Although Harling has said he wanted his play to "tell the story" of his sister's untimely death, the plot of Steel Magnolias is not a conventional narrative.

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GCSE English

Although Harling has said he wanted his play to "tell the story" of his sister's untimely death, the plot of Steel Magnolias is not a conventional narrative.

In a "story" we are accustomed to seeing the conflicts that arise when characters confront daunting obstacles and make crucial choices in the pursuit of important goals.  In Steel Magnolias, however, the story of Shelby Eatenton-Latcherie--her pursuit of motherhood, the obstacle of her illness, her decision to become pregnant in spite of it, the resulting breakdown in her health--occurs entirely offstage.

So too does the sub-story of Annelle: her troubles with a criminal husband, her re-birth as a Christian zealot, her second marriage and pregnancy.  As with the events in Shelby's life, these critical moments happen elsewhere.  What we see onstage, the incidents that make up the plot of the play, are the reactions of Truvy Jones and her customers to these stories that are unfolding in the outside world.

The action is thus prismatic, the characters filtering and refracting the significant moments in the lives of Shelby and--to a lesser extent--Annelle.  What organizes the play, then, is not narrative momentum, but emotional complexity, the unfolding of a pattern of feeling and friendship that defines this small community of women.

In the first of the play's four scenes, we are introduced to Truvy, to Annelle, her new assistant, and to the four customers who come to the beauty shop in preparation for the upcoming wedding.  We learn that each of these women bears a personal burden: Truvy's husband "hasn't moved from in front of the TV set in fifteen years;" Annelle's husband has deserted her; Clairee's husband has died; and Ouiser, the survivor of marriages to "two total deadbeats," lives alone with only a dog to keep her company.  Shelby, of course, is suffering from diabetes, a fact brought home to everyone on stage when she experiences a sudden fainting spell.  And M'Lynn, Shelby's mother, is not only consumed by worry about her daughter, but is also saddled with an eccentric husband who is trying to drive the birds out of the trees with shotgun blasts.

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We soon see that what each of these women seeks at the beauty shop is not so much a new hairdo as it is comfort from her fellow sufferers in the struggle with the crosses, both silly and serious, that life has forced them to bear.  As the scene draws to a close, an exchange involving Shelby, Truvy, and Annelle, the newcomer to the group, reveals the fundamental nature of life in the salon.  Shelby invites Annelle, whom she has just met, to her wedding:
 

SHELBY. I can't stand the thought of someone being unhappy or alone tonight. ...

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Although Harling has said he wanted his play to "tell the story" of his sister's untimely death, the plot of Steel Magnolias is not a conventional narrative.
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  • Level
    GCSE
  • Subject
    English
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