Summary
“What about Bill?” asks Karen. Margo tells her that she wants Bill to love her, but she wants to be loved for herself, not just because she’s “Margo Channing.” “And if I can’t tell them apart, how can he?” she says. Karen tries to comfort Margo, reminding her that Bill is only 8 years younger than her, but Margo is sure that Bill will lose interest in her. Margo then says to Karen that she thinks she has been pretty horrible to Eve as well. She reveals that she’s been jealous of Eve because Eve is so young and feminine, before thinking about the sacrifices she’s made, “It’s funny, a woman’s career. The things you drop on your way up so you can move faster. You forget you’ll need them again when you get back to being a woman.” Karen looks at Margo as she laments the difficult plight of being a woman who wants to be feminine and also have a career. Margo laments that all that really matters in a woman’s life is the love of a man, that without that she is not really a woman. Karen looks upset and has tears in her eyes, and apologizes to Margo for the car breaking down. Margo doesn’t understand and doesn’t think anything of it. “After all, you didn’t personally drain the gasoline tank yourself,” Margo says, but from Karen’s expression, we can tell that that’s exactly what she did.
Karen’s “prank” was making the car break down so that Eve would have the chance to go on as Margo’s understudy. We see backstage at the theater as Addison narrates in voiceover, “Eve, of course, was superb. Many of the audience understandably preferred to return another time to see Margo. But those who remained cheered loudly, lustily and long for Eve. How thoughtful of her to call and invite me that afternoon.” We see Addison walking to the stagedoor as he tells us that several other newspaper representatives were invited that afternoon to an “understudy’s performance about which the management knew nothing until they were forced to ring up the curtain at 9 o’clock.” Addison approaches Eve’s dressing room, and catches the end of a conversation she is having with Bill, in which he tells her “with work and patience, you’ll be a good actress if you want to be.” Eve asks him, “Is that what you want me to be?” When he tells her that it’s not up to him, she begs to differ. “What have I got to do with it?” he asks, to which she responds, “Everything.” Bill laughs off Eve’s desire for him to want things for her career, wishes her “good luck.”
Addison remains in the hall unseen by Eve and Bill, and hides himself a bit to continue eavesdropping. “Don’t run away, Bill,” Eve says to Bill. “You’re always after truth on the stage. What about off?” she asks him seductively. She then reminds him of the first night that they met in this dressing room, during which Bill told her that whatever she became, it would be because of him. “I’m in love with Margo, hadn’t you heard?” Bill says to Eve, but she doesn’t back down. Eve has piqued his curiosity, but he wants her to know one thing: “What I go after I want to go after. I don’t want it to come after me.” Eve looks insulted and walks away, dejected and humiliated. Bill leaves, urging her to “just score it as an incomplete forward pass.” Eve is angry and tears off her wig, when suddenly Addison knocks on the door. Eve is startled, but puts on a charming smile for a member of the press.
Addison compliments her on her performance, but Eve shrugs off his words, insisting, “one pretty good performance by an understudy, it’ll be forgotten tomorrow.” When Addison insists that that doesn’t have to be the case, that she could be more bold and self-promotional, Eve tells him that she’s “less than nobody.” Addison simply says, “I’m somebody,” as Eve goes into the next room. Addison invites her to dinner and tells her that he wants to write a column about her. He rattles off the things that make Eve interesting: “Your home in Wisconsin, your tragic marriage, your fanatical attachment to Margo.” When he asks if Eve’s “idolatry of Margo” began when she was in San Francisco,” Eve is silent in the next room, but eventually begins answering his questions. An interview of sorts begins, as Eve gets changed from her costume. She tells him her husband’s name and the name of the theater where she first saw Margo, before telling him she’s getting in the shower and pausing the interview. Addison asks Eve where she wants to go to dinner, but she urges him to take charge, to which he agrees.
The scene shifts to the next day and we hear Karen in voiceover say, “Some morning papers carried a squib about Eve’s performance. Not much, but full of praise. I couldn’t imagine how they’d found out about it, but Lloyd said Max’s publicity man probably sent out the story.” We see Karen getting out of a car as she narrates how guilty she feels about the prank she played on Margo in order to get Eve onstage in her place. Karen goes into a restaurant where she’s meeting Margo for lunch, “just like girlfriends, with hats on.” Inside, Karen runs into Eve, whom she compliments on her praise for the understudy performance. “She was magnificent,” Addison says, turning around to speak to Karen. Eve tells Karen that she and Addison are having lunch with a movie talent scout, but Addison assures Eve that she isn’t going to Hollywood. When Addison finds out that Karen is lunching with Margo, Addison tells her that Margo “might be later than you think,” grabs a newspaper and brings it to Karen urging her to “read my column to pass the time.”
