Although A Cream Cracker Under the Settee is a dramatic monologue we are presented with a range of characters. Show how Bennett presents these characters and consider how realistic you find them.
Although A Cream Cracker Under the Settee is a dramatic monologue we are presented with a range of characters. Show how Bennett presents these characters and consider how realistic you find them.
Just by reading the title of the play, 'A Cream Cracker Under the Settee' we can get a feel of what sort of mood the play will produce. A Cream Cracker is a very old and unoriginal biscuit, and is not as popular as it used to be. It is also quite a plain, boring type of biscuit; there is not much excitement in it. The location of the biscuit gives us even more insight into the monologue. The biscuit is pushed away, shoved beneath the settee. It is not even under a sofa, which would give a more comfortable sounding effect. The biscuit is forgotten about, neglected and nobody really cares about it. It is cast aside, and unappreciated. The effect of the title is even quite depressing to think about. Being a cream cracker under the settee is not a situation anybody would like to be in.
When presented with the title, I had a suspicion that the biscuit didn't really have an important role in the play. That it was just minor part in the bigger picture. The other interpretation was that it was a simile, a way of describing Doris. When given the name, Doris, as the leading character at the beginning of the play, an image of the appearance, personality and particularly age is immediately formed in our minds. This person is obviously a female, and we expect a fairly old lady around sixty or seventy as nowadays, Doris is not particularly fashionable name for younger, or even middle aged people (we later find out that her exact age is seventy five). This is all we can deduct from the name of the character.
Alan Bennett has left a few hints in the script so that the audience can work out the rough location of the setting. It is obviously set in England, at least Britain. We are able to deduct this from Doris' northern accent. There are also a few clues in the north country dialect used in her speech. One example is the word 'sneck' in line 41 and the phrase 'swill the flags' in the third paragraph (meaning scrub the pavement). A sneck is an informal word, used to refer to the latches on the outside gate. While Zuleema is trying to convince Doris that retirement homes are not such a bad place to be, she mentions 'They go on trips to Wharfdale.' Wharfdale is a town in Yorkshire, therefore revealing the specific area of the northern country. There are also small indications in Doris' monologue that inform the audience of her age, although we are told near the beginning anyway. The fact that she has an ewbank, something many people will not have heard of let alone own, informs us that she is an old age pensioner. We can also identify her age, when she is describing the fashions and what she wore when she was younger- ' She made me a little jersey costume I used to wear with my tan court shoes.' She uses the word 'frock' instead of dress, and 'wireless' instead of radio.
It is not only the terms that Doris uses, but also the content of the speech. She talks of when she and Wilfred were in the good old days, and they'd have, tea, read the paper, eat toffees and listen to the radio. This was her idea of a perfect afternoon, however, among couples nowadays; the thought of doing these activities to relax is extinct. As Doris recalls conversations she has had in the past. It is interesting that when telling us about them, Doris repeats them almost word for word. This lets us know that she remembers the discussions clearly. If has the effect that Doris is conjuring the other person is talking about.
The play begins with Doris sitting on the floor of the living room in an awkward position, showing that she is injured. Doris shifts around and fidgets while talking, taking the photo frame in her hand and finding the biscuit. She manages to literally drag herself into the hallway where she can call for help. And she is then back in the sitting room. The change of settings displays her situation deteriorating. The lighting also gets dimmer as the day goes by. The lights are not turned on, so as it gets darker outside, there is no light ...
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The play begins with Doris sitting on the floor of the living room in an awkward position, showing that she is injured. Doris shifts around and fidgets while talking, taking the photo frame in her hand and finding the biscuit. She manages to literally drag herself into the hallway where she can call for help. And she is then back in the sitting room. The change of settings displays her situation deteriorating. The lighting also gets dimmer as the day goes by. The lights are not turned on, so as it gets darker outside, there is no light inside, except for a steak through the window which may symbolize hope for her. This gives the feeling of more stress and tension for Doris. Throughout the play, we are taken through events in her lifetime, so that we get a built up picture of how she lived, things important to her, what she has learned through her experiences and her opinions on different matters. This means that we are clear on her personality, and can expect how she might react about a situation. These flashbacks are not visual, only verbally told by Doris.
The first impression we get of Doris is that she is a sweet old lady who is just a little stubborn but in a weak position. She is lonely, and has no company besides Zuleema, with whom she doesn't get on with anyway and is forlorn. After all, the situation isn't her fault, she can't help her position. So we start to feel sorry for her and pity her for having to put up with Zuleema. We feel compassionate towards her. Doris only feels threatened by Zuleema and her intimidating remarks about Stafford House. She is under pressure to fight for the right to independence and be allowed to stay in her own home.
However, Doris' personality develops into one that is critical of practically everything.
