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Jimmy Porter
A woman from an upper class background, and Jimmy’s wife. She is drawn to Jimmy’s energy, but also exhausted by their constant fighting. Jimmy accuses her of being too complacent and lacking “enthusiasm,” and her own father, Colonel Redfern, agrees that she has a tendency towards too much neutrality. She feels stuck between her upper class upbringing and the working class world of her husband. Alison eventually leaves Jimmy, but returns to him later in the play after she loses their child to a miscarriage. This suffering changes her, and causes her to commit more fully to the intense emotion inherent in Jimmy’s world.
Alison Porter Quotes in Look Back in Anger
The Look Back in Anger quotes below are all either spoken by Alison Porter or refer to Alison Porter. 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:
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Act 1 Quotes
Oh heavens, how I long for a little ordinary human enthusiasm. Just enthusiasm—that’s all. I want to hear a warm, thrilling voice cry out Hallelujah! Hallelujah! I’m alive! I’ve an idea. Why don’t we have a little game? Let’s pretend that we’re human beings, and that we’re actually alive.
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Jimmy isn't a particularly brilliant, likable, or extraordinary person--and yet he likes to claim that he's superior to everyone around, for the simple reason that he's more "alive" than his peers. The genius of Jimmy's pronouncement is that it's impossible to disprove: everybody is alive in the literal sense, so it's never entirely possible to disprove Jimmy's insistence that he's somehow "more" alive than everyone else. Jimmy belittles his wife, Alison, and his friend, Cliff Lewis, by accusing them of being too passive and lifeless; somehow, he claims, they're acting like inanimate beings, blundering through life according to other people'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 occaecat
I hate to admit it, but I think I can understand how her Daddy must have felt when he came back from India, after all those years away. The old Edwardian brigade do make their brief little world look pretty tempting. All homemade cakes and croquet, bright ideas, bright uniforms…What a romantic picture. Phoney too, of course. It must have rained sometimes. Still, even I regret it somehow, phoney or not. If you’ve no world of your own, it’s rather pleasant to regret the passing of someone else’s.
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In this passage, Jimmy looks at a notice for an upcoming concert, at which the music of the famous British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams will be featured. The mention of Vaughan Williams makes Jimmy think of Alison's father, Colonel Redfern, who had previously complained that modern life "isn't what it used to be." Colonel Redfern is unabashedly nostalgic for England's Edwardian age--i..e, the age when England still controlled a huge chunk of the world's people and resources, and the British Empire hadn't yet collapsed upon itself.Jimmy has previously been hostile to the Colonel's worldview, claiming that nostalgia is a childish, 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 voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis.
Pusillanimous. Adjective. Wanting of firmness of mind, of small courage, having a little mind, mean spirited, cowardly, timid of mind. From the Latin pusillus, very little, and animus, the mind. That’s my wife! That’s her, isn’t it? Behold the Lady Pusillanimous.
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In this passage, Jimmy looks up a word, "pusillanimous," and then defines it for his friend, Cliff. Jimmy uses the definition to allude to his wife, Alison, and her supposed small-mindedness--even though Alison is in the room with them. Further, Jimmy claims that if he were to mispronounce the word, Alison would probably correct him in public.The passage is an example of how part of Jimmy's anger stems from the fact that he is somewhat insecure about his lower-class origins. In England, speech and pronunciation are crucial to one's success in life, to a degree that many Americans would find 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 voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore.
When you see a woman in front of her bedroom mirror, you realise what a refined sort of butcher she is…Thank God they don’t have many women surgeons! Those primitive hands would have your guts out in no time. Flip! Out it comes, like the powder out of its box. Flop! Back it goes, like the powder puff on the table.
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Jimmy continues to berate his wife, even while she's performing the most banal of tasks--here, for instance, Jimmy makes fun of Allson for the way she applies makeup to her face and does the ironing, suggesting that Alison, and all woman for that matter, are incompetent when it comes to using their hands.Jimmy's tirade is a veiled defense of his own masculinity. Jimmy constantly tries to distinguish himself from weak, fragile women like his wife--his speech reinforces some of the classic female stereotypes (they don't know how to do physical work, they're no good with their hands, they're weak, they 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
I can’t think what it was to feel young, really young. Jimmy said the same thing to me the other day…I suppose it would have been so easy to say “Yes, Darling, I know just what you mean. I know what you’re feeling.” It’s those easy things that seem to be so impossible with us.
