama remains childlike to the end; her wants are all sense-related and can be satisfied by eating a cupcake, watching television, or opening a trinket from the grab bag Jessie has left for her. There is no indication that Mama feels any guilt for Jessie’s death or that she will assume some new maturity. In this reversal of roles, the child, Jessie, becomes her mother’s guardian, but only long enough to make sure that all is in order. Jessie rises to a certain nobility, but its only lasting effect is self-destruction.
Tragedy of Missed Opportunities
Some might consider that Norman suggests here that suicide is an acceptable alternative to living a life one considers intolerable, but Jessie’s view is not necessarily that of the playwright. Norman does not take an authorial point of view at all; she simply allows the women of her play to speak frankly. The result is that ’night, Mother is a tragedy only in the sense that its characters have missed a lifetime of opportunities to understand each other and reach only a limited mutual insight in Jessie’s final hours. Unlike characters in classical tragedy, neither realizes the full extent of her loss.