Analyzing Hwang's The Sound Of A Voice

Analyzing “The Sound of a Voice” The play “The Sound of a Voice”, written by David Henry Hwang, is a very moving work of art. The play is easily understood but does throw a few surprises into the mix when one learns more about the characters past. There are not very many scenes and the whole play takes place in the woman’s home where she lives alone. Although the play is fairly simple, it has a great theme, an exciting plot, and very interesting characters. The theme of “The Sound of a Voice” can be fairly complicated to understand at first. I believe the theme to be that of loneliness and the fear of love. This is because each character seems to have an increasing desire for one another but refrains from their desires due to the fear
The woman in the play is very lonely and rarely gets visitors, so she is very willing to let a stranger into her home just to hear a voice. A review by Kurt Brighton in the Denver Post hints that the theme is that of an overwhelming fear of affection between the two characters because of a previous experience which caused them pain. Kurt says,
“The man and woman are both so restrained, so choked up and self-silencing with fear of what might happen should they open themselves to another that they aren 't even able to provide their true names, wishing to retain their mystery and aloofness.” (Brighton) The plot in “The Sound of a Voice” is very exciting filled with many surprises that change one’s outlook on the character and the acts taking place. Looking into the plot of this play the layout of the scenes are very simple but as the play goes on we learn more and more about the characters which can make one question previous assumptions. The play changes from two strangers meeting and see something in each other that makes them want to stay together, to a man who came to kill a witch and a woman who can’t stand to be alone any
The man who was supposed to be just a traveler turns out to be someone searching for a witch who lives in the woods. The woman becomes a mysterious character and the reader will question as to whether or not the man has found the witch he was looking for. Adam Goldstein gives a great view of how the story unfolds between the newly discovered characters. He writes
“The weight of both characters ' fears and foibles grow, and eventually becomes the unseen, unavoidable villain of the piece. A human connection is spoiled by its constant sway. It quashes the comfort and happiness of love, with a heartbreaking effect.” The heartbreaking effect symbolizes the tragic death of the woman at the end. (Goldstein) The play “The Sound of a Voice” turned out to be a very complex love story between a man searching for a witch and a mysterious woman tired of loneliness. The play ends in tragedy when the woman cannot handle being left alone by another visitor and takes her own life. I was immediately sucked into the play because of the mystery behind the characters and was truly surprised as to how the play ended up playing out. Anyone who writes this play off as being “just another love story” didn’t truly understand the