Karen takes the newspaper as Eve and Addison go to meet the talent scout. Sitting down, Karen reads the article, which causes her some alarm. After only a few moments of reading the article, Karen stands and leaves the restaurant. The scene shifts abruptly to Margo’s apartment, where Margo reads the article aloud. In the article, Addison writes that Eve is a breath of fresh air in a theater in which “mature actresses…continue playing roles requiring a youth and vigor of which they retain but a dim memory.” Margo is livid, and when Karen expresses surprise that Eve said those things, she yells, “In this rat race, everyone is guilty until proven innocent. One of the differences between the theater and civilization!” Of all the things that perplex Margo about the situation, she is most surprised that all of the critics happened to show up for the understudy performance, and deduces that Eve must have invited them. Margo becomes more and more upset, threatening to get her lawyer involved, when suddenly Bill runs in. “I came as soon as I read that piece of filth. I ran all the way,” he says. Margo begins weeping and Bill runs to her, hugging her close to him. Karen excuses herself, smiling at Bill, and leaves the couple alone.
We see Karen and Lloyd drinking coffee at a breakfast table and discussing the article. Lloyd insists that Addison took advantage of Eve and changed her words, but Karen is dubious. “Where’d you get all that information?” Karen asks, and Lloyd informs her that Eve was just over there talking with him, that Karen just missed her. Lloyd stands and tells her that Eve had been crying very hard, and Karen looks skeptical. Looking out the window, Lloyd abruptly changes the subject and tells Karen that he wants to mount his next play, Footsteps on the Ceiling, sooner rather than later, and suggesting that maybe Eve should be in it. Seeing Karen’s skepticism, Lloyd insists that Eve only mentioned the play, but would never “have the nerve” to ask to play it. Karen begs to differ, saying, “Eve would ask Abbott to give her Costello.” When Lloyd doesn’t back down on his intention to cast Eve, Karen becomes livid, calling Eve a “little worm” and scolding her husband for suggesting that casting Margo in his plays has been a compromise. When Lloyd challenges what he perceives as Karen’s cynicism she acquired “ever since [she] left Radcliffe,” Karen exclaims, “That cynicism you refer to I acquired the day I discovered I was different from little boys.”
Suddenly the phone rings. It’s Margo, who wants Karen and Lloyd to meet her and Bill at the Cub Room after the play that evening. After hanging up, Lloyd assures Karen that he didn’t promise Eve anything, that he told Eve that she wanted Margo for the part, and that he wouldn’t offer Eve the role without her approval. Karen smiles cryptically and says, “That’s fine and dandy. Just refer all Eve Harrington’s future requests to me.” The scene shifts to the Cub Room and we see Bill, Margo, Lloyd and Karen sharing a bottle of champagne. Bill is toasting Margo’s performance that evening, saying that it was truly singular and spectacular. “I was good,” Margo admits, as Lloyd tells them that Eve has given her notice to leave the show. Bill then delivers a toast before they drink the champagne, announcing that he is engaged to Margo. Bill tells them that they plan to meet at City Hall the next morning. Margo and Bill joke about their plans to marry, Margo saying that she plans to wear a “fur coat over a nightgown.” Bill invites Lloyd and Karen to come along, which they are delighted about. Lloyd raises a toast, “To each of us and all of us—never have we been more close. May we never be farther apart.”
They drink as a waiter brings a note over for Karen. As Lloyd makes jokes that it’s from Karen’s lover, Karen is indignant as she realizes the note is from Eve, and she passes it to Margo. Margo reads it aloud; Eve wants Karen to meet her in the ladies' room immediately. Bill makes a joke that Eve is now an understudy in the bathroom, as Margo spots Addison sitting at a nearby table. Lloyd tells Karen that maybe Eve wants to apologize, but Karen insists, “I have no possible interest in anything she might have to say.” Her companions, however, insist that she go and find out what Eve has to say; they are curious what scheme she’s hatched now. Karen goes, passing by Addison’s table without saying a word. As Addison stands and raises a glass to Margo’s table, Margo picks up some food and bites off the top of it aggressively.
