‘Men Should Weep’ - The Exploration of ThemesComparing the openings of Act One and Act Three

Act One (pp1-4) Act Three (pp51-7)

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Overcrowding, with no privacy and little comfort - established immediately with the description of the kitchen, with the bed recess, nappies drying over the fire, clutter and the presence of three generations living so closely together.

The family seems to be leading a better life, money has been brought into the house. The house is ‘clean and tidy’ and the atmosphere

is positive and festive alongside the characters’ moods which are the same. The

music is festive and there is a sense of enthusiasm and excitement for Christmas and

an overall feeling of contentment.

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We first see Maggie hanging out of the window, shouting at the children outside, while also dealing with Granny’s needs and then those of the children, behind the curtain. These attempts to assert some sort of control over the people she is responsible for are the pattern for Maggie’s struggle throughout the play.

The plight of Granny, infirm and homeless (if it were not for the care of the family who struggle to look after her), is shown in her sitting ‘whining and rocking’, ‘setting up a terrible wail’, while her sudden and random singing emphasises her confusion.

Edie, though only eleven, is already taking on many family responsibilities. She is dressed in cast-off clothes, messy and skinny. We can see their impoverished diet: sugar and carbohydrate –based, even for the baby.

Maggie herself moves between various family needs, except when she ‘sinks into a chair and sighs, then yawns widely’: her exhaustion is clear.

“Maggie, in a new dress, is bustling in and out” – The word ‘bustling’ tells us that she is still trying to control her household energetically however this word has connotations of energy – it tells us her mood is different and she is not as exhausted as in Act 1. She also has a ‘new dress’ suggests they may not be struggling as much with money as in Act 1.

“The kitchen is clean and tidy” – shows that Maggie has more control over her house.

Ernest has new football boots

“John comes in looking happy and confident” He is wearing a “smart collar and tie” – this shows that John has managed to find a job which has obviously had an impact on his mood – he is now ‘confident’ and ‘happy’ whereas before he was feeling depressed about his lack of work and his inability to support his family.

Plot

Maggie is trying simultaneously to get Granny to bed and her younger children in, fed and ready for bed. We learn that Granny has no home of her own but goes between Maggie and Lizzie, both daughters-in-law, and the Lizzie is reluctant to take her. Maggie clearly is struggling to deal with the various family needs and is in a muddle. She has not time for herself. A ‘brisk knock’ announces the arrival of Lily.

It is Christmas Eve, John arrives home to take Ernest shopping for a ball (to go with the boots). John buys Maggie a new red hat – thought to be too fancy by granny. It symbolises how Jon now want to treat his family after not being able to provide support before. A reminder of the happiness before the hardship. The neighbors have been invited round for cake – shows they have food to spare, festive atmosphere, humour with Ernie.

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tMaggie’s weary struggles are at the centre of this opening (as, indeed, of the whole play). Her impotent shouting at the children, her conversation with Granny (in which there is limited ‘real’ communication) and her threats to Edie and Marina suggest an irritable person, but it is the difficulties in her life that make her so. We sense she is ‘never finished’ and never quite accomplishes anything.

She is exasperated and impatient with Granny and her humour can be cutting: ‘Och, it’s [Granny’s life] been ebbin ever since I met ye; but the tide aye seems to come in again.’

Nonetheless, she shows kindness, agreeing to being Granny tea, with condensed milk, sugar and bread (although this is also a bribe to get her off to bed), and saying, ‘John and me wad never send ye onywhere.’

Granny is pathetic, needy and manipulative. This suggests that the future for women such as her, when their children have grown up, is bleak and insecure.

“Granny smiles now and again” – This shows Granny is delighted to be back in the Morrison household.

Maggie now seems a lot happier and less stressed which is reflected her positive mood and the clean house. “We’re going to have a merry Christmas”. She is in “a new dress” which shows that they may now have money and she’s no longer as tired as she was in Act 1” bustling in and out” – ‘bustling has connotations of energy.

When John comes in looking “happy and confident” – shows he’s feeling more satisfied with his life now and the word ‘confident’ tells us that he no longer sees himself as a failure who cannot provide for his family.

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All of the above emphasises the difficulties of a life of poverty. We can see that the various characters are actually hungry in a way most of us today do not experience.

In the domestic setting this poverty impacts particularly on women, whose life is portrayed as an endless struggle. (Only female characters have appeared so far.)

As Maggie says, ‘If a woman did everything that ought tae be done aboot the hoose, she’d go on a day an a night till she drapped doon deid.’

They have more money to spend and are more comfortable. The neighbors come round for tea and cake which shows they now have food to spare. “Maggie offers tea and piece of Christmas cake”.

That a simple thing like a modest wage can bring such happiness is a social comment in itself. Money =happiness, better relationships.

However, John’s money will not solve the deeper issues, such as Bertie’s illness and the family / marital breakup.