Night, mother by Marsha Norman - Research Paper Example

“Night, mother” by Marsha Norman The play “Night, mother” by Marsha Norman is very popular and therefore it is widely dramatized as well as discussed by critics. The play has a delicate psychological plot. Jessie Cates is unemployed divorced, middle-aged woman, who is suffering with such a horrible disease as epilepsies. Moreover, Jessie’s son is drug addict. She should constantly take care of her old mother Thelma. Finally, having got tired of the loneliness, Jessie decides to commit suicide. Her mother has only several hours to make her daughter change her mind and to prevent horrible tragedy. Analyzing the play critics usually concentrated on its main character and on the factors, which serve as motivations for her decision to commit suicide. This delicate topic is very relevant as today many people make the same decision. The motivations can be very different and the character of Jessie can be considered from different points of view regarding the motives: on the one hand she is a tragic heroine, a woman who can’t bear the troubles any more and on the other hand she seems to be a manipulator who seeks revenge (Contemporary Literary Criticism). Basing on the plot, we can’t but consider a “Night, mother“ to be a dramatic writing. Jessie is so exhausted and upset, her life is so terrible that she considers death to be blessing. She just wants “to rest” and the only place she can find calm and rest is another world. Jessie simply can’t see the reasons to live further, she can’t see anything in her life that could hold her to life. Thus her decision seems to be easy to take. “Jessie knows she could choose to live rather than to die, but she lacks the appetite for the choice” (Burkman). At the same time we can admit that Jessie’s actions can be motivated by the desire to revenge her mother. Thus, we should also analyze Jessie’ s nature. From this point of view she seems not to be an unhappy victim, but an unforgiving creature. Here Jessie seems to be selfish as she made her mother go through very difficult ninety minutes. Moreover, she warned her about her intentions and this seems to be done deliberately to make her suffer. We can admit that an unhappy woman parted from her beloved husband, suffering from illness, just turn into a neurotic creature that needs revenge. Really, suicides are never committed only because of despair, the motivation is usually closely connected with the desire to revenge. Thus, we can assume that manipulation is the motivation of Jessie, her main focus. Actually, her mother deserves that. Her mother is too childish, she concentrated her attention only on her own wishes ““Mama hums a tune as she stretches to reach the cupcakes in a cabinet in the kitchen. She can’t see them, but she can feel around for them, and she’s eager to have one, so she’s working pretty hard at it. This may be the most serious exercise Mama ever gets” (Norman 9)”. She is so self-centered that can’t notice the state of her daughter and Jessie can’t find a key to her heart. The dialogues held by a mother and her daughter are very important in the play. A spectator can learn much from these dialogues. By means of different phrases mother and daughter try to reach their goals. Jessie tries to give her mother hints about her real intentions by specifying the locations of different household items: "I asked you if you wanted that swimming towel and you said you didn't" (Norman 19). This was daughter’s answer to the mother’s question that was asked to reveal her intentions. By means of such phrases with hidden sense Jessie manipulates her mother that is why some critics think that Jessie’s main intention was to manipulate. If she simply said: “mom, I am going to commit suicide”, it would not have such a result. She makes her mother afraid and worried and this is her decision as she wants her mother finally to pay attention to her and her problems. She is exhausted because she feels outcast and left alone with her misfortunes. Speech means much also for Thelma (Morrow 24). She likes to talk and likes people who talk to her. Her words about her husband ‘s last moments one again testify how selfish she is: "He didn't have anything to say to me, Jessie. That's why I left. He didn't say a thing. It was his last chance not to talk to me and he took full advantage of it" (Norman 53). From the conversations we see that the father, who had already died was much close to Jessie than her mother: “you had those quiet little conversations after supper every night. What were you whispering about?" (Norman 47) Thelma is so far from her daughter’s life, and she has always been far from it that is not natural for a mother. Here we again see the motivation of Jessie, she is like a teenager who wants parents to pay attention to him and do that by means of squeeze. However, Jessie’s reasons are much more serious than the reasons of a child, she is a grown up women who is suffering a lot in her life. The play “Night, mother” is a very interesting to be analyzed from the psychological point of view. It raises very important issues, which are relevant in the modern society. Several conclusions can be made. The relations between parents and their child predefine child’s destiny. The motivations of a person who wants to commit suicide can be very different, but manipulation is usually the main focus. When a person takes such a decision, he/she is not displeased with his/her life, the individual is displeased with someone’s behavior and wants to prove something and to revenge somebody. Speech means much in our life. By the means of correctly held conversation we can get necessary information, manipulate somebody and save somebody’s life. Works Cited Burkman, Katherine H. “The Demeter Myth and Doubling in Marsha Norman’s ‘night Mother.” Modern American Drama: The Female Canon. Ed. June Schlueter. Madison, N.J.: Norman, Marsha. “Night, Mother”. New York: Dramatists Play Service, Inc., 1983. Print. Morrow, Laura. “Orality and Identity in ‘night Mother and Crimes of the Heart.” Studies in American Drama, 1945-Present 3 (1988): 23-39. Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 255 Detroit: Gale. From Literature Resource Center. Web. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Tom Burns and Jeffery W. Hunter. Vol. 186. Detroit: Gale, 2004. From Literary Resource Center. Web, 1990 Read More