A Matter of Husbands
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| Ferenc Molnar (1878-1952) |
About the author
· Widely regarded as Hungary’s most celebrated and controversial playwright
· His primary aim was to entertain people by transforming of his personal experiences into literary works of art
· Out of his many plays, The Devil (1907), Lilion (1909), The Guardsman (1910), The Swan (1920), and The Play’s the Thing (1926)
· He immigrated to the United States to escape persecution of Hungarian Jews during World War II and later adopted American citizenship.
· Molnar’s plays continue to be relevant and are performed all over the world.
About the play
· Published in 1923, A Matter of Husband sheds light on the basic function of actors: to make the audience believe in illusion.
Setting
The setting is the stage of the theatre. The dialogue or conversation between two women takes place in the apartment of the famous Hungarian actress. The scene is a drawing room with a screen, a sofa and a chair. The design and colorings of the apartment are exotic that is suitable for a famous actress. The time is late afternoon.
Characters
The Famous Actress
The famous Actress is a Hungarian actress, seen on the role of a cunning actress who makes the audience believe in illusion. In the play, she is in love with Alfred, her manager’s lawyer and the husband of Earnest Young Woman. She pretends to be ignorant of the Earnest Young Woman’s husband at first. As soon as she realizes that the young woman is present there with evidences, she creates a false story that Alfred has been playing a little comedy to revive the young woman’s interest in him by arousing jealousy in her. While convincing her, the actress discloses the audience’s opinion to the actors and actresses. According to her, the public has formed a negative view to the actors and actresses, but the reality is just opposite. She easily fools the young woman. She is thanked and becomes a praiseworthy lady. As soon as the young woman leaves, she calls Alfred in.
Earnest Young Woman
Earnest Young Woman is simple minded lady. She is dressed in a very modest frock and wears her hat and furs. She is an epitome of common women in the society. She implores the famous actress to give her husband, Alfred back. She claims with evidences that her husband is in love with the Famous Actress. But she is easily fooled by the actress. The actress says that her husband has been playing a little comedy to make her jealous to revive her interest in him. She listens the whole false story created by the actress. Finally, she is so convinced that she considers the actress a nice lady and also thanks her. Then, returns home happily.
Alfred
Alfred is Earnest Young Woman’s husband and the lawyer of The Famous Actress’s manager who flirts with The Famous Actress. According to the young woman, he sends flowers to the actress all the time and one morning, he mistakenly leaves a love letter written to the actress on his desk. Knowing her wife’s arrival, he hides in the famous actress’s boudoir. Thus, he is not faithful to his wife.
Understanding the text
Answer the following questions
a. What favour does Earnest Young Woman ask from The Famous Actress?
She implores the Famous actress to give her husband back. She claims that The Famous Actress has stolen her husband. She says that her husband doesn’t love her because he has fallen in love with the Famous Actress.
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, there are some indications that her husband has fallen in love with Famous Actress. They are:
i. He sends her flowers twice a
week
ii. He has written a love letter to her. She found it on his desk.
iii. He doesn’t love her.
c. Is Earnest Young Woman convinced by the argument of Famous Actress? How?
Yes, she is convinced by the argument of Famous Actress. When the actress says that her husband has been playing a little comedy to make her jealous, to revive her interest in him, the young woman becomes curious to know and listens to the actress carefully. Then, the actress tactfully convinces her. Finally, the young woman calls her a dear and thanks her.
d. Where is the Earnest Young Woman’s husband hiding himself as they are talking about him?
As the Earnest Young Woman and the famous actress are talking about the young woman’s husband, he is hiding himself in the actress’s boudoir, i.e., small private room or bedroom.
e. When do you feel that Famous Actress is really good at acting?
I feel that she is really good at acting when she keeps on convincing the Earnest Young Woman creating a false story of her husband that playing on her fear and jealousy to regain the love that she denies him.
f. How do we come to know that Famous Actress and the husband of Earnest Young Woman are in love?
We come to know that there are some indications that Famous Actress and the husband of Earnest Young Woman are in love. The most evident indication is that he is hiding in the Famous Actress’s boudoir throughout their conversation. Similarly, the young woman finds a love letter that her husband has written to the actress and he has been sending flowers as the gift to the actress.
g. Write down the plot of the play in a paragraph.
The play sheds light on the basic function of actors or actresses. They primarily make the audience believe in illusion. In this one act play, Earnest Young Woman implores the Famous Actress to give her husband back. At first, the actress pretends to be ignorant about the young woman’s husband. The young woman’s claim with evidences that prove the actress in love with her husband make the actress create a false story. She convinces the young woman saying that her husband has been pretending to be in love with her. She says that actually, he has been playing a little comedy to make the young woman jealous to revive her interest in him. The Earnest Young Woman is convinced easily. She falsely believes that the Famous Actress is a good lady and returns home thanking her. As soon as she left, the actress calls the young woman’s husband in. He is hiding in her boudoir.
