Jane Hopcroft Character Analysis in Absurd Person Singular

Jane Hopcroft is Sidney Hopcroft’s long-suffering wife. Obsessed with cleaning her house (and, at times, cleaning other people’s houses), she lacks much of a sense of empathy or understanding for other people’s thoughts and feelings. She is, in some ways, the most sympathetic character in the play, since she’s never shown to do anything to hurt another character, and seems not to be greedy or interested in “getting ahead.” At the same time—and this probably isn’t a coincidence—Jane is probably the least fully developed character in the play: compared with the five other cast members, she has the smallest number of lines.

Jane Hopcroft Quotes in Absurd Person Singular

The Absurd Person Singular quotes below are all either spoken by Jane Hopcroft or refer to Jane Hopcroft. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

SIDNEY: [chuckling knowingly] I don't imagine the wife of a banker will particularly choose to spend her evening in our kitchen. Smart as it is.

Related Characters: Sidney Hopcroft (speaker), Jane Hopcroft

Page Number and Citation: 16

Explanation and Analysis:

As the play begins, Sidney and Jane Hopcroft are preparing for a Christmas party. Jane is concerned with cleaning every room of the house, including the kitchen—even though Sidney, her husband, insists that none of the guests will want to go in there. As it turns out, Sidney is wrong: the guests do go in the kitchen, and in fact, the entire play is set in three different kitchens, across three different years. So the line is an ironic joke that sets the tone for the rest of the play. Contrary to what Sidney condescendingly claims, the guests will look Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. P

JANE: No, but it's special tonight, isn't it? I mean, with Mr. and Mrs. Brewster-Wright and Mr. and Mrs. Jackson. It's important.
SIDNEY: Don't forget Dick and Lottie Potter. They're coming, too.
JANE: Oh, well, I don't count Dick and Lottie. They're friends.

Related Characters: Jane Hopcroft (speaker), Sidney Hopcroft (speaker), Geoffrey Jackson, Eva Jackson, Dick Potter, Lottie Potter, Marion Brewster-Wright, Ronald Brewster-Wright

Page Number and Citation: 19

Explanation and Analysis:

Jane and Sidney are nervous about hosting their Christmas party, as many hosts would be. They want to make good impressions on their guests, and make it clear that they have a lovely, respectable suburban home. But as this passage makes clear, not all the guests are equal in the Hopcrofts’ eyes. Some are more important and respectable than others. The Brewster-Wrights, in particular, are people who Jane and Sidney see as very important. The passage establishes one of the key themes of the play: there’s an intricate social hierarchy, and every one of the Hopcrofts’ friends belongs in a Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita

MARION: Just look at these working surfaces and you must have a gorgeous view from that window, I imagine.
SIDNEY: Well…
MARION: It must be stunning. You must look right over the fields at the back.
SIDNEY: No—no.
JANE: No, we just look into next door's fence.
MARION: Well, which way are the fields?
JANE: I've no idea.
MARION: How extraordinary. I must be thinking of somewhere else.

Related Characters: Jane Hopcroft (speaker), Marion Brewster-Wright (speaker), Sidney Hopcroft (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 24

Explanation and Analysis:

In this scene, there’s a subtle contest between the host and their guests. Marion Brewster-Wright and her husband, Robert, are clearly wealthier and more socially distinguished than the Hopcrofts. As Marion examines the Hopcrofts’ home, she makes various comments suggesting that it’s not a very nice place to live: it doesn’t have a good view, for example (a house with a nice view being one of the quintessential signs of social status, all the more so because having a nice view is “useless”). Marion’s tone seems dismissive and even derisive, and the Hopcrofts seem embarrassed and intimidated by their wealthier Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi.

MARION: [bending to read the dial] What's this? Whites-coloureds—my God, it's apartheid.
JANE: Beg pardon?

Related Characters: Marion Brewster-Wright (speaker), Jane Hopcroft (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 25

Explanation and Analysis:

In this brief scene, the Hopcrofts give Marion a tour of their house and point out their washing machine. Marion notices that the machine has a colored / white setting, and makes a feeble joke about apartheid. (The idea being that apartheid, the South African system of racial segregation, involved separating human beings into white and black, or “colored,” groups. It’s really not a funny joke.) It’s notable that this is one of the only times in the play when the characters discuss politics, culture, or “the world at large.” And it’s no coincidence that Jane doesn’t get the joke, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut

RONALD: Ah. Well, as long as you know about him. Might have been after your silver. I mean, you never know. Not these days.
SIDNEY : No, indeed. No, he—he was from the off-licence.

