The Liars by Henry Arthur Jones - Essay Example

of the play: The liars Henry Arthur Jones Genre: Comedy of manners Research Questions What is the cause of infidelity of Lady Jessica? 2. What is the view of the society about Jessica’s unfaithfulness? The liars The Liars is a comic satire on female vanity. The protagonist lady Jessica gets herself involved in a situation that takes her matrimonial life at verge of break-up due to her unscrupulous flirtation with men. It pleases her inner woman that men are uttering woeful sighs in order to get a glimpse of their love goddess. The woman in her perhaps is dissatisfied with monotony of her conjugal life. The writer has touched upon the theme in a light tone and has not described it in a somber and tragic mode. The impending disruption in their family life is avoided through the intervention of mutual friends like Sir Christopher who taking the light view of the situation seriously exhorts Gilbert, “You’ve married one of the most charming woman in London, and when a man has married a charming woman, if he doesn’t continue to make love to her, some other man will, such are the sad ways of humankind! How have you treated Lady Jessica?” (Act IV, p 104). Lady Jessica is having an affair with a South African returned beau and their liaison has become the talk of the town. In party at her sister’s house she is reprimanded for her moral unscrupulousness by the women present in the party. Freddie expresses his concerns over the affair in the following way ,”I didn’t want to have Falkner here. He’s paying a great deal too much attention to Jess, and Jess doesn’t choke him off as she should “(Act 1 p 1). But the Woman is adamant to keep on the secret meetings with Falkner and one of such meeting they are discovered by Gilbert’s brother George who feels it his moral duty to call back his brother to see through the matter. When Gilbert asks her about secret affair she completely denies this. Gilbert: George says you are carrying on some tomfoolery with Falkner. Lady J: Ah! That’s very sweet and elegant of George. But I never carry on any tomfoolery with anyone (ActII p 18). To counter the situation Lady Jessica and her friends arrange a game of deception through a pack of lies in order to hoodwink Jessica’s husband. Though Gilbert is able to see through their trick and finds that the whole story by the group is concocted and becomes suspicious about the fidelity of his wife. In reaction Jessica gives way and forces her lover to tell the truth. The situation makes her feel that her life with her husband was just a deception. She thinks that she has some serious emotions for Falkner. But the whole situation is controlled by Sir Christopher with so much sagacity. He perceives that Gilbert’s indifferent behviour might be the cause of the faithlessness of Jessica. He blames Gilbert for this attitude and makes him realize that he should give attention to his wife in order to fill the emotional void in her life. The title signifies many things. It comments on the matrimonial life of Jessica and Gilbert and declares them as liars because both lie about the sincerity about each others while in reality both have no sincere for each other. Their matrimonial life is in itself is big damn lie. Similarly Jessica is lying to herself regarding infatuation of Falkner. She has no sincere feelings for the lover but she is lying to him and also lying to herself. In reality she is trying to satisfy her female vanity which likes to see with their hearts at their palm for the beautiful dame. The playful behavior of Jessica and the concerns of the friend over her careless attitude towards her matrimonial life points towards hypocritical Victorian morals where there was no place for personal emotions and the person had to succumb to the very expectations of the society. When Falkner expresses his love to Lady she tells him that “ We should only shock the British public” (Act II p 40). The society suggested the suppression of emotions in order to be a socially accepted character. This thing perhaps brought a crisis in Jessica’s life. Her husband is the typical gentleman of the gentry who forgets to cater to the sensibilities of his wife and that thing makes her see the love and affection somewhere else. But the woman knows that the society is not ready to accept such relationships hence the whole relationship is covered with lies. When the very honour and status of the lady seems to be compromised, the liars come to her support and try to save the family life giving the relationship a casual and non-serious name. Under the facade of comic entertainment are hidden the society’s wounds which tell another story. Clark interprets the social dimension of the story and comments, “Behind all the amusement is the eternal "lesson": that society in order to exist must adhere to a set of regulations, and that any infringement of its laws invariably brings social ruin. Needless to say, the idea is not forced upon us; it is allowed, as it should be, to evolve out of the story” (Clark p 44). Taken in this way the story seem to be an expression of unfulfilled love of a woman who in order to save her marriage had to sacrifice her love. Her plan of elopement shows how serious she was with Falkner. But the pressure of Victorian morals concerns makes her submit to the very will of the society. The friends and ladies at her sister’s party are actually the mouthpiece of that hypocritical society which does not see into the very soul of the individual. Henry James called it a social comedy which to us is expression of Lat Victorian sensibility (Miachelharvey para 1). George’s behavior is typical of the society who writes the letter to his brother in order to put a check the secret meetings between Falkner and Lady Jessica. The society which does not care for the inner desires of the individuals like Jessica and Falkener should be prepared for the situations like these where housewives are seeking satisfaction outside sham matrimonial bliss. “The Liars is a fine comedy of manners which considers the question of marriage and the role of women in society” (The Liars - a play by Henry Arthur Jones para 1).The dissatisfaction with the marriage is one aspect which justifies Jessica’s behaviuor. There is another side to her unscrupulous behavior. She is a woman who is vain of her beauty and likes people to praise her beauty and in the form of Falkner she gets and admirer who appeases her female vanity. Her response to the advances of beau is actually the expression of satisfaction a woman gains when someone praises her beauty. The relationship seems to have no seriousness from both sides and can be categorized a chance affair. Conclusion The liars is the best instance of comedy of manners which presents a kind of good entertainment by presenting humorous side of something which otherwise is very serious. The liars fail to hide the love affair of Jessica and Falkner. Perhaps the writer seems to suggest that a lie has no legs to stand upon. The truth of the relationship is known to everyone. The whole matter is wrapped up in a humorous way by the writer who perhaps is trying to exhort upon normative behavior. The very fabric of the society seems to be at the verge of destruction when the people go astray from the right path— the path of adherence to social norms. The individuals like Jessica and Falkner tried to cater to their personal emotions at the cost of their social responsibilities but in the end they come to realize the mistake they made. The action of the comedy thus concludes in a traditional way when everything comes to its previous normal state. The temporary chaos in the lives of the character is restored into the order established through social values. Works Cited "The Liars, by Henry Arthur Jones." TheatreHistory.com. Web. 23 Apr. 2012 . "The Liars - a play by Henry Arthur Jones." Theatre Database. Web.25 Apr. 2012 . Jones, Henry A. The Liars: an original comedy in four acts. The Macmillan Company. Web. 22 Apr.2012.. "The Liars by Henry Arthur Jones." Big Readers. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. . Read More