The Children's Hour Play Analysis

The Children’s Hour is a play by Lillian Hellman. It is set at the school Martha, her aunt, and Karen run. It begins by showing Mary being punished for coming to class late and lying to Martha’s aunt, Mary then tries to evade trouble by faking heart problems and fainting. Karen’s fiance Joe Cardin is a doctor that comes to treats Mary. Then Martha and her aunt have a row in the room next door which is overheard by two students Evelyn and Peggy. After Mary is said by Cardin to be healthy Mary is punished by Martha and Karen. Mary complains loudly and runs away to her Grandmother's where she lies to get out of school by accusing Martha and Karen to be lovers. Act two and three shows the results of Mary’s accusation and how it escalated to permanently destroy Matha and Karens life. It begins by having Karen, Martha, and Cardin confronting Mary. Mary sticks by her story and forces another student, Rosalie, using blackmail, to back her up. The confrontation ends in the grandmother going to court against Martha and Karen. They lose,they are both outcasted from the public and forced to shut down their school. Karen leaves her husband because he questioned her and Martha’s relationship. Shortly after Cardin leaves Martha
The play shows the damage, rumors, lies and bullying can do. It is still relatable to situations today. My interpretation of the characters show how their personalities each impact and intertwine into the story. Mary was the manipulator that started the scandal, her Grandmother was the one who took action. Rosalie was the one forced to support Mary’s claims which resulted in Martha and Karen being the victims. When Martha and Karen have one last chance to prove their innocence at a court trial they ultimately lost because Martha Aunt did not show up to testify thanks to her