Theater: Edward Albee's Play - Three Tall Women: Three Perspectives From Three Stages of a Life

In Edward Albee's autobiographical two-act play, Three Tall Women, the protagonist, who is referred to as A, is represented at three different stages of her life.

Three Perspectives From Three Stages of a Life

In the first act, the three women are shown as three separate women:

• A: the protagonist, is a 92 year old woman suffering with dementia and physical challenges 

• B: is A's 52 year old caretaker

• C: is a 26 year old lawyer sent from A's law firm who has come to A's home to help straighten out A's financial matters which are in disarray because A forgets to pay her bills

Act One
The play doesn't really have a plot.  Instead, it has several themes.

The main themes of the play are aging, mortality, gender, and family relationships. These themes are presented in the first act with A reminiscing about when she was young, her relationships with her sister and mother, her relationship with her husband, and the days when she won awards for horseback riding (see my article: Making Peace With the Aging Process).

Even though A struggles with her memory, she talks almost non-stop about her youth and the early days of her marriage.  Even though she wasn't in love with her wealthy husband, she remembers her life as having some happy times, despite her husband's philandering with other women.

A also talks about her son and the conflicts they had about his homosexuality, which led to their 20 year estrangement.  In Act One, even though she is still opposed to her son being gay, she also misses him and wonders why he doesn't come to visit her more often and, when he comes, why he doesn't stay longer (see my article: Dealing With Homophobia in Your Family).

Her caretaker, B, is compassionate, although she is also weary of taking care of A.  She tries to soothe A when she is upset about her faltering memory and her problematic relationship with her son.  But C, the young attorney, is impatient with A.  She gets annoyed with A's vanity when A tries to say she is 91 and not 92.

A reminisces about her mother and how they had a good relationship with when A was a young girl.  But by the time her mother is older and she moves in with A, their relationship changed.  Her mother resents that she is old and frail, and A believes her mother hated and resented her at that point.

By the end of Act One, as A reminisces about those later difficult days with her mother, she has a stroke, and B and C are contact the doctor and A's son.

Act Two
In Act Two, A, B, and C are now aspects of the protagonist--A, at different stages of her life: her youth, her middle-age years, and her final years.

The aspect of A who had the stroke is on her death bed with an oxygen mask, and her son sits silently on the bed next to her stroking her hand.

The aspect of A who is up and walking around is no longer frail or demented.  She has her full faculties and she's talking to the younger aspects of herself, B and C.

C, who is 26, is still optimistic about her life.  She is hoping that the best times in her life are yet to come.  But when she hears B, who is 52, and A, who is 92, tell her about what's to come in her future, she's ambivalent about hearing it.  Part of her wants to know, but another part of her is horrified.  She can't believe that she will change so much between her youth and old age.  She also can't believe that she will alienate her only son later on in her life.  She vows that she will never become like B and A.

B is somewhat jaded about life, but she believes she is living the best part of her life now in her middle age with much of the hardships behind her.  But when she looks at the aspect of A on her death bed and the aspect of A in front of her, who is telling her what's to come in her life, she is also ambivalent about hearing about it.

A watches the aspect of herself lying in a coma on her death bed as her son sits with her--the same son who left and stayed away for 20 years because she couldn't tolerate his homosexuality.  Although he would really be middle aged when she is dying, she sees him as he appeared on the day he left the household when he was a young man.

At the end of the play, A faces the audience and tells them that the best time in her life is now--at the end of her life.  She says that as her life is ending, it's the happiest moment of her life.

Some Thoughts About the Play
As I mentioned, it's generally acknowledged that Three Tall Women is an autobiographical play.  Edward Albee was adopted by a wealthy couple who moved him from one private school to another.  From what I've read, it appears that he wasn't close to his adopted parents, who were so different from him.

Just as the son in Three Tall Women was estranged from his mother for 20 years because she couldn't accept his homosexuality, Edward Albee was also estranged from his mother because of their conflicts about his being gay.

It appears that, even though they reconnected, they never talked about their conflicts, and he wasn't close to his mother.  In the play, A states that he came back to see her, but he never returned to see his father or to attend his father's funeral.

The protagonist's self states from different stages in her life communicate with each other and each provides a unique perspective of A from different points of view in her life.  She is reviewing her life from her youth, middle age and at the end of her life.

Mortality, one of the main themes of this thought-provoking play, is viewed from these different perspectives.

Being in the audience, you can't help think about your life at whatever stage you're in and how you're living your life.  You also become aware that life is short so, while there's still time to change, you can ask yourself how you want to live your life.

About Me
I am a licensed NYC psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR and Somatic Experiencing therapist (see my article: The Therapeutic Benefits of Integrative Psychotherapy).

I work with individual adults and couples.

My specialties include: 

• Trauma
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Relationship issues
• Career issues
• Bereavement and loss
• LGBT issues
• Substance abuse aftercare
• Major life changes

To find out more about me, visit my website: Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist.

