Diversionary Post #1
So, I'm flummoxed.
How important is Karen's psuedo-affair to the story? Do I put a drag on the script by adding this temptation? I mean, she is clearly enjoying the attentions of another, more attentive man. But if I put this relationship in the script, then I'll have to flush it out in some way- as if there isn't enough going on with Will's illness, Rita's attempts to pull her family together while caring for Will and denying her own needs, Paul's Oedipal complex which is clearly driving Karen into this flirtation with another man, Rhonda's isolation and mommy anxiety, Hallie's mixed up relationship with her father and her much older lover, not to mention the ghosts of the patriarch's (Will's) own infidelities and impotent attempts at redemption through the haze of his degenerative illness. Karen is too much like Rita and she is at a crossroads. She could choose the same put upon caregiver route that her mother-in-law has chosen or she could go somewhere else entirely. Frankly, I think her sense of obligation and her need to be needed by both her husband and her children will bring her back home. I don't think she will ever truly confront her own needs and desires, but she will end up approaching her marriage from a totally different angle. She's not wild at all and that is why she keeps this poor fellow hanging. She needs the attention desperately, but she will never sleep with him. Kissing him would be a stretch for her. The guilt of actually crossing that line would probably kill her. Paul knows, but he has his head so firmly stuck in his own ass that he will never acknowledge it. Funny enough, that is exactly what it would take to bring Karen back to him. But he's too busy condemning his father for sins committed and obsessing about his mother's well being to take care of his own home. Hallie is the only child who has an open need for her father. Until the third act, Hallie is the only one who truly grieves for him and the loss of his faculties, although she does it badly and it comes off as coldness and insensitivity. Clearly, I need to replace the scene between her and Will in the second act. The story just doesn't hold up without it. This also means that the scene between Rich (Hallie's older lover) and Rhonda needs to be seriously reworked so that it is not just an expository scene. Rhonda's inner conflict about her ability to maintain a loving relationship needs to be brought into the forefront. More than anyone in the family, she has been damaged by her parents' turbulent relationship but she has not been aware of this damage until the birth of her son. Now she is forced to confront what it really means to be married- what it really means to love another person. In fact, every character is faced with that question. What is a marriage? How human do we let our partners be? How do we forgive someone who has hurt us or should we forgive at all?
I know you won't believe me when I tell you this, but this play is actually really funny. That is because I am one sick little bitch.
How important is Karen's psuedo-affair to the story? Do I put a drag on the script by adding this temptation? I mean, she is clearly enjoying the attentions of another, more attentive man. But if I put this relationship in the script, then I'll have to flush it out in some way- as if there isn't enough going on with Will's illness, Rita's attempts to pull her family together while caring for Will and denying her own needs, Paul's Oedipal complex which is clearly driving Karen into this flirtation with another man, Rhonda's isolation and mommy anxiety, Hallie's mixed up relationship with her father and her much older lover, not to mention the ghosts of the patriarch's (Will's) own infidelities and impotent attempts at redemption through the haze of his degenerative illness. Karen is too much like Rita and she is at a crossroads. She could choose the same put upon caregiver route that her mother-in-law has chosen or she could go somewhere else entirely. Frankly, I think her sense of obligation and her need to be needed by both her husband and her children will bring her back home. I don't think she will ever truly confront her own needs and desires, but she will end up approaching her marriage from a totally different angle. She's not wild at all and that is why she keeps this poor fellow hanging. She needs the attention desperately, but she will never sleep with him. Kissing him would be a stretch for her. The guilt of actually crossing that line would probably kill her. Paul knows, but he has his head so firmly stuck in his own ass that he will never acknowledge it. Funny enough, that is exactly what it would take to bring Karen back to him. But he's too busy condemning his father for sins committed and obsessing about his mother's well being to take care of his own home. Hallie is the only child who has an open need for her father. Until the third act, Hallie is the only one who truly grieves for him and the loss of his faculties, although she does it badly and it comes off as coldness and insensitivity. Clearly, I need to replace the scene between her and Will in the second act. The story just doesn't hold up without it. This also means that the scene between Rich (Hallie's older lover) and Rhonda needs to be seriously reworked so that it is not just an expository scene. Rhonda's inner conflict about her ability to maintain a loving relationship needs to be brought into the forefront. More than anyone in the family, she has been damaged by her parents' turbulent relationship but she has not been aware of this damage until the birth of her son. Now she is forced to confront what it really means to be married- what it really means to love another person. In fact, every character is faced with that question. What is a marriage? How human do we let our partners be? How do we forgive someone who has hurt us or should we forgive at all?
I know you won't believe me when I tell you this, but this play is actually really funny. That is because I am one sick little bitch.
posted by Bree O'Connor at 11:13 AM
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