Class 12 English Lesson 18 Play: A Matter of Husbands by Ferenc Molnar literature Section

 

Lesson 1 One-act Play: A Matter of Husbands by Ferenc Molnar

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About the Playwright

 

Ferenc Molnar (1878- 1952) was widely regarded as Hungary’s most celebrated and controversial playwright. His main aim was to entertain people by transforming his personal experiences into literary works of art. This play ‘A Matter of Husband’ was published in 1923 that reflects the basic function of actors that makes the audience believe in an illusion.

Major Characters of the play

a.    Famous Actress: She is an actress who is having an affair with a man who is a lawyer.

b.     Earnest Young Woman: She is an innocent woman whose husband is having an affair with a famous actress. She demands the famous actress and her husband back.

c.      Alfred: He is the husband of Earnest Young Woman. He has an affair with a famous actress. He has a short role but he is the central issue in the play.

The setting of the play: The drawing room of the famous actress during the late afternoon.

Main Plot of the Play

·      Earnest Young Woman goes to Famous Actress and asks her to give her husband back.

·      Earnest Young Woman blames Famous Actress saying that her husband has been in love with her because he sends her flowers and often writes letters.

·      A famous Actress starts weaving a fake story about her husband saying that her husband is attempting to trick her to get more affection from her.

·      Earnest Young Woman believes in the fake story made up by the actress and realizes her stupidity.

·      When Earnest Young Woman goes out of the drawing-room, Famous Actress asks Alfred to come out of the closet.

Summary of the Play

'A Matter of Husbands' is a one-act play written by Ferenc Molnar. He is a widely celebrated and controversial playwright. There are three main characters in the play. They are Earnest Young Woman (Alfred's wife), Sara (a Famous Actress), and Alfred (Lawyer, and husband of Earnest Young Woman). It is a very twisted one-act play that depicts the story of Earnest Young Woman. She is married to a lawyer who knows Famous Woman.

This play lightens the roles of actors on the stage and in real life and how much they are capable of keeping us in an illusion. At the beginning of the play, the Earnest Young Woman is shown on the stage impatiently waiting for the famous actress. The Famous Actress is called 'Sara'. As Sara enters the stage through the curtain, Earnest Young Woman rushes to her and angrily asks her to return her husband. The Famous Actress boldly denies that she has stolen her husband. She says she knows him because once the contract for a case has been given to him. She asks Earnest Young Woman what makes her believe that Alfred is in love with her.

Earnest Young Woman tells her that her husband sends her flowers and writes a love letter. After hearing this, the actress blushes and continues to deny receiving any flowers or notes from him. To make Earnest Young Woman believe that she and her husband have a misunderstanding, she now claims that something strange happened. The famous Actress convinces Earnest Young Woman that her husband is playing with her in an attempt to make her jealous and gain her attention and love back. Then, the innocent young lady realizes her mistake and apologizes. The famous Actress calls Alfred from her bedroom after the eager young lady exits the stage. In this way, the play ends.

This play would require only two female actresses. Our group has many strong comedic female actresses that could make these parts very overd-ramatic. The relationship between the two will need to grow and both of the performers will need to be very comfortable with each other. I don’t think either of the characters in this one-act is particularly likable. The actor playing the Ernest Woman would need to be very ditzy and gullible and the Famous Actress would have to be very wicked and twisted.

This one-act is somewhat of a set; nothing too flashy but still enough to create a mildly realistic setting. Lighting would be very basic and standard. The blocking could add a lot to this piece and add another layer of comedic humor to the piece. As for costuming, the Famous Actress wears a floor-length gown with matching gloves and a fur coat, and the Ernest Woman wears a frumpy dress with white shoes with the socks sticking out. The costuming will help introduce the characters before they even begin speaking. With one act there is not a lot of time for character development so any way to help reveal something about the characters is necessary.

Understanding the text: Answer the following questions.

a.      What favor does Earnest Young Woman ask from The Famous Actress?

Earnest Young Woman asks a favor of returning her husband from The Famous Actress because she loves her husband very much and she comes to know The Famous Actress has stolen her husband from her.

b.     What, according to The Earnest Young Woman, are the indications that her husband has fallen in love with Famous Actress?

According to the Earnest Young Woman, her husband sends flowers to The Famous Actress. She comes to know about it from the letter. One day, her husband forgets the love letter on the table, which says her husband is unable to call the Famous Actress and beg apology offering her thousands of kisses.

c.      Is Earnest Young Woman convinced by the argument of Famous Actress? How?

According to the basic conversation between Earnest Young Woman and the famous Actress, it Seems as if Earnest Young Woman is convinced by the argument of the Famous Actress. The Famous Actress tells her that Earnest Young Woman’s husband has done a love affair with the actress so she gets jealous and regains love from her. She tells her that many actresses easily accept such proposals for the sake of the reunion of the families.

d.     Where is the Earnest Young Woman’s husband hiding as they are talking about him?

According to the play, the Earnest Woman’s husband appears at the end of the play when the Famous Actress calls him to come When Out of her bedroom. This means throughout the entire play the Earnest Young Woman’s husband is hiding in the famous Actress's bedroom.

e.      When do you feel that Famous Actress is good at acting?

I feel the famous Actress is good at acting when she tells the Earnest Young Woman that her husband is playing a game upon her to make her jealous so that she will change her personality and can try to impress him by any means. She asks for a lock of hair, which the Earnest Young Woman brings with her. She says Alfred has that because her hairdresser may steal and give it to him.

f.       How do we come to know that the Famous Actress and the husband of Earnest Young Woman are in love?

From the final part of the play, we come to know that a famous Actress and the husband of Earnest Young Woman are in love. Alfred is called to come out of the Famous Actress boudoir. It’s obvious that the Earnest Young woman is fooled and they are in love.

g.     Write down the plot of the play in a paragraph.

‘A Matter of Husbands’ is a one-act written by the most celebrated and controversial playwright, Ferenc Molnar. This play lights on the role of actors on the stage and in real life and how much they are capable of keeping us in an illusion.

In the beginning, the Earnest Young Woman rushes to the Famous Actress angrily, asking her to return her husband. The famous Actress boldly denies that she has stolen her husband. She says she knows him because once the contract for a case has been given to him. Earnest Young Woman tells her that her husband sends her flowers and writes a love letter. She reads her husband’s love letter to the actress.

Upon the circumstance, the actress smiles and still denies that she has received any flowers or any letters from him. Now, she fools Earnest Young Woman by saying that a misunderstanding may have arrived between her and her husband. She makes Earnest Young Woman believe that her husband has been playing with her to make her jealous and gain her love back. Then, the Earnest Young woman innocently realizes her misdeed and begs for sorry for her. Earnest Young Woman leaves the stage and the famous Actress calls Alfred to come out of her bedroom.

 

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