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In this passage, Alison is alone with Cliff, her husband's friend. Alison describes the feelings of loneliness and nostalgia she's often felt. But she also explains that her husband, Jimmy, has felt the same sorts of feelings. Instead of offering her husband comfort, Alison has pretended not to know what Jimmy is talking about. It would be easy for Alison to comfort her husband, but she refuses to do so.The passage indicates that the toxic relationship between Jimmy and Alison might not be a one-way street: Alison seems to deny Jimmy love in the same way that Jimmy denies her 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 voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi nece
Alison: He actually taunted me about my virginity. He was quite angry about it, as if I had deceived him in some strange way. He seemed to think an untouched woman would defile him.
Cliff: I’ve never heard you talking like this about him. He’d be quite pleased.
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Alison and Jimmy didn't have sex before they were married, despite Alison's family's fears that they had. Indeed, Alison was a virgin before she married Jimmy--a fact that she confesses to Cliff in this scene. Cliff says that Jimmy would be happy to hear Alison talking about him so frankly: such talk would fit his notions of "real talk" and "really living." Alison agrees with Cliff, and yet shows no signs of deciding to talk to Jimmy--the alienation between Alison and her husband continues.The discussion of Alison's virginity would have been shocking to the play's first audiences--and yet here, the 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 voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut
There’s hardly a moment when I’m not—watching and wanting you. I’ve got to hit out somehow. Nearly four years of being in the same room with you, night and day, and I still can’t stop my sweat breaking out when I see you doing—something as ordinary as leaning over an ironing board. Trouble is—Trouble is you get used to people.
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In this passage, we get one of the most complex views of Jimmy's character. Jimmy is a mess of contradictions, especially when it comes to his wife Alison. Jimmy complains that it's easy to get used to things over time--and yet when he's talking about Alison, he insists that he's still highly attracted to her beauty, even after four years of marriage.Jimmy gets used to people, and yet he can't ever entirely get used to Alison--he still finds her enchantingly lovely. Jimmy both loves and hates Alison: on one hand, he thinks of her as the "light of his life." Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia
If you could have a child, and it would die. Let it grow, let a recognisable human face emerge from that little mass of indiarubber and wrinkles. Please—if only I could watch you face that. I wonder if you might even become a recognisable human being yourself.
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In this crucial passage, Jimmy takes his contempt for Alison's way of life even further than we've seen up until now. Jimmy tells Alison that he wants Alison to have a child that dies. He thinks that such an experience would make Alison a tougher, more sincere human being--one who would "live fully," as Jimmy does.The passage is shocking and, as always with Jimmy, contradictory. Jimmy thinks that pain is the only way to achieve "true life," but in order to lead Alison there, he seems to condone the death of their own child. Furthermore, in wanting to cause so 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 voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta im
She’ll go on sleeping and devouring until there’s nothing left of me.
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Jimmy concludes Act I by claiming that Alison is eating him alive. In an uncertain modern-day environment, Jimmy doesn't know what to make of his own life: he's unsure what path to take, who to love, etc. In his frustration, Jimmy takes out his anger on his wife, Alison. And yet Jimmy hypocritically claims that it's Alison who's emasculating him, preventing him from living the life he deserves. Jimmy's comments are clearly self-serving: it's easier for him to be an underachiever and blame Alison than it is for him to try to succeed and fail on his own.The image of 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 voluptates. Explicabo minus te
Act 2, Scene 1 Quotes
Everything about him seemed to burn, his face, the edges of his hair glistened and seemed to spring off his head, and his eyes were so blue and full of sun. He looked so young and frail, in spite of the tired line of his mouth.