Reference to the context
a. Shed light on the difference between an ordinary woman and an actress.
An ordinary woman refers to the Earnest Young Woman who is dressed in a very modest frock and wears her hat and furs. She is simple minded, straight, so easily tricked. She is a perfect example of ignorant woman in the society. She comes to know that her husband is in love with the famous actress. Then she implores the actress to give her husband back. But the actress easily convinces her creating a false story of her husband playing a little comedy to make her jealous to revive her interest to him. In other words, the actress fools her by saying that the woman’s husband is pretending to be in love with her to regain the love that she denies him.
‘An actress’ in this play refers to the famous Hungarian actress who is in the role of showing the basic function of actors or actress: to make the audience believe in illusion. Unlike the young woman, she is cunning and tactful. She has skills to fool the common people like the young woman. She is in love with the young woman’s husband. At first, she denies the young woman’s claim. When the young woman implores again with evidences, she creates a false story to fool the young woman. Observing her character, one can say that actors are good in the surface but they are, in fact, deceptive and skilled at keeping people in illusion. She is able to convince the young woman using her own tact.
b. According to Famous Actress, men associated with theatre use the theatre actresses to make their estranged wives jealous so as to woo them back. Do you agree with her argument? Why? Why not?
According to Famous Actress, men associated with theatre use the theatre actresses to their estranged wives jealous as to woo them back. I don’t agree with her argument. She brings this idea only for her safe landing. She is so cunning that she easily fools the young woman. The young woman is doubly suffered since she apologizes and thanks the actress who is in love with her husband.
Unlike Famous Actress, the theater actresses are honest and morally good. All actresses are not like her and fall in love with the men associated with theatre. It is also true that all the wives of the men associated with the theatre are not estranged. Most of them have good relation and are living in harmony. The actress herself is also not pretending to be in love with the young woman’s husband. In fact, she is flirting with him. For this reason, she is the perfect liar and deceptive. What she is saying and doing do not match. If she was right by her act, it would be another matter. Knowing that she is creating a false story and doing morally wrong, no one can agree with her argument.
c. How does Famous Actress make a fool of Earnest Young Woman?
The young woman has a heart-rendering story in this play. Her husband seems flirting with the actress and also, she is fooled by the actress. She implores the actress to give her husband back but she is convinced by the actress creating a false story. The actress tells the young woman that her husband is not in love with her but he is pretending to be so to make the young woman jealous to revive her interest in him. She assures the young woman that her husband has intentionally left the love letter to let her read it. She also tells the young woman that she has never received any letter yet, neither has she received any flowers.
As the woman is simple-minded one, the young woman believes the false story created the actress to fool her and thanks the actress. In fact, her husband hides in the actress’s boudoir while the two women are having conversation in the stage. He comes in the stage as soon as the young woman left thinking that she is unjust.
d. The conversation between the two women takes place on the stage of the theatre. What role does the theatre house as a part of setting play in A Matter of Husband?
The conversation between the two women takes place on the stage of the theatre. The theatre house as a part of setting plays important role in A Matter of Husband. The decoration, design and colorings are exotic and suggestive of the apartment of the famous Hungarian actress.
The theatre house provides suitable stage for the conversation/dialogue between the two women. The decoration and colorings suggest artificiality in the actors’ role, lifestyle and speech. The use of curtain suggests the masking of characters. In fact, they are disguised. Their role in the stage is always positive but practically, that is just opposite. Thus, the setting foreshadows the ultimate theme of the play. The main theme is the basic functions of actors: to make the audience believe in illusion. Decoration and make up are masking of originality, meaning near artificiality.
e.
What do you think about the ending of
the play?
The ending of the play gives the sense of a comedy as the suffered woman is completely happy. The resolution shows the proper settlement of all the characters. The famous actress seems completely successful to convince the young woman. The young woman not only apologizes but also thanks the actress.
The actress appears to be plausible and the young woman is happy and satisfied but easily fooled. It seems that the actress gives appropriate solution but, from the side of humanity and honesty, she is not fair because she is deceiving a simple-minded woman. The young woman’s husband comes in the stage as soon as she leaves. The man was hiding in the boudoir of the actress. This scene shows that he flirts with the famous actress. Thus, the young woman’s claim is right.
The ending of the play tells us about the basic functions of actors: to make people believe in illusion. The story she creates to fool the young woman is an example of making people believe in illusion. The actress manages a safe landing for her and also for the couple, but her act is like that of a cheater or liar.