Related Characters: Sidney Hopcroft (speaker), Ronald Brewster-Wright (speaker), Jane Hopcroft

Page Number and Citation: 36

Explanation and Analysis:

Jane goes out to buy tonic waters and, through a series of farcical mishaps, winds up having to trudge through the front door in a soaking wet raincoat, leading Ronald to believe that a strange little man has intruded on the Hopcrofts’ party. When he points this out to Sidney, Sidney improvises and claims that the “man” was really a deliveryman from the shop around the corner, a lie that Ronald finds perfectly plausible. First, note that Ronald obviously doesn’t know either of his hosts too well, or he would’ve recognized Jane when she was wearing her husband’s raincoat. Second, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae

SIDNEY: These people just weren't anybody. They are people in the future who can be very, very useful to us...

Related Characters: Sidney Hopcroft (speaker), Jane Hopcroft

Page Number and Citation: 43

Explanation and Analysis:

After the guests have left, Sidney and Jane discuss their party. Sidney makes it clear how he feels about things: he thinks the party was a great success because he was able to convince Ronald to give him a bank loan. Sidney doesn’t really think of his party guests as intrinsically valuable human beings; instead, he sees them as “useful,” because of what they can do for him. Therefore, a guest like Ronald is someone who he respects and admires, whereas a guest like Dick Potter is someone he doesn’t care about impressing. Sidney doesn’t even seem to care about Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaec

JANE: I must clean that oven if it kills me.

Related Characters: Jane Hopcroft (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 51

Explanation and Analysis:

As Act Two goes along, its tone becomes more and more farcical. Here, Jane walks into the room and—seeing Eva stick her head in an oven—assumes that Eva is trying to clean her oven. Jane has become so blinded by her obsession with cleaning things that she assumes everyone else is just like her. The idea that Eva is sticking her head in an oven to commit suicide (which, of course, she’s doing) doesn’t even occur to her. The passage is also a good example of dramatic irony, since Jane uses the phrase “if it kills me” idiomatically and not Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequ

JANE: Shall I tell you something—Sidney would get so angry if he heard me saying this—but I'd far sooner be down here on the floor, on my knees in the oven—than out there, talking. Isn't that terrible. But I’m never at ease, really, at parties. I don't enjoy drinking, you see.

Related Characters: Jane Hopcroft (speaker), Eva Jackson, Sidney Hopcroft

Related Symbols: Alcohol

Page Number and Citation: 53

Explanation and Analysis:

In this rare moment of candor from Jane Hopcroft, she admits that she doesn’t enjoy drinking or going to parties. This is interesting, since we first met Jane when she was about to host a Christmas party. In many ways, Jane is the most sympathetic character in the play. She doesn’t really buy in to the culture of drinking and shallow conversation that Ayckbourn satirized in Act One (and continues to satirize now). And her desire to find happiness in the act of cleaning, while somewhat pathetic, is also rather poignant. However, whatever sincerity and openness one finds in Jane’s Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accu

MARION: Why don't you just go in the hall and shout "Go away" through the letter-box?
RONALD: Because he happens to have a very large deposit account with my bank.

Related Characters: Ronald Brewster-Wright (speaker), Marion Brewster-Wright (speaker), Sidney Hopcroft, Jane Hopcroft

Page Number and Citation: 83

Explanation and Analysis:

The Hopcrofts have arrived at the Brewster-Wrights’ house, and now they’re trying to get in. Nobody inside wants to see the Hopcrofts; they seem to find them annoying. Furthermore, neither Geoffrey nor Ronald wants to talk to Sidney Hopcroft, who’s become increasingly successful over the last two years. Their envy for Sidney’s financial success is palpable. But at the same time, Sidney’s financial success is the only reason that Ronald doesn’t tell Sidney to go away; he needs Sidney’s business at his bank, which, we’ve already heard, is on the verge of going under. So because Ronald is so financially Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor

Jane Hopcroft Character Timeline in Absurd Person Singular

The timeline below shows where the character Jane Hopcroft appears in Absurd Person Singular. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...play begins “last Christmas” in the kitchen of the suburban home of Sidney Hopcroft and Jane Hopcroft, both in their thirties. Their home is modest, but it has modern appliances, such... (full context)

As Jane scrubs, Sidney notes that he has “a few games lined up .... just in case.”... (full context)

Sidney asks Jane for a “Christmas kiss,” but Jane instead says that Sidney’s tie smells like fly spray.... (full context)

