Wit

[deliasherman]

In 1998, when New York was still our secondary relationship, we happened to be in town at the same time as Ellen's parents (I think it was probably Passover).  In any case, we took them to see Margaret Edson's Wit at the MCC Theater.  We were sitting up by the ceiling, in little, tiny seats, looking almost directly down on the stage.  What I

Comments

[vschanoes]

That's interesting; I saw the original production of Wit and was moved to tears--I didn't see any of the negatives in it. I actually thought it adroitly avoided the "intellectually rigorous women end up bitter old maids" trap with its depiction of Vivian's deep, abiding love for Donne's writing and its meaning to her. And I saw in Vivian's rigidity qualities that I have seen in female professors of her generation, qualities that I have always ascribed to the determination needed to succeed as part of that very first generation of women professors, and the cumulative effects of having been a trailblazer that way, what it takes out of you. I identified with her, and now I see her as a female equivalent to Stoppard's portrayal of the older Housman in Invention of Love--professors who have had to sacrifice almost everything else in their lives in order to pursue their intellectual passions, suppressing vital parts of themselves in the process, but achieving heights of intellectual rigor and satisfaction rarely possible otherwise.

Also, I love The Runaway Bunny.

Anyway, I'm going to see this production this afternoon, so we'll see.