In the restroom, Karen finds Eve sitting on a sofa. “I don’t expect you to be pleasant,” Eve says, to which Karen responds, “I won’t be.” Eventually Karen sits down and Eve tells her a long rambling story about getting an anesthetic as a girl and saying things she didn’t mean. She compares the experience to her interview with Addison. “Suddenly you’re not saying what you mean, but what he means,” Eve says. Karen is unmoved, and Eve tells her that she’s been “told off all over town,” that Margo’s friends are very loyal. Karen then asks Eve how her meeting with the man from Hollywood went, and Eve says that it was vague and not very promising. Karen then tells Eve, “Don’t underestimate him. You have a powerful friend in Addison.” Eve hates to hear it, and tells Karen that Addison is not her friend, that Karen and Margo were her friends, but she’s lost them. “I want him to be dead!” Eve says of Addison, despondent. Somewhat moved by Eve’s sadness, Karen comforts her, reminding her that “nothing is forever in the theater,” and not to worry about what other people think. Before she leaves, Karen offers to help Eve if she needs it. “There is something,” Eve says, looking up with a glint in her eye. Karen knows that Eve wants her to give Lloyd permission to cast her as the lead in his new play. Karen can hardly believe it, and says, “After all you've said. Don’t you know that part was written for Margo?” Eve grabs Karen’s hand firmly and says, “It might’ve been 15 years ago. It’s my part now.”
Karen realizes now just how heartless and opportunistic Eve is, as Eve clutches her hand and informs her, “Cora is my part. You’ve got to tell Lloyd it’s for me.” When Karen refuses, Eve tells her that Addison wants her to play the part and that he knows that Karen had a part in making sure that Margo missed the performance so that Eve would have to go on as the understudy. “It’s quite a story. Addison could make quite a thing of it. Imagine how snide and vicious he could get, and still tell nothing but the truth,” Eve snarls at Karen. As Karen sits down, Eve threatens that she will have Addison publish the story about Karen’s betrayal of Margo if Karen does not agree to let Lloyd cast Eve in his new play. “A simple exchange of favors. I’m so happy I can do something for you at long last,” Eve says. Karen looks distraught as Eve imagines what would happen to Karen and Lloyd if news of Karen’s disloyalty got out. “You’d do all that just for a part in a play,” Karen says. Eve simply responds, “I’d do much more for a part that good,” and leaves.
Back at their table, Eve tells Addison that she and Karen had a nice talk. Eve lies to Addison and tells him, “Oddly enough she didn’t say a word about Margo! Just that she’ll be happy to do what she can to see that I play it.” Addison is surprised to hear that it was so easy. Addison suggests that Eve is keeping something from him, but she assures him, “I confide in you and rely on you more than anyone I’ve ever known.” Addison responds, “We have a great deal in common it seems to me,” as Karen emerges from the ladies' room looking stricken. When her companions ask her what happened, Karen tells them that she simply apologized and downs her champagne. Margo turns to Bill and asks him for a wedding present: that everyone “shut up about Eve.” Margo tells her friends and her fiancé that she is very happy, that she is delighted to be out in public, with all eyes on her. Addison and Eve leave the restaurant, as Margo meditates on how evil her nemesis is. “Do you know why I forgive Eve? She left good behind,” says Margo, referencing a line in a play she once did, and celebrating the fact that Eve’s evil deeds have brought their group of friends back together and catalyzed her engagement to Bill.
After relishing her imminent marriage to Bill, Margo makes a confession: she doesn’t want to play Cora in Lloyd's new play (the part that Eve just blackmailed Karen to procure). When Karen puts up a fight, Margo insists that it’s not right “for a foursquare, upright, downright, forthright, married lady.” Lloyd asks her what her marriage has to do with it, and she tells him that her marriage to Bill means that she “finally [has] a life to live.” As Margo assures Lloyd that she’s willing to tour with the other play, Karen begins hysterically laughing at the absurdity of the whole situation. When they ask her what’s so funny, she tells them, through giggles, “Everything! Everything’s so funny!” Margo takes her glass away from her, confused, as Karen continues to guffaw.
Analysis
This is the first time we see the vulnerable side of Margo. For so much of the movie she has been an unpredictable and moody protagonist, loud, theatrical, and flamboyantly paranoid that her influence is slipping. At the start of this section, when she sits in the car with Karen while Lloyd goes to investigate a way to get to the train station, Margo reveals her insecurities, confiding to Karen about her crisis of identity, her fear of being abandoned by her younger husband, and her sense that she is only beloved because of her fame as the actress Margo Channing, not for who she is. This moment is an uncharacteristically vulnerable one for Margo, one of the first moments that she admits her mistakes and tries to repent for them. She is not exactly warm or feeling in this moment. Rather, Margo carries her fears and worries with a world weary resignation, staring straight ahead in the car, never looking at Karen, puffing on a cigarette, and making pronouncements with the same authority she always has. The difference now, however, is that she is not flailing to keep control; this is a moment of stillness, in which she simply tells a friend that she is afraid and lost.