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In this passage, Alison describes how she met Jimmy Porter years ago. Jimmy was sunburnt and red-skinned, the very embodiment of youth and vitality, with a touch of rebellion, sadness, and violence. In retrospect, it's possible to read Alison's interpretation of Jimmy's appearance as almost demonic--a sign that she should never have married him. But at the time, Alison thought of Jimmy as an ideal suitor: he was both strong and weak, masculine and frail. She thought that by marrying Jimmy, they could help one another equally. Furthermore, Alison seems to have thought of Jimmy as a symbol of rebellion Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia ape
We could become little furry creatures with little furry brains. Full of dumb, uncomplicated affection for each other…And now, even they are dead, poor little silly animals. They were all love, and no brains.
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In this passage, Alison describes a game that she used to play with her husband, Jimmy. Alison and Jimmy would pretend to take on the attributes of two animals: Alison would be the squirrel (small, timid, etc.), while Jimmy would be the bear (large, masculine, dangerous). Playing such a game would allow Alison and Jimmy to escape their problems for a little while, and show their love for one another through play and innocent fun.The passage is interesting because it shows Alison in the throngs of nostalgia: Alison claims that she and Jimmy no longer play the "game" anymore. Actually, 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 voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus c
One day, when I’m no longer spending my days running a sweet-stall, I may write a book about us all…and it won’t be recollected in tranquility either, picking daffodils with Auntie Wordsworth. It’ll be recollected in fire, and blood. My blood.
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Jimmy is an interesting character because he embraces art and literature, yet sees most traditional literature as being feminized and weak-willed. Here, he tells Alison and Cliff that one day he'll write a book about his experiences, into which he'll pour his own blood and tears. The book, he insists, will be violent and energetic. He contrasts it with the works of the poet William Wordsworth, who wrote about nature, daffodils, and other supposedly "timid" topics. Jimmy sees himself as a potentially great, perhaps Modernist author, and yet he seems not to have the drive or the initiative to write Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidu
Oh, don’t try and take his suffering away from him. He’d be lost without it.
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In this passage--maybe the truest line in the whole play--Alison interrupts Helena as she tries to comfort Jimmy. Helena sees that Jimmy is frustrated and angry with the world, and tries to offer him some encouragement. Alison tells Helena that Jimmy enjoyshis own suffering; he's basically a masochist.Jimmy's love for pain and suffering might seem counterintuitive, and yet it fits with everything we know about him. Jimmy a malcontent: he takes out his rage and hatred on his wife and friends, but never seems to do anything to change his life in any concrete way. Jimmy is so frightened of 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 voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Poss
I rage, and shout my head off, and everyone thinks “poor chap!” or “what an objectionable young man!” But that girl there can twist your arm off with her silence.
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In this passage, Jimmy tries to find the words to express his feelings. He's full of hatred and rage, but can't explain what, exactly, he finds so hateful. Here, however, Jimmy explains that he can't stand the double-standard in his society. People pity him and condescend to him because he's angry al the time, and (implicitly) because he seems like a working-class figure. And yet Alison's passivity in the face of other people's suffering is accepted as a more "natural" kind of behavior. Jimmy argues that to be silent in the face of other people's suffering (whether those other people 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 voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atqu
Where I come from, we’re used to brawling and excitement. Perhaps I even enjoy being in the thick of it. I love these two people very much. And I pity all of us.
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In this passage, Helena tries to understand how Alison and Jimmy's relationship can survive while they're constantly fighting with each other so vehemently. Cliff, who's living in the house as well, explains to Helena that Jimmy and Alison manage to get along in part because they fight so much, not in spite of it. Cliff explains that Helena's confusion about Alison's fighting is the result of her upper-class background: in a working-class family, like the one Cliff grew up in, people fought all the time to solve their problems. While such a way of life might seem violent and unorthodox, 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
Act 2, Scene 2 Quotes
I think you may take after me a little, my dear. You like to sit on the fence because it’s comfortable and more peaceful.
