In using magical realism, Rachel Ingalls, the author of the original novel in which this play was based, seems to be criticizing American culture. Larry’s character is presented as someone who is “different”, being different, having a different “world” and having different ways to communicate. And even further than this, he is a person who is neglected by the “normal” people of the world, even considered a monster and savage creature. With this I felt that Ingalls was giving social commentary on racism and how we should not waste our time separating ourselves from others. We are all the same at heart - although Larry may not see it – just as Dorothy and Larry were very much the same on the inside, if not on the out.
The marriage between Fred and Dorothy mirrors the marriages of so many people in America these days. I feel that so many people try to stick to the conventional, traditional marriage, but instead find themselves struggling to even take a moment to look one another in the eye or touch each other to show that they are alive and have feelings. It is hard to tell where the marriage between Fred and Dorothy went wrong. Was it when he had that first affair? Was it when their son Scott died or when Dorothy miscarried? Who knows? Regardless, they are stuck in what seems like a never-ending cycle of a passionless, empty domestic ritual and loveless life.
And again we come to the question of whether or not Larry is real (or if any of the other characters are real) or if they are all different facets of her imagination…or even if they are all different parts of Dorothy herself in a sort of schizophrenic way. So many things point to yes while others point to no.
I personally believe that we are not truly supposed to know the answer to this question. I feel that what Ingalls really wanted to do was put her social commentary in a situation that seems believable but yet at the same time it really does not. Because really, topics such as racism and traditional marriage bring up questions of what is real…what is normal…what should and should not be. It is a representation of human truth -- what is real and why are humans so needy to know the answer of this question? So if I truly had to answer this, I would say that all of the characters could be in Mrs. Caliban’s head -- they are not just figments of her imagination, but they are parts of who she is and the life she may have wanted. They are symbols, each a piece in the pie that makes up human genuineness.
I really believe that the message trying to get across is that this world -- this situation with Larry in it -- is solely one human’s escape from the unacceptable reality around her. The end really highlight’s this idea in a surreal way in which everything, fact and fantasy, tumbles together and unravels; you truly cannot tell what is real and what is not. Like with the topic of media -- we never can honestly tell what is real and what is fabricated; we only have ourselves, our minds, to decipher what is true and what is not. Do we as humans dare to live as we want, unconventionally? Or will we be tied to a vacant, meaningless existence forever? I think it is up to us.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this play. I really loved having to think things through and sit there contemplating if it was real, if it was not and what it all meant at the heart of things. There are just so many things to think about -- the death, the commentary on present-day American culture and the effects of magical realism and symbolism. I cannot wait to discuss this performance as a class and to hear what everyone has to say in their perspectives, understandings and interpretations of the play.
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