Margo’s stance on the nature of womanhood is revealing about her worldview. While she has spent so much of the film being a strong working woman who makes the necessary sacrifices for a life on the stage and doesn’t mind ruffling some feathers along the way, here she tells Karen that she thinks that these sacrifices have taken her away from “being a woman.” The job of “being a woman,” she says, is the most fundamental career of a woman’s life, and a huge part of that is having a man to be with. In other moments in the film, Margo has been a ferociously independent woman, who barely needs the support and help of the men in her life. Indeed, she resents many of them for trying to hem her in or discredit her work as an actress—“a body and a voice”—but here she posits that women are nothing without men. She says, “And, in the last analysis, nothing is any good unless you can look up just before dinner or turn around in bed - and there he is. Without that, you're not a woman. You're something with a French provincial office or a - a book full of clippings, but you're not a woman.” It seems as though Margo can only vacillate between two sharply contrasting ends of the spectrum, but has a difficult time seeing the middle ground. She can only feel utterly independent or utterly helpless, depending on the moment.
While Margo shows her more vulnerable colors in this section of the film, apologizing for her behavior and confiding her deep fears in a close friend, Eve shows herself to be less vulnerable than originally imagined, a sly and conniving striver intent on getting her way. On the afternoon that she goes on for Margo Channing, she opportunistically invites a number of journalists to see her, hoping that they might write something that will catapult her to fame. Not only that, but without Margo there and her relationship to Bill on the rocks, Eve becomes increasingly aggressive with Bill, both artistically and sexually. When she asks if he wants her to be a good actress, he insists, “I’m talking about you and what you want,” but she cannot separate her desires from his, saying only, “So am I.” While she has been a demure character, wanting to be involved but not step on toes, with Margo out of the picture Eve becomes a more beguiling presence, seducing Bill with her submission to his authority as her director and as a man. She not only wants him to orchestrate her career, to make her a star, but to admit his attraction to her. Additionally, she reveals her true colors most explicitly when she asks for the private meeting with Karen in the ladies' room at the Cub Room. With a ruthless hunger in her eyes, she tells Karen that she wants the part promised to Margo, that it’s hers, and that Margo is over the hill. It turns out that Margo’s intuitions and accusations were correct all along after all.
A major catalyst in encouraging Eve’s more aggressive approach to her own professional ascension is the cynical and voyeuristic Addison DeWitt. After watching the entire scene between Eve and Bill take place unseen from the shadows, Addison enters Eve’s dressing room and begins plotting how to help her career. Eve has just pursued the support of Bill very aggressively, but when he denies her, Addison steps in to offer his own influence. “I’m less than a nobody,” Eve says, to which Addison responds, “I’m somebody.” This exchange is less sexually charged than was Eve’s interaction with Bill, and indeed Addison is a kind of sexless narrator figure, his role as critic removing him from the world of actors and directors. His interest in Eve, however, is distinct and strong, and he wants to give the young striver a platform, not just on the strength of her talents, but on the drama of her personal story. When he lists off the things that make Eve interesting—“Your home in Wisconsin, your tragic marriage, your fanatical attachment to Margo”—they are hardly creative or artistic. Rather, they are all good press, revealing details that pique the curiosity of the public. Addison is a theater critic, but he is also a journalist, invested in the theatrical elements of a subject’s life and the exploitation of these elements for a “good story.”
In this section of the film we see Eve’s deception and opportunism reach farther, when it begins to affect Karen and Lloyd’s marriage. Hearing that Eve was just over at their apartment to discuss her regret about the article that Addison wrote, Karen becomes furious. When Lloyd reveals that his meeting with Eve has encouraged him to want to put her in his new play, her anger bubbles up and she becomes livid at the injustice. Karen sees that with Eve’s influence even her own husband has become disloyal to their aging friend, and she cannot believe that he was so easily swayed. In Karen’s view, the difference is a matter of gender: Lloyd is easily swayed by Eve precisely because he is a man, and this realization makes her cynical. When she challenges him, Lloyd suggests that she has been cynical ever since she left Radcliffe. On the contrary, Karen tells him, her cynicism has existed since she “discovered [she] was different from little boys.” Their opposing responses to Eve’s strategic amorality has everything to do with their genders, Karen says, a fact that aligns her even more with Margo, a woman who also feels haunted by the injustices done to women of a certain age.