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In this scene, Osborne gives us a better idea of why Alison is so timid and meek in her interactions with the other characters. Alison visits with her father, Colonel Redfern, who remembers how she came to marry Jimmy. Alison saw herself as rebelling against a corrupt system of society by marrying someone from outside her social station. And yet she didn't entirely commit to her rebellion. Instead of cutting off all ties with the Colonel and the rest of her family, Alison continued to communicate with them, and seemed not to get along well with Jimmy. The Colonel sums 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 voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae ea
I always believed that people married each other because they were in love. That always seemed a good enough reason to me. But apparently, that’s too simple for young people nowadays. They have to talk about challenges and revenge. I just can’t believe that love between men and women is really like that.
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In this passage, Colonel Redfern tries to understand what goes on between Alison and jimmy. Alison insists that she continues to love Jimmy, and Jimmy says the same about Alison--and yet from the Colonel's perspective, they just fight all the time, and aren't compatible in the slightest. Alison explains that their fighting is a part of their love: it's because they love one another that they're so good at getting under one another's "skin." Furthermore, Alison's love for Jimmy is partly the result of her desire to rebel against her parents and her own background; love, by itself, is too 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 voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Li
You’re hurt because everything is changed. Jimmy is hurt because everything is the same. And neither of you can face it. Something’s gone wrong somewhere, hasn’t it?
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Alison, who's usually quiet and noncommittal about her feelings, sums up the relationship between Jimmy and Colonel Redfern succinctly. Jimmy is angry because he sees his world as staying "the same"--nothing is changing for the better for the lower class--while the Colonel is sad because the world has changed so much since he was a young man--Britain is no longer a global power, and the "good old days" of colonialism and Edwardian manners are gone. Both the Colonel and Jimmy blame each other for the world's problems, and yet they're both the world's victims.Alison's observations show that she's a good 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 voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus e
Act 3, Scene 2 Quotes
I don’t want to be neutral, I don’t want to be a saint. I want to be a lost cause. I want to be corrupt and futile!
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In this climactic passage, Alison finally shows some of the emotion that Jimmy has been craving throughout the play. For the most part, Alison has been shy and closeted, at least around her husband. But here, she shocks everyone, including Jimmy, with a sudden, terrifying emotional outburst. She screams that she has no desire to be neutral and more. Instead, she wants to express her emotions and her visceral humanity, just as Jimmy does. Because Alison has recently had a miscarriage, she now finds the despair and the anger to scream out at the universe. Like Jimmy, she's come to 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 voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus h
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Alison Porter Character Timeline in Look Back in Anger
The timeline below shows where the character Alison Porter appears in Look Back in Anger. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 1
...more gentle—Jimmy tends to push people away, while Cliff draws them to him. Jimmy’s wife Alison Porter stands ironing clothes on the left side of the stage, near Cliff. She is...
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...that they make him “feel ignorant.” He taunts Cliff for not being smarter, then taunts Alison, asking her if the papers make her feel stupid, too, even though she’s not a...
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Cliff reaches up to grab Alison’s hand (she is still at her ironing board beside him). He says that she should...
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Letting go of Alison’s hand, Cliff says that he’d been reading a “moving” article by Bishop Bromley, who said...
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Jimmy asks Alison to make some tea. She looks up at him, and asks if he wants tea....
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...same ritual. Reading the papers, drinking tea, ironing…Our youth is slipping away.” When he realizes Alison isn’t listening, he says, “casually,” “damn you, damn both of you, damn them all.” Cliff...
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Cliff grins, looks at Alison, and asks what he should do. She says that he should take his trousers off....
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Neither Cliff nor Alison responds to his tirade, even when Jimmy gives Cliff a kick. Jimmy changes the subject,...
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Jimmy begins to say that he hasn’t felt that enthusiasm since—and Alison interrupts him, saying that it was when he was with his old mistress, Madeline, whom...
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...not as thrilling as Madeline, is “all right…in his way.” He’s the only one of Alison’s friends that’s worth much, Jimmy says, and then stands to look out the window. Webster...
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Alison asks Jimmy, “very quietly and earnestly,” not to go on. He turns from the window...
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...get Jimmy to back off from the tirade, but Jimmy says that he couldn’t provoke Alison anyways, not even by dropping dead. He returns to his attack on her friends, saying...
