Wanda's Visit & Naked Lunch - Essay Example

Wandas Visit & Naked Lunch When everyday conflicts become a tug-of-war between individuals, then resolving even smallest issues of discussion can turn out to be a battle. Such a conflict in relationships can be seen as a central theme in many literary works. It is possible for external forces to influence a conflict in a relationship and most of these conflicts are emotional and psychological. Comparing and contrasting different literary works can shed light into this issue of conflict in relationship and importantly for a better understanding of the authors and their characterization of subjects. The plays taken for discussion are, Wanda’s Visit written by Christopher Durang and Naked Lunch by Michael Hollinger. Wanda’s Visit is one of the six-acts written originally by the author for the PBS series Trying Times. On the other hand, Naked Lunch is a short play among the group of sixteen plays called Trepidation Nation: A Phobia Anthology. In both the plays, there are some sorts of conflicts, which are emotional and psychological. Relationship conflicts in both the plays are centered on the social values and emotional responses between the characters, and most often the conflict is driven by some external forces. The analysis focuses on how the cultural, social, psychological, and socioeconomic conditions of characters influence the conflict and affect their relationships. Emotional conflicts between characters are often driven by external or internal forces that tend to influence their relationships for good or worse. Wanda’s Visit is a realistic one-act play about a wedded couple, Jim and Marsha, living in the suburbs. After nearly thirteen years of married life, they both experience an emotionally restless relationship as they cope up with their dull and enduring lifestyle. In the meantime, their relationship is disrupted by the unexpected entry of Wanda, Jim’s ex-flame from school-time. The outrageous behavior of Wanda and her intention to lure the hapless Jim collapses the already disrupted relationship between Jim and Martha. Though Wanda’s presence threatens their marriage life, it extends the already existing conflicts in their relationship for good. This play addresses adult relationship conflicts in a comical yet ironic ways. Moreover, the plot provides a clearer overview about the mundane as well as exciting experiences within a relationship, with conflicts further influencing those experiences. The play, Naked Lunch focuses on the rekindling of relationship between Vernon and Lucy. They were previously in a romantic relationship but that ended due to not-so-obvious reasons. In an effort to get back her, Vernon arranges a steak dinner, which ultimately ends in a weird way. Lucy, having shifted to vegan diet, refuses to eat the steak and this offends Vernon, which intensifies their conflict in relationship for worse. When he pressures her into eating the steak dinner, she eventually succumbs to his obligations but still gets emotionally hurt. Even then, the submissive Lucy accepts his bullying attitude and remains silent throughout the rest of the dinner. The moment of truth happens for Lucy, when she realizes that the steak was not the thing that can ruin her wellness, but her relationship with Vernon. The author portrays the story of this estranged couple, Lucy and Vernon, to be a metaphor for abusive relationship and even rape. Both the plays discuss the themes of relationship and the conflicts in them. In Naked Lunch, Vernon seems to be demeaning towards Lucy which would have been the reason for their earlier break-up as well. Moreover, his controlling nature pressures Lucy into doing something that she does not wish to do. Vernon seems to be exhibiting a manipulative behavior, often demanding an explanation for all her actions. This tendency of Vernon spoils the lively atmosphere of the dinner. Also, Lucy’s inherent submissive nature could have contributed to his demanding behavior, even as he takes to the level of verbal and even physical abuse. Toward the end, instead of getting romantic, as they had initially planned, both of them remain silent throughout the course of the dinner thereby reflecting their emotional conflicts and disagreements. The emotional conflict between the two seems to affect their relationship for worse. On the other hand, Wanda’s Visit exhibits a subtle emotional struggle between the couple who have been married for thirteen years. In this play, there are three different relationships that are struggling to cope up, and the playwright makes them distinct for the readers. “The playwright’s specific words and choice of point of attack make it clear that the purpose of this play is to examine this family, its dysfunction, and come to an understanding and acceptance of their relationships with one another” (Coleman). Firstly, the husband-wife relationship of Jim and Marsha witness a number of basic to intense conflicts. Jim seems to be a bland and negligent husband who hopes to liven up their married life, but still does not do the necessary things in that direction. Seemingly, Marsha lives as an unappreciated housewife who is struggling to maintain a ‘happy home’ environment. Jim’s emotional struggles with Marsha are reflected through his edgy encounters with her and thus their relationship suffers in awkward quandary. He seems to ignore the feelings of his better-half, until he realizes her worth during his ordeal with Wanda. It shows how an external force or problem can mend a long-suffering relationship for good, even though it might seem to threaten the relationship initially. Secondly, the past relationship of Jim and Wanda has an effect on his present relationship with Marsha. Jim seems to be uncertain about his role as a husband and an ex-lover. He is wavering and weak-willed, which makes traps him between the two relationships and not able to stand for the best. The manipulative nature of Wanda was indeed a bait to get Jim back as he is too feeble to deal with a domineering woman. Though he initially falls for the lures of Wanda, her subsequent gabbles about her past relationships eventually irritates him. Even then, he is not able to decide for the better. Jim turns out to be a man who is tardily unraveling at the edges of both the relationships, and so he is unable to take the right grip on the situation and oust the rampant Wanda to save his marriage. He is indeed caught between the emotional dilemmas of saving his own marriage life and at the same time not offending his ex-flame Wanda. Jim’s attitude towards Wanda implies his psychological instability and the resultant emotional response, which creates conflict in his life as well as his relationship with