Sidney ducks back into the kitchen, where Jane is still spraying. Jane remembers that she’s been wearing slippers—she’s left her dress shoes by... (full context)

Jane and Sidney leave the kitchen, and the sound of laughter and conversation from offstage fills... (full context)

A moment later, Jane, Sidney, and Ronald Brewster-Wright—a man in his mid-forties who is “impressive without being distinguished”—burst into... (full context)

...and forgotten about. Marion also notices the washing machine, which was Sidney’s Christmas present to Jane. She notices the dial that reads, “Whites-coloreds” and jokes, “it’s apartheid,” a comment that Jane... (full context)

The doorbell rings, and Jane leaves the room to greet the guests. Marion asks Sidney, who she calls “Mr. Hopcraft,”... (full context)

...her children, finds Dick Potter’s jokes horrible, and doesn’t like the drinks. Ronald complains that Jane spilled soda on his trousers while pouring him a drink. (full context)

...away from your divine kitchen,” but she and Ronald follow Sidney out. A moment later, Jane returns with an empty bowl, which she fills with chips. Sidney follows her, explaining that... (full context)

Jane and Sidney continue looking for the tonic water, and Sidney complains that she’s “let us... (full context)

A moment later, Jane arrives at the back door, soaking wet, with a carton of tonic waters. She finds... (full context)

Back in the kitchen, Sidney asks Jane what happened, and Jane explains that she went out for tonic water—Ronald Brewster-Wright let her... (full context)

Suddenly, Jane appears outside the back door. Sidney waves her away, without his guests seeing him. Meanwhile,... (full context)

...overcoat, come back into the kitchen. Marion thanks Sidney and tells him that he and Jane should visit them sometime—assuming he can ever find Jane. Alone in the kitchen, Sidney smiles... (full context)

Jane knocks on the back door and Sidney lets her in. Jane is a “sodden mess”—she... (full context)

Sidney tells Jane that he’ll watch some television now—since it’s Christmas Eve, there should be something good on.... (full context)

...kitchen, explaining that the “bloody Hopcrofts” have arrived. He cleans some glasses and complains that Jane Hopcroft is too fussy about cleanliness. Just then, he notices that Eva is standing by... (full context)

...Eva writes another note. Then, she turns to the oven and sticks her head inside. Jane walks into the room, carrying some glasses. Eva tries to sit up, and bonks her... (full context)

Geoffrey walks back into the room, and Jane asks him if she could borrow an apron. Geoffrey nods and explains that he’s called... (full context)

Alone with Eva, Jane tells her that George is getting big. She adds that Dick Potter is very good... (full context)

Sidney enters the room and sees Eva and Jane. He explains that the Brewster-Wrights have arrived. Seeing that Eva is trying to fish something... (full context)

...him Lottie Potter’s laughter can be heard. He notices Eva standing on the table, and Jane tells him, “Bulb’s gone.” Ronald offers to fix the bulb for Eva. Meanwhile, Sidney has... (full context)

While Jane, Sidney, and Ronald work, Eva writes yet another suicide note, and then finds a tin... (full context)

...the ceiling, begins to “vibrate” and moan. Marion turns off the light, and Sidney and Jane carry Ronald down. The guests cover Ronald, who seems cold and weak, in “an assortment... (full context)

...offers Ronald a drink, and Ronald replies, in a strained voice, “I feel very peculiar.” Jane goes to wash her hands in the sink, and when she turns on the sink,... (full context)

...sing, “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” After each verse, a guest joins in—first Marion, then Jane, then Ronald, then Sidney. In the distance George barks. Suddenly, Geoffrey walks in. He’s astounded... (full context)

Sidney opens the back door, even though Jane tells him not to. He shoots back, “I haven’t yet forgiven you for that business... (full context)

Ronald offers Sidney and Jane drinks, and Sidney mentions that he’s just come from Walter Harrison’s party. He turns to... (full context)

Jane offers Ronald and Marion their presents, which they open, confused. Jane and Sidney explain that... (full context)

Ronald tells Sidney and Jane, “You’ll have to excuse us if we’re not our usual cheery selves.” However, Marion says,... (full context)

Sidney and Jane tell the others, “We’re going to get you all jumping about.” Sidney proceeds to tell... (full context)

The game begins, and everyone but Jane and Sidney begins dancing. Marion dances in a shaky “classical ballet style,” while the others... (full context)

Jane Hopcroft Character Analysis

Jane Hopcroft Quotes in Absurd Person Singular

Act One Quotes

Act Two Quotes

Act Three Quotes

Jane Hopcroft Character Timeline in Absurd Person Singular