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Jimmy turns his attack to Alison’s brother Nigel, saying that he “is just about as vague as you can get without...
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Alison continues ironing—this is the only sound in the room. “Cliff stares at the floor.” Jimmy...
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...wife. He calls her “the Lady Pusillanimous,” as if she is “some fleshy Roman matron.” Alison leans against the ironing board, closes her eyes, and says, “God help me, if he...
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Jimmy picks up a dictionary. He tells Cliff that if he’s pronouncing pusillanimous wrong, Alison will probably correct him publicly. He reads the definition out loud: “wanting of firmness of...
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Jimmy is watching Alison from across the room. Her “face seems to contort, and it looks as though she...
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Cliff thanks Alison, and calls her “you beautiful, darling girl.” Then he “puts his arms round her waist,...
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Cliff returns to the newspapers, and Alison to her ironing. After a while, Jimmy snaps at both of them for making too...
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...church bells begin to ring outside. Jimmy yells out the window at them to stop. Alison tells him to be quiet—she doesn’t want the landlord, Miss Drury, to come upstairs. Jimmy...
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...to fight. They fall onto the floor in the center of the stage, near where Alison is ironing. Alison says that it’s getting “more like a zoo every day.” Jimmy pushes...
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Cliff brings Alison to an armchair, where she sits. He says he’ll go down to the bathroom to...
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Cliff kneels next to Alison and runs the soap gently over her arm. He says she’s a brave girl. She...
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Cliff says that Alison shouldn’t give up, and offers to put a bandage on her arm. He goes over...
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Cliff, his back to Alison, wonders aloud how long he can go on watching the couple “tearing the insides out...
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Cliff finishes tying Alison’s bandage, and she gets up to fold the ironing board. Cliff begins to ask a...
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Cliff suggests that Alison tell Jimmy now —“after all, he does love you. You don’t need me to tell...
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Alison tells Cliff, to his surprise, that she and Jimmy didn’t sleep together before marrying. Once...
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Alison gets up, holding the folded clothes. She asks Cliff whether he thinks Jimmy is right...
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Alison asks if she should tell Jimmy about the baby. Cliff puts his arm around her...
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Cliff says he doesn’t know why the hell Alison married Jimmy, and Jimmy asks if the two of them would have been better off...
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Cliff says that he thinks Alison is beautiful, and that Jimmy does too, but is “too much of a pig to...
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Alison goes to look for one in her handbag. Jimmy, “trying to re-establish himself,” begins to...
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Alison discovers that she doesn’t have any more cigarettes, and Jimmy yells to Cliff (who is...
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Jimmy stands beside Alison, who is still rummaging in her purse. “She becomes aware of his nearness, and, after...
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Jimmy says that he can hardly get through a moment without feeling attracted to Alison, and that because of that, “I’ve got to hit out somehow.” Even after four years...
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Jimmy puts his head against Alison’s stomach, but she is “still on guard a little.” Then he looks up, and they...
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Alison is worried by “this threat of a different mood,” but Jimmy goes on to call...
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Jimmy asks why she thinks she’s happy, and Alison says, “everything just seems all right suddenly.” Then she begins to return to the topic...
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...Helena. Cliff asks who she is, to which Jimmy replies that she is one of Alison’s old friends, and one of Jimmy’s “natural enemies.” He also comments that Cliff is now...
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As he speaks, Jimmy has been picking through Alison’s handbag. Cliff asks him if that isn’t Alison’s private property, and Jimmy says that it...
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Jimmy asks Alison what Helena wanted. Alison says that Helena is coming over. Helena is working with an...
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Jimmy says to Alison that he hopes she will one day learn suffering. He wants something to “wake [her]...
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Jimmy says, ostensibly to Cliff but also partly to himself and Alison, that he has “never known the great pleasure of lovemaking when I didn’t desire it...
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Act 2, Scene 1
The act opens two weeks later, in the same apartment. Alison is at the stove pouring boiling water into a teapot. She wears a slip and...
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Helena is “ the same age as Alison, medium height, carefully and expensively dressed.” She has a “sense of matriarchal authority” that “makes...