To set up a consultation, call me at (917) 742-2624 during business hours or email me.

Denial and Illusions in The Iceman Cometh

Letting go of illusions (or "pipe dreams") is part of the challenge of being a middle-aged adult.  It's usually a time of coming to terms with what's possible, what's not possible and how you want to live the rest of your life (see my articles: Midlife Transitions - Part 1: Reassessing Your Life  and Midlife Transitions - Part 2: Living the Life You Want to Live).  But this is not the case for the characters in Eugene O'Neill's play, The Iceman Cometh, who maintain and reinforce each other's denial and illusions.

Denial and Illusions in The Iceman Cometh

The Play: The Iceman Cometh
Written in 1939 and first published and performed in 1946, O'Neill's play centers around down-on- their-luck alcoholics who spend most of their time at Harry Hope's bar in Manhattan reminiscing about their past and how "one day" they'll regain the lives they once had.

Although the play was written almost 80 years ago, the psychological themes in this play, illusions and denial as a defense against dealing with reality, are timeless.

The Characters in The Iceman Cometh
Each of the characters is bound to his illusion about how he will get back on his feet.  Even though they're all at lowest point in their lives, these illusions and a heavy dose of denial keep them going.

Some of the characters include:

• Harry Hope: The bar owner who hasn't walked outside his bar since his wife died 20 years before.   He maintains the illusion that he has been unable to go outside because he's still grieving for the wife he loved so much.    He believes that, somehow, he will able to go outside again one day and reconnect with his old Tammany Hall friends that he hasn't seen since his wife died.

• Larry Slade: Nicknamed the Foolasopher, he was once part of the US anarchist movement before he became disillusioned with it, believes himself to be done with life and he is waiting to die.  He sees through the illusions of the other characters, but he doesn't see his own illusions.

• Don Parritt: At age 18, he is the youngest character.  He seeks out Larry Slade, Parritt's mother's former lover when they were both part of the anarchist movement.  He confesses to Slade about selling out the movement, which resulted in his mother's incarceration.  Even though he has longstanding resentments against his mother for neglecting him, he tries to convince Slade (and himself) that he didn't know that his mother would be incarcerated.  Eventually, he will face his self deception.

• Pat McGloin: The former police lieutenant, who was fired from the police force, and who believes he will one day get his job back.  

• James Cameron: Nicknamed "Jimmy Tomorrow," he was fired from his job in publicity due to his alcoholism, and he believes he will one day get his job back.

• Joe Mott: The only African American in the play, he once ran his own gambling house, and dreams of the day when he will one day run another gambling house.

The Role of Hickey in Confronting the Others About Their Illusions and Denial
All of the characters are eagerly waiting for Theodore Hickman (nicknamed "Hickey"), a traveling salesman who comes to the bar a few times a year, including on Harry Hope's birthday.  In their eyes, Hickey is a lively, funny and generous guy who tells funny stories and buys them drinks.

But when Hickey finally shows up on Harry Hope's birthday, he is a changed man--much to the shock and dismay of the other characters.

Challenging Illusions and Denial
Not only has he stopped drinking, but he tells them that he has let go of his illusions and that this has freed him.  He challenges the others to let go of their pipe dreams, so they can be free as well.

As someone who knows them well and who is also good at reading and manipulating people, Hickey confronts each character about his particular illusions.

With his forceful and persuasive personality, he gets each character to face his fantasies and fears now instead of continuing to believe that they will do it "one day."

Hickey lets them know that the Old Hickey used to be an alcoholic and a philanderer who regularly cheated on his wife.  He had tremendous guilt because his wife always forgave him.  In the past, he vowed over and over not to hurt her again, to no avail.  But the New Hickey has seen the light.  Rather than feeling guilty and disappointed in himself for continuously hurting his wife, he made changes in his life.

Hickey comes across as someone who has discovered the truth and who is now preaching the "gospel" to the others.  But all the while he is harboring a deep secret.

Of course, none of the characters are able to confront their fears and fantasies, which has served to keep them going.  And as a result, they must each face that they've become like zombies, and life has no meaning for them without their illusions.

Then, Hickey reveals his secret...

The Benefits of Reading The Iceman Cometh
Without giving away the dramatic ending, I believe that The Iceman Cometh is a fascinating play with universal psychological themes.

Although it would be easy to dismiss these characters' stories because they're severe alcoholics who have lost their way, the story highlights how easy it is for anyone to hold onto illusions and the personal repercussions involved.

If you haven't read The Iceman Cometh, I highly recommend that you read it and consider the psychological roles of illusion and denial (see my article: The Benefits of Reading Literature).

About Me
I am a licensed NYC psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR and Somatic Experiencing therapist (see my article: Integrative Psychotherapy).

I work with individual adults and couples.

To find out more about me, visit my website: Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist.

To set up a consultation, call me at (917) 742-2624 during business hours or email me.