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A review by baileewalsh
The Children's Hour by Lillian Hellman
4.0
I think this is a very good play. I was already familiar with it because I watched The Children's Hour (1961) film a number of years ago when I was going through Audrey Hepburn's filmography. It feels separate from the other plays I've read within the last year and a half because those include a lot of information that is revealed through the dialogue. This play is more so about the conversations and actions of the story, and connecting those. There really isn't outside/previous information that is brought in to give fuller context, a different meaning, or a reveal to the characters and the circumstances they are in.
Mary Tilford is the wooorst! ...but she's such an interesting character. When we first meet her with the flowers and her fainting scene I feel like we don't have a full grasp on whether she really knows what she's doing or if she believes these dramatics. It's not until she's alone with the other girls that we know it's all a manipulative act. Though, I still think she doesn't truly understand what she says and does later on, in regard to the sexual acts nor the real-world consequences for the adults involved- namely Martha and Karen, of course. Even with the girls secretly reading Mademoiselle de Maupin, they only understand to an extent.
Though it seems Joe is not coming back in the end, he is a real one for not abandoning Karen AND Martha. I like that it's the three of them against everyone else, especially any conflicting feelings he has comes out and is dealt with after the blowup and trial.
There are some really great lines in this. My favorite / one that stands out to me the most is when Martha says to Mrs. Tilford, "You're not playing with paper dolls. We're human beings, see? We're people. It's our lives you're playing with. Our lives..."
Uggh and then Mrs. Tilford's rebuttal is all But what about the children? which personally I find such an inadequate and complicated/tedious response particularly when it comes to shielding kids from non-hetero normativity. Also, Mrs. Tilford alludes to something within the last handful of lines of the play and I'm not quite sure what she means. Replying to Karen about realizing Mary's bad behavior she says, "I don't know. I don't know what to do. People say--I've read--but I can't believe or understand it. I--I'll just--I don't know." What is she talking about?! I was thinking maybe some kind of mental treatment, mental institution, or correctional facility/school for Mary, but I feel like I'm grasping.
I mean this less frustratingly and more respectfully about the characters (lol, if that makes sense), the adults are so dumb to not have caught on to the situation at the end of Act II (Scene 2). They clearly could have figured out why Rosalie's manner and story changed and figured out the overall truth. Mary is obviously threatening Rosalie, speaking and glaring right in her goddamn face. And they should have questioned Rosalie without Mary being there -_-
Mary Tilford is the wooorst! ...but she's such an interesting character. When we first meet her with the flowers and her fainting scene I feel like we don't have a full grasp on whether she really knows what she's doing or if she believes these dramatics. It's not until she's alone with the other girls that we know it's all a manipulative act. Though, I still think she doesn't truly understand what she says and does later on, in regard to the sexual acts nor the real-world consequences for the adults involved- namely Martha and Karen, of course. Even with the girls secretly reading Mademoiselle de Maupin, they only understand to an extent.
Though it seems Joe is not coming back in the end, he is a real one for not abandoning Karen AND Martha. I like that it's the three of them against everyone else, especially any conflicting feelings he has comes out and is dealt with after the blowup and trial.
There are some really great lines in this. My favorite / one that stands out to me the most is when Martha says to Mrs. Tilford, "You're not playing with paper dolls. We're human beings, see? We're people. It's our lives you're playing with. Our lives..."
Uggh and then Mrs. Tilford's rebuttal is all But what about the children? which personally I find such an inadequate and complicated/tedious response particularly when it comes to shielding kids from non-hetero normativity. Also, Mrs. Tilford alludes to something within the last handful of lines of the play and I'm not quite sure what she means. Replying to Karen about realizing Mary's bad behavior she says, "I don't know. I don't know what to do. People say--I've read--but I can't believe or understand it. I--I'll just--I don't know." What is she talking about?! I was thinking maybe some kind of mental treatment, mental institution, or correctional facility/school for Mary, but I feel like I'm grasping.
I mean this less frustratingly and more respectfully about the characters (lol, if that makes sense), the adults are so dumb to not have caught on to the situation at the end of Act II (Scene 2). They clearly could have figured out why Rosalie's manner and story changed and figured out the overall truth. Mary is obviously threatening Rosalie, speaking and glaring right in her goddamn face. And they should have questioned Rosalie without Mary being there -_-