Mary Hallock Foote - Essay Example

This was an inspirational and impressive play. The performances of the two actors really brought to life the period in which Mary Hallock Foote lived and wrote. It was clearly very different that today's world, but there were also many similarities.

Mary is at once the protagonist of the play and a sort of alter ego for many young women who find themselves in a similar position in life. In a world and period when women were treated as inferior to men—indeed by some as mere possessions of men—Mary stands out as a fully formed, animated personality. She is both independent and curious and comes to her own judgments about the society she lives, refusing to rely on tradition or received wisdom. She writes her own stories and draws her own pictures. While clearly loving her family members, she also sets herself apart from them, striking an independent pose that she crafts and shapes her role in the world through her letters and illustrations. In this way, she clearly distinguishes herself from other women of the time who are both slaves to tradition and full of trivial impulses. She is clearly a vibrant and central character.

Overall, I thought this play was very well performed and written. It showed me a lot about that time period that I didn't know and brought to life an artist I was not familiar with before. I had no idea that Wallace Stegner based his novel on Mary or that Mary was so incredibly talented. I would definitely recommend this play to my friends.