The two characters who are really play a major role, and have quite an impact on Doris' life, are her husband Wilfred and carer, Zuleema. They are frequently mentioned as Doris recalls events during her lifetime. They are also the people that know Doris best.
Her late husband, Wilfred, who she sometimes refers to as 'Dad', was the closest person to her. No other family is acknowledged. Wilfred had unfortunately died, but we are not told how, or how long ago. Doris has never forgotten him though; she remembers every detail of their time together. I would say that Doris was definitely the most dominant in the relationship. Wilfred got little say as to what went on. Although he had many refreshing ideas, only a few got through, and many were rejected. The pram in the newspaper, and the bush in the garden were only a few of his plans that actually materialized, and even these needed some persuasion.
We soon learn of Doris' pregnancy, and how she miscarried her child. Wilfred was a lively character, and Doris depicts him as if he were a child. She has very patronising behaviour towards him, and acts as if she has to manage and control him to make sure that he doesn't get into any mischief, although he is her own husband, theoretically, her equal. There are some vital issues in the play that Doris complains about Wilfred. These include his disorganisation, which is understandable, his need for a bush in the garden, the dog, growing mushrooms in the cellar, making toys and the allotment. These are all life-giving things, that is what Wilfred's personality is about. He is creative, and likes doing activities life enhancing and is full of energy. Doris, however, along with her negative attitude is what blocks Wilfred from doing anything like this. She creates a barrier, as she links life with dirt, and hygiene is the only concern she has. This link may have been established after the miscarriage, we do not know whether Doris has been like this all her life. John was not allowed to be dirty, so nothing else is.
Hygiene and cleanliness have always been a priority of Doris'. They always come first. a decision is never settled, or action taken without hygiene being considered. It is also often used as an excuse to limit Wilfred's visionary imagination on a number of occasions. The death of their child may be result of Doris' treatment of Wilfred. She may have maternal affections built up inside of her, and expresses them to Wilfred by patronising him, to make up for the child they lost. Only she expresses her love in the wrong way. She grudgingly allows an evergreen bush in the garden, although she would prefer concrete despite it being unattractive and original. She complains of the leaves, which shows that she cares about other people think of her and her reputation. In my opinion, Doris is rather a selfish woman, who cares for nothing other than her own needs, and doesn't really bring Wilfred's opinion into it. She talks condescendingly about him, and portrays him as something that she has to tolerate. She doesn't value him as a person. Doris is self-seeking in the way that every idea Wilfred has is silly, trivial and must be clean. He is not really allowed to think for himself. I can imagine Doris and Wilfred in their younger years. Doris being the typical bossy, overbearing wife, always nagging at her husband, who dreads her moods, but continues to try and make a good life for her.
I also find that Doris tends to exaggerate events, such as threatening to use the cream cracker as evidence to get rid of Zuleema. Doris manages to constantly bring sanitation and cleanliness into the conversation, whatever the case, never forgetting to emphasize its importance. One of the things that Doris talks about is when she miscarried John. The nurse attending to Doris wasn't sensitive or sympathetic and made the baby out to be some thing that was dirty and messy. It seems that Doris got no support from Wilfred either. During the pregnancy, Doris must have made a tremendous effort to prepare everything (such as the pram), so that the child could be bought up in the right sort of environment. Each thing would have to be sterilised, so it would be safe for the baby, however the midwife contradicted this. Doris may have felt the need to continue this routine as her own way of handling the situation, and become obsessed.
Zuleema reflects all of the prejudice that Doris has about other groups of people. Doris resents Zuleema for having to rely on her and not having the independence. To clean the house for herself. The fact that Zuleema is from a different ethnic group (we can tell this from her name) only provokes more resentment and grudge on Doris' part. Zuleema is made out to be a patronising person who has no respect for the elderly, and tries to be an authoritarian. She sounds intimidating as she constantly threatens Doris with mentions of Stafford House. Doris simply reacts with cheeky or sarcastic comments, letting us know that she is not bothered and knows that Zuleema is just trying to influence her. Although there is regret and I suspect anxiety in her tone of voice. Doris doesn't want to be stuck in a place where she will treated with irreverence. She has unfounded impressions of the home, which are based on nothing, no experiences. This is very exasperating as she is throwing false accusations at Zuleema about going 'daft' in the place.
Zuleema
A lot has changed since her time, however Doris is convinced that society has taken a turn for the worse. She has a very negative attitude towards today's youth. She stereotypes them. Doris makes no effort at all to try and socialize with the neighbours. She tends to keep herself to herself in the neighbourhood where she lives and doesn't make a single effort to get to know the neighbours. She uses the excuse that 'folks started to come and go. You lose track' she cannot keep up with who's moved in where, but it is also her prejudice which prevents her from doing so. The Marsdens and their 'funny daughter' Yvonne were the only neighbours that she knew anything about. Remarks that she makes such as 'I don't think they're married half of them', and 'they come in the garden and behave like animals' proves that she is influenced and is prejudging the young couples. The younger generation does not have any morals or manners, and youth ethics are declining. Doris, however longs for the days 'When the people were clean and the streets were clean and you could walk down the street and the folks smiled and passed the time of day','all them years ago when we were first married and I was having the baby.'
