Genre
Drama
Language
English
Setting and Context
The action of the play takes place inside an impersonal office.
Narrator and Point of View
There is no narrator and no point of view in the play. The events are presented from the point of view of every character through their dialogue.
Tone and Mood
The tone used in the play is a neutral one.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is the young woman and the antagonist is her mother and the man asking her hand in marriage.
Major Conflict
The major conflict is between the machines and humanity.
Climax
The play reaches its climax when the young woman marries George and they are on their honeymoon. In this moment the young woman realizes she can no longer have any real hope for the future.
Foreshadowing
The criticism the young woman receives when she enters the office in the first act foreshadows the criticism she will later have to endure from her own mother.
Understatement
In the beginning of the fourth act, the young woman appears to be extremely happy while holding her new baby in her arms. The author transmits through this initial image that for a woman, being a mother is the most important thing to be and which will bring the person immense happiness. This is, however, an understatement because, at the end of the scene, the young woman falls into a deep depression.
Allusions
The main allision in the play is the idea that marriage affects a person's freedom to the point where it becomes non-existent.
Imagery
One of the most important images in the play takes place in the fourth act when the young woman is identified as having the name Helen. She begins to have a conversation with a man who admits to murdering another person but instead of getting scared, Helen is seduced by him. The reason why this scene is important is that Helen is portrayed here for the first time as an independent woman capable of taking control of her own destiny and with the power to pursue happiness.
Paradox
A paradoxical idea is the way in which the young woman ponders about accepting the marriage proposition even though she knows marriage will not bring her happiness and will only make her life miserable for the rest of her life.
Parallelism
A parallelism can be drawn between the young woman and her mother when it comes to their views about marriage. This parallel has the purpose of showing the difference between the two points of view and also the difference between the two generations.
Personification
We have a personification in the line "the machines came to life and talked to one another".
Use of Dramatic Devices
The dramatic device used in this play is the dramatic monologue. The character who delivers these monologues is the young woman who is the main character in the play. Through these monologues, the reader has access to the character's inner thoughts and is also able to