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Alison asks if Helena “managed all right” with the dinner, and Helena says yes. She’s already...
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Alison comments that Helena has “settled in so easily somehow,” despite not being “used to” the...
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Helena asks Alison if Jimmy drinks. Alison, “rather startled,” says that he isn’t an alcoholic. There is a...
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Helena asks if Cliff is in love with Alison. Alison “stops brushing for a moment,” then says that she doesn’t think so. Helena asks...
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Alison confirms that she and Cliff feel some attraction, but says that it’s not a passionate...
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Alison continues that her relationship with Cliff is a “fluke.” They get along well because of...
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Alison says that she met Hugh on her wedding night and disliked him immediately. Jimmy was...
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Helena asks what they were doing for money at this time, and Alison says that her mother had taken stewardship of Alison’s wealth after the marriage. Instead, Jimmy...
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Helena says that she can’t understand why Alison acted that way—or why she married Jimmy. Alison says that “there must be about six...
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Helena brings the conversation back to Hugh. Alison says that her relationship with him only got worse, and that Hugh and Jimmy even...
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Alison suspects that Hugh’s mum and Jimmy both blame her for the quarrel, and for Hugh’s...
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Helena asks why Alison hasn’t told Jimmy about the baby, and Alison assures her that it couldn’t be another...
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Helena grabs Alison’s arm. She says that Alison must fight, or escape—otherwise, Jimmy will kill her. Cliff enters....
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Then Jimmy launches into another attack on Alison’s friends, while Cliff and Helena eat their meal and don’t respond. He says that her...
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...from the perspective of a prostitute turning away a customer named Mildred. He asks if Alison likes it, and she says that she does. Jimmy tells them all the lyrics, which...
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...for being stuck up, like the Oscar Wilde character Lady Bracknell. Then Jimmy’s “curiosity about Alison’s preparations at the mirror won’t be denied any longer.” He asks if she’s going out,...
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...lets fly an attack against Helena, saying that this is a cheap trick to win Alison to her side. He turns to Alison, saying that he’s sick to think how much...
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Jimmy says that he knew from the moment he met Alison’s mother that she would stop at nothing to keep him from her daughter. He compares...
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Jimmy gives an example of Alison’s mother’s dirty tactics of motherly protection. She jumped to terrible conclusions about Jimmy due to...
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Jimmy asks Alison if Helena has really won her back. Helena cuts in—“You’ve no right to talk about...
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Jimmy smiles at Alison, who is still at her dressing table, and “hasn’t broken.” Helena is the only one...
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...all. Helena says to Jimmy, “you think the world’s treated you pretty badly, don’t you?” Alison cuts in, “Oh don’t try and take his suffering away from him—he’d be lost without...
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...Helena is still around, given that her play has already finished up. Helena says that Alison asked her to say, and Jimmy asks what they are “plotting.” Jimmy tells Alison that...
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...a friend of Colonel Redfern’s, and chose a vicar who was less likely to know Alison’s parents. But Colonel Redfern and Alison’s mother found out nonetheless, and came “to watch the...
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Jimmy asks Alison if she’s going to be swayed by Helena. Her friend, he says, is “a cow.”...
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...your life.” The group sits silently. Then Helena gets up and says that she and Alison should go to church. Alison nods, and Helena leaves to get her things.
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Without looking at Alison, Jimmy asks why she lets people do these things to him, when, he says, “I’ve...
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...get his words out.” “My heart is so full, I feel ill—and she wants peace!” Alison puts on her shoes. Cliff moves from the table to an armchair and looks at...
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Jimmy says that Alison might want to return to him someday. When that happens, he says, “I want to...
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Helena asks if Alison is ready to leave, and whether she feels all right. Helena says that she is...
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Helena tells Alison that she has sent Colonel Redfern a wire, telling him to come pick up his...
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Alison asks who was on the phone. Helena says it was “Sister somebody.” Alison speculates that...
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To Alison, Jimmy says that he remembers Hugh’s mum’s reaction to their wedding photo. She rhapsodized over...
