hecklongtree

I've been reading a lot of plays lately. One of my favorites is Ibsen's "John Gabriel Borkman."

It's the story of a formerly wealthy and powerful banker who, after returning from prison for embezzlement, remains a prisoner in his own house, occupying the upstairs of the house, while his wife occupies the downstairs.

Not only does the wife want nothing to do with him, but she's pressuring their son to devote his life to redeeming the family name by leading a perfectly blameless life and, thereby, obliterating his father's memory. Other characters have other ideas about what the son should do with his life, including the father and the son himself. As the child of overbearing parents, this theme really resonated with me.

The play also uses the metaphor of prison for all the constraints that prevent us from doing what we really want to do in life. I have a feeling Ibsen was influenced by fellow Scandinavian dramatist Strindberg, who also used prison as a metaphor. See, for example, Strindberg's "A Dream Play."

Another great play is Clifford Odets' "The Big Knife." It's an Ibsen-esque blackmail story set in Hollywood during the waning days of the studio system. There's actually a film version, though I haven't seen it, that's available on dvd. It's directed by Robert Aldrich and it stars Jack Palance as the movie star blackmailed by studio execs into signing a long term contract. Sounds pretty good, no?