The second prop used is a photograph of Doris and her late husband Wilfred on their wedding day. When Doris falls she brings the photograph down with her and it cracks, “We’re cracked, Wilfred.” This symbolises two things to me. Firstly that Doris has broken the photograph and secondly that their marriage was in some way broken or damaged.
The photograph was up high which could suggest two things, that she wants to keep it away from Zulema as it is so precious or that she doesn’t want to be reminded of Wilfred. Even though Doris doesn’t want to be reminded of Wilfred she still keeps the photograph of the two of them which indicates that she can’t let go both literally as she carries it with her and symbolically. Doris speaks to the photograph as if Wilfred is still alive which demonstrates that she is lonely. As each scene changes Doris takes the photograph with her because she fells as if Wilfred is all she has left.
Lastly and most importantly is the cream cracker. The cream cracker is the smallest and mot insignificant of the props as it is only a cream cracker but at the same time it is also a crucial prop because without it the play couldn’t subsist.
When Doris sees the cracker she immediately thinks of Zulema and ways to get rid of her “I’ve only got to send this cream cracker to the Director of Social Services…”
Doris thinks that the cream cracker will get rid of Zulema for good “you’ll be in the unemployment exchange”
Up to the point where Doris finds the cream cracker she appears although humorous at the same time a whining old lady who is obsessed with cleaning. However once the cream cracker is brought into the play Doris begins to reminisce and the audience can see why she has become that character.
Despite the cracker being Doris’ only chance of freedom from Zulema, later in the play the cracker is eaten by Doris. This gives the audience a clue to her condition and how desperate she is for food. This act of irony is significant because Doris has a phobia for dirt and any unhygienic environment. This is an implication that Doris is giving up on both her life and her set ways. She begins to realise that like her life the cream cracker is irrelevant.
‘Go to black’ this signifies the changing of the scene. The stage goes black so that the audience does not see Doris’ struggle to move positions throughout the play. This is to make sure that the audience keep focused on the seriousness of the play. “She cranes up towards the window” Doris is on the floor, she is injured and her condition is worsening. She has nobody present to come to her aid and no means of communication with the outside world.
“She nips her other leg. ‘This ones going numb now.’” This shows that in just a few hours Doris’ condition has worsened.
There is constant antagonism between Doris and Zulema because both women are head strong and set in their ways. Doris has high cleaning standards and Zulema believes that she is in charge of Doris. Doris often feels patronised by Zulema “I don’t want to hear that you’ve been touching the ewbank.” This insinuates that Doris in under Zulema’s order/power like a child. The most powerful phrase is “You’re on trial here.” It suggests that Doris must prove her innocence or she will be sentenced to Stafford house.
Doris loathes Zulema, she proves this when she finds the cream cracker and considers blackmailing Zulema the next time that the Stafford house speech commences.
Doris and Wilfred’s relationship is intricate. Doris and Wilfred loved each other but they were two very different people. Doris is slightly obsessive. Wilfred on the other hand is lax, he gets easily immersed into small projects “Just a craze” is how Doris thought that Wilfred’s opinion of having a baby was.
This was made clear to the audience when Doris was reminiscing about when she had a baby. Doris was broken hearted and she never got over what was said by the midwife “he wasn’t fit to be called anything, and had we any newspaper.” Bennett seems to want to shock the audience. This was implying that the baby was dirty, which could have lead to Doris’ obsession with hygiene. Wilfred however replied with “She saves shoeboxes aswell.” Wilfred doesn’t appear bothered by the fact that his only son was still born. The impression which he gave to Doris was that it was “just another craze.” But did Wilfred really feel that way? Bennett makes the audience wonder whether Wilfred did suffer as much pain as Doris but hid it for Doris’ sake.
After Doris and Wilfred lost the baby their relationship suffered greatly as Doris only recalls the times when she was moaning at Wilfred which is an implication that she didn’t do anything else. We also know that when Doris was pregnant ad the couple were happily married their relationship was a happy one or they wouldn’t chosen to bring a baby into it to make a family, “When we were first married and I was having the baby.”
Doris lives in fear of being sent to Stafford house because she feels that if she goes there then she will lose her independence. She also thinks that the women there are “daft,” and if she goes there then she will too, “there’s nowhere else for you to go but daft.”
Doris is under the impression that the ladies at Stafford house share clothes and “they even mix up your teeth.”
Doris feels that if she were to go to Stafford house then she would be obliged to fraternise when she is an anti-sociable character, “We weren’t gregarious.”
As Doris’ character is 75 years old she was brought up to be very feminine and lady like. This is why Doris uses euphemisms such as “he’s spending a penny.”
“Love God and close all gates.” This is an indication that Doris isn’t religious. Doris believes that religious people are false “It’s hypocrisy.”
Doris talks to herself because she has nobody else to talk to. Because Doris is alone and talking to herself this indicates that she is lonely. This is why the audience feels sorry for her.
Towards the end of the play when Doris is talking about how the world used to be she uses long sentences and for the first time in the play the audience hears a happy part of her life. “…streets were clean and it was all clean and you could walk down the street and folks smiled…” The way in which the long sentences are structured creates a different effect to the rest of the play. If the audience makes a comparison between Doris’ stream of consciousness and the rest of the play, then they will notice that in this particular memory Doris only tells the audience what she was doing. However in the rest of the play Doris puts emotion into her memories.
Doris no longer feels that she is part of modern society. She feels that she is no longer part of a community and she believes that her name is an issue, “They don’t get called Doris now.” She thinks that she is an “antique. Keep them under lock and key.”
At the end of the play when Doris wishes that she was a little child again the audience is forced to empathise with her as everyone has been a child. Doris wants to be clean, loved and looked after. I also think that Doris is disappointed with the way life has turned out for her and she wants to start it over again.
I think that Bennett’s message is that everyone knows a lonely old lady somewhere and this could be her life story. Bennett wants you to be able to empathise with Doris’ character. Bennett makes a serious point in the play but tackles it in a humorous way, he did this because if the play is sad and full of politics then the audience would quickly lose interest in the play.
I found the play interesting to read. I thought that it was well written and wasn’t too long. When I see elderly people struggling I am reminded to the play.