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Alison and Helena exit. Jimmy “looks about him unbelievingly,” rising to lean against the dresser. The...
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Act 2, Scene 2
The scene opens the next evening, with Alison packing her suitcase and Colonel Redfern sitting by. “Brought up to command respect, he is...
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Alison says that Jimmy is seeing Hugh’s mum, because she’s had a stroke and her son...
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The Colonel asks who is looking after the sweet stall, and Alison says that Cliff is. Her father asks if Cliff lives here too, and Alison says...
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Alison says that there wasn’t much to say, and the Colonel interprets this to mean that...
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Alison says that he shouldn’t blame himself, and the Colonel agrees that everyone involved deserves some...
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Alison tells the Colonel what Jimmy said about her mother and the worms. The Colonel responds...
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Alison says that she believes it was for “revenge.” Colonel Redfern looks baffled. Alison confirms that...
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...shone was when that dirty little train steamed out of that crowded, suffocating Indian station.” Alison replies, “you’re hurt because everything is changed. Jimmy is hurt because everything is the same…Something’s...
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Alison is about the put the squirrel in her suitcase, but then puts it back. “For...
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The Colonel says that they should get going—Alison’s mother will be worried, and she’s ill. Helena says that she hopes the telegram isn’t...
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Cliff says that Jimmy will return soon, and asks Alison to wait for him. She refuses, and Helena says that she’ll tell Jimmy what has...
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...hard day, and wants to eat and drink before he sees Jimmy devastated. He tosses Alison’s letter to Helena, and says “I hope he rams it up your nostrils!” Then he...
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Jimmy reads Alison’s letter: “I need peace so desperately, and, at the moment, I am willing to sacrifice...
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Helena says that Jimmy should stop being so selfish, and tells him that Alison is going to have a baby. He doesn’t reply, and she asks if that means...
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Act 3, Scene 1
Several months have passed, and it is once again a Sunday. Helena’s belongings have replaced Alison’s in the apartment. Cliff and Jimmy sit in armchairs reading the paper, as they did...
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...sticking pins into my wax image for years.” Then he says that it must be Alison’s mother. He imagines that she does this with a hatpin, and that it might have...
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...he’ll tell Cliff to get a move on. Then the door opens, and there is Alison, wearing a raincoat. “Her hair is untidy, and she looks rather ill.” After a pause,...
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Act 3, Scene 2
...playing his jazz trumpet across the hall. Helena is standing at the table pouring tea. Alison sits in an armchair. She bends to pick up Jimmy’s pipe, and drops the ash...
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Alison says that she must be “mad” to show up at the apartment, and apologizes to...
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Helena says that Alison has “more right” to be there than Helena does. Alison protests, “Helena, don’t bring out...
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Alison says that she regrets coming here, and that she didn’t intend to break up Helena...
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Alison says that Helena wrote that she loved Jimmy, and Helena confirms this. Alison says that...
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...that she has discovered “what is wrong with Jimmy…He was born out of his time.” Alison agrees. Helena says that there’s no place for him in the world now, but that...
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Helena says that she sees now that it’s “over” between her and Jimmy. Alison’s presence reminds her how wrong the situation is. She says, “he wants one world and...
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Helena says that seeing Alison at the door made everything come clear to her, and that she “didn’t know about...
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The trumpet eventually stops, and Helena calls Jimmy to speak with them. Jimmy asks if Alison is still there, and Helena says that he shouldn’t be stupid. Alison is worried that...
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Alison replies that it was her first loss. Jimmy looks at her, then looks back at...
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Helena says that she’ll get Alison a hotel room. Jimmy says that he always knew that Helena would eventually leave him...
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Alison says that she’s sorry, and Jimmy says that she never sent any flowers to Hugh’s...
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Jimmy asks if Alison remembers the first night they saw each other. He said that she seemed to have...
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Alison is crying. She yells out, “it doesn’t matter! I was wrong, I was wrong! I...
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...bright,” so they have to be careful of traps. “Poor squirrels,” he says. “Poor bears,” Alison says, and then, tenderly, “Oh poor, poor, bears.” She embraces him. The curtain falls.
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