This gives another reason as to why Doris likes everything hygienic. Doris associates cleanliness with the past, and wants to keep things that way. She is nostalgic for her golden past, she cannot resist looking back at the 'good old days' in coloured spectacles. Doris refuses to admit that there have been some positive changes since her time. Her pessimistic perceptions of today's society have led her into her present situation. She has bought this on herself. Doris complains that she does not get any 'bona fide callers', however shouldn't really contemplate any visitors, when she doesn't make the effort to meet anyone who would find it worthwhile to come and see her. Therefore she is a hypocrite, as she complains about matters in which she can help improve the situation, but is too stubborn to attempt to. She wants to find everything her own way. She wants to be left alone in her own home, unlimited by rules, but knowing full well that there are some things she is not competent of doing.
Doris is a character who I think that I wouldn't get on with. One reason is because of her constant complaints; I do agree that her longing to be fully independent is a healthy thing, that she doesn't want to have to rely on anybody at all. However, I do dispute that her being stubborn and refusing to accept help when she knows she needs it does not help her situation. I agree with Zuleema's advice to Doris, 'But, Doris, you've got to meet them half-way. You're seventy-five. Pull your horns in.'
This could also be seen as an admirable quality in Doris' character trait, however. Instead of calling her stubborn, is to say that she is strong, courageous and determined to fight social services, and wanting to keep her pride. Doris is standing up for herself and not being bullied into going to the home, rather than rolling over meekly and succumbing to Stafford House, where she will be treated like a boring, dull, slow pensioner. In her mind, remaining in her own home will keep her sanity
Doris does have another praiseworthy quality, which makes it more tolerant to get on with her. This is her sense of humour. She is quite a witty woman and makes a few jokes during the monologue, many of which are sarcastically directed. While complaining about the callers who not genuine, Jehovah's witnesses that knocked on her door, she comments on them leaving the gate open. 'Love God and close all gates.' She means that they go around to other people's houses preaching but do not even have the decency to shut the gate after leaving the house! Where are their manners? This is plain hypocrisy. The two subjects are completely unrelated, so it seems ironic that she manages to link them in such a way, yet this remark is in line with her sarcastic disapproving character. Another comment in which her sarcastic sense of humour shows through is 'Have to have a surreptitious go with the Ewbank.' The sarcasm is funny as she is going against Zuleema's wishes, but knows only too well that it is impossible to even get up, let alone sneak around cleaning. The idea is absurd, and the thought of deliberately annoying Zuleema in that way is hilarious. Doris mocks the other residents of Stafford House, and people in retirement homes in general. There is no 'real' humour here, it is just the tone she uses, and the words she uses which makes it comical. I think Doris does this as a sort of 'defence system' she has. By saying these things, she seems superior because she doesn't want to join them. She claims that you lose sanity there, although she has never had experience of one. Doris makes herself believe it, so that she feels better about herself in the situation she is in at present. She then goes on to entertain us with the thought of not being able to report to the authorities because she has 'destroyed the evidence' in other words, eaten the cream cracker she found under settee.
There comes a dramatic change towards the end of the performance, where Doris is presented with a choice. She can choose between life and death. For the first time another character is introduced and a dialogue takes place. The boy in the garden and the person delivering the leaflet have come to her door, but she didn't realise she had a chance to get help before it was too late. The policeman's role corresponds with life. If she confesses her situation and asks him for help, she will be fine, and obtain support, and then recover from her fall fine. However, she may risk having to go to Stafford House, because they will have found out that she is not fully capable of looking after herself and needs professional care. Doris is not willing to be put into a home, therefore takes the option to remain helpless, but in her own home, where she would comfortable and content. She is reluctant and hesitant to reply to the policeman's call, but sends him away, knowing that she will not last much longer. But in doing this, she remains true to her stubborn nature, and perceives her fate. After all, her death will only be another paragraph in the local paper. Just another unfortunate pensioner found that has passed away alone during the night. The conversation is brief, but enough to convince him that Doris is all right and not hurt. Although, it sounds like she regrets the decision soon after.
As the light fades at the end of the performance, the audience is left with quite a melancholy feeling. The light fading is significant, as it represents her death. We are not really anticipating this, but even when we know what will happen next, we still want to find out what happened when her body is discovered. This dramatic effect is very simple, yet moving and emphatic.