Marsha. Thirdly, there is the raging relationship between the two domineering women, who are pitted against each other by the husband or lover. The playwright, Durang, exhibits the odd differences between his characters to explain the social and cultural life. “Christopher Durang’s plays take serious subjects and treat them so outrageously that they comically underscore the absurdity of modern life” (Brockett and Ball 221). The characters, Wanda and Marsha are pertained to their respective cultures, social background, and psychological complexity. On contrasting these two characters, the playwright shows how social background and psychological impact can influence one’s lifestyle and behavior. For instance, as a suburban lady, Marsha seems to wear corporal style outfit with heels and pencil skirt. However, Wanda wears a skirt of ties and an overcoat resembling a new age drifter in line with her hipster lifestyle. Moreover, both the women react differently to their situations, owing to their psychological stability. Since Marsha has been living in an enduring relationship with Jim for a while, she takes Wanda’s behaviors in a more matured and cultured way, but still exudes an agonizing sense of disdain in her eyes. “Relationships can be identified in regard to the kinds of ethical conflicts people perceive and experience at work and the relationship of ethical conflict and productivity.” (Moser 381). Wanda’s barred enthusiasm, irritable behavior, and zany characterization seems to exhibit her distraught nature. Moreover, her dogmatic zeal and insatiable vitality is a distorted reflection of her inner emotional wreckage that is caused by her past life with nefarious friends. This shows how social, cultural, and psychological background of an individual can affect their relationship with others in both productive and destructive manner. Even Marsha describes her at one point as “She seemed like some insane nightmare Golden Retriever.” (Durang 82). Female sexism is apparent in the play, Naked Truth, at various instances, particularly when Lucy submits to the demands of Vernon. Vernon holds a sense of power over Lucy, and so this play well explains the themes of men superiority and women oppression. At one instance, Vernon bullies her and practically forces her into eating the steak. He has no compassion or concern for her feelings. So, after making her eat the steak, he reacts to her subservient act as his own sense of accomplishment. “(`Cheerfully without malice), he says: good isn’t it. (Lucy nodes obediently) Nice and Juicy.” (Hollinger 1089). Similarly, the murky perspective of Lucy seems to cause further damage to their relationship, leading to further misunderstandings. For most of the dinner-time, Lucy is silent to the questions of Vernon, which makes him angry. Vernon’s attitude about her vegan diet change leads him into bullying her. Even though Vernon looks forward for reconciliation with Lucy, the steak encounter buries the hope of a good relationship, with the dinner atmosphere filled with anger and humiliation. These tensions between the two create adverse emotional responses towards one another, turning down their relationship for worse. Similarly, in Wanda’s visit, the relationship between Jim and Marsha begins in an uptight home environment, while the relationship of Vernon and Lucy is quite sedate at the start of dinner. Jim is weaker while Vernon is manipulative. Both the women characters, Marsha and Lucy are polite and submissive to their partners in different ways. For instance, in the beginning of the play, Wanda’s Visit, the two – Jim and Marsha - are seen in a tense situation where Jim objects to her choice of playing classical music. There is no fight, no argument, no physical protest, but still both are egregious to each other. But in the case of Naked Lunch, there is a similar situation where Vernon is opposing Lucy’s choice of taking vegan diet. He insists his preference over her, showing no regards for her feelings. Unlike Jim, Vernon is quite abusive and manipulative, thus bullying Lucy into eating the steak. In both the plays, the female characters seem to succumb to the male’s oppositions, despite their views and feelings. While Marsha switches off the stereo for Jim, Lucy eats the steak just to oblige to his demands. This submissive tendency of Lucy and Marsha and the dominating nature of Vernon and Jim are presumably because of the gender-based patterns of socialization. Controversial patterns in their relationship were not a random occurrence, with Lucy enduring it for a while. “Males routinely dominate interactions with females this way, without either party noticing, she might feel a bit confused, frustrated, and guilty” (Octigan and Niederman 50). The confusion and emotional conflict within the characters have destructed their relationship. From the above analysis, it is evident that emotional conflicts between the characters in both the plays are driven by external forces, which ultimately influence their relationships for good or worse. In Wanda’s Visit, Wanda herself is the external force, while in Naked Lunch, the piece of steak is the external force. However, the outcome of the conflict in both the plays is quite different. That is, for Jim and Marsha, Wanda’s visit turns out to be the external force that reconciles them back to intimacy, while for Vernon and Lucy, the trivial intimacy that existed in their relationship seems to turn worse after the dinner because of their conflict about the piece of steak. Both the plays outline different kinds of relationship, but they still presumably rely on the central aspects of emotional conflict as the cause to all the problems. Set in a different dimension, Naked Lunch takes a darker and subtle tone while Wanda’s Visit portrays a more dramatic expression of relationships. The discussion thus illustrates conflicts between adults, particularly focusing on how these conflicts can bring about disastrous consequences to their relationship, both in the emotional and physical sense. Works Cited Brockett, Oscar and Robert Ball. The Essential Theatre, Enhanced. London: Cengage Learning, 2013. Coleman, Jodi Renee. A Performance Study and Analysis of the Role of Soot in The Marriage of Bette and Boo. Diss. Orlando, Florida: University of Central Florida, 2008. Durang, Christopher. 27 Short Plays. New York: Smith and Kraus, 1995. Hollinger, Michael. Naked Lunch. New York: Bedford. Octigan, Mary and Sharon Niederman. “Male Dominance in Conversations.” Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies 4.1(1979): 50-54 Moser, Martin. R. “Ethical Conflict at Work: A Critique of the Literature and Recommendations for Future Research.” Journal of Business Ethics 7. 5(1988): 381-387. Read More