Research Catalog

The shrike : [a play]

Title

The shrike : [a play] / by Joesph Kramm.

Author

Kramm, Joseph, 1907-1991

Publication

New York : Random House, [1952]
©1952

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Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Text	Use in library	3817.152.385	Off-site

Details

Description

198 pages, 2 unnumbered leaves of plates : illustrations; 21 cm

Summary

The play, set in the mental ward of a city hospital, revolves around a theatrical director named Jim Downs, who has been driven to the verge of insanity and suicide by his estranged wife Ann. To outsiders, Ann seems to epitomize sweetness, kindness and graciousness. In reality, she is a bitter, manipulative shrew. Like the shrike, a small predatory bird that kills and impales its prey, Ann seems harmless but her coercion of Jim incapacitates his free will and traps him under her control. Ann married Jim in hopes that he eventually would gain wealth and stardom, and so his lack of success galls her. Her mockery and nagging led Jim to a suicide attempt when he swallowed a bottle of sleeping pills. The play opens with Jim's being admitted to the hospital, where doctors manage to save his life. Upon waking, Jim discovers that he is legally trapped in the hospital because the psychiatrists deem him a threat to himself and others and are unwilling to release him. Ann regularly visits Jim at the hospital, supposedly to provide comfort and love, but really to continue her hectoring and manipulation of him. She is able to charm the doctors, who usually accede to her wishes and follow her advice as to what is best for Jim. Jim comes to realize that the only way to secure his freedom is by cooperating with Ann, who has exploited the situation to regain power over her husband. In the end, Jim is released into Ann's care, thus moving from one type of prison to another.

Subject

Genre/Form

Drama
Drama.
Théâtre.

LCCN

52007497

OCLC

ocm00851840
851840
SCSB-830119

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library