Curtain lines play a significant role in plays because they end the scene and usually leaves the audience anticipating what will happen in the next act. In LDJN, curtain lines are especially important because the four-act play takes place in the same setting of the living room, therefore curtain lines determine the transition from one scene to another. Only act two is is separated into two scenes, whereas as the other three acts contain only one scene. I will also analyze how the curtain lines for the first and last act play an important role in the structure of the play.
The first act ends with Mary questioning Edmund "are you afraid to trust me alone?" and Edmund immediately denies that and quickly changes the topic by saying he will go down to help Jamie outside (50). The curtain line is a dramatic shift from the seemingly positive and loving family that was introduced in the beginning of the act. Furthermore, Edmund's obvious avoidance on the topic of Mary's dark past implies that the Tyrones experience deep trust issues. It foreshadows that the play will head to a downward spiral as past issues are gradually brought up.
Act two is interestingly the only act divided into two different scenes. I think the curtain line in between both acts can potentially signify why O'Neil decided to separate these two scene. Act 2.1 ends with Tyrone telling Mary, "[n]ever mind. It's no use now" (72). The curtain line indicates that James has basically given up on hope for Mary's permanent recovery from her morphine addiction. Therefore, it adds another layer of avoiding confrontation in the Tyrone family because to James, no amount of effort will bring back the old Mary to the family.
The last act of the play ends with Mary's line: "Yes, I remember. I fell in love with James Tyrone and was so happy for a time. " (179) The stage directions described Mary staring off into a dream-like state, demonstrating that she is completely detached from reality and is lost in her past. She's in this strange dream of trying to recall her past while her family are observing right in front her. The way she says that she "was" happy shows that in reality she is no longer happy or in love with James. There was truth in James' hopelessness for bringing her back, but in a way he is also responsible for her detachment because Mary no longer feels loved by James. I also found it interesting how the play ends with Mary recalling how much she loved James and that it began with Mary and James completely in love and affectionate with each other. The curtain line of the last act can indicate the cyclical nature of the Tyrones' love-hate relationship with each other as they struggle to face their bitter past while also defending their love for each other.
I didn't really analyze curtain lines while reading the play so your blog post was really helpful. It's really interesting that you can kind of see the change in mood throughout the play, from anger and frustration to sadness and hopelessness, just by looking at the curtain lines. I really like your last paragraph, especially where you mention Mary's recollection of her love for James parallels the beginning of the play. This fact is revealing of the cyclical nature of the play. I think it would be nice to also look at the beginning lines of each act (and scene) as well. For example, it was brought up during the socratic seminar that the first line of Act 2 scene 2 shows the Tyrone's problematic habit of ignoring reality. Anyway, I really like this blog post!
ReplyDeleteYep, I like your point about the cyclical nature of the play. In act 2 scene 1 especially, the curtain line ends so abruptly and for me, disappointingly. After getting a sense of the problem that Mary has, that moment she has with Tyrone is the furthest we ever get to her admitting to her issues. When she said "James! I tried so hard! I tried so hard! Please believe --!", it seemed like things were taking a gigantic step forward (72). Of course, it only ended with hopelessness. And then, the 'act' began again in the next scene. It was so frustrating for them to continually touch upon Mary's drug abuse and then back out immediately each time she denies it. So of course, in the end when they realize that she's totally gone, it's too late for them to do anything. The curtain lines kept hitting me with a bout of depression each time, perhaps that's how they're so effective.
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