Thursday, November 17, 2011

The Dear Departed - Stanley Houghton

Stanley in his one act play tries to bring out the qualities of the two daughters called Mrs. Slater & Mrs. Jordan towards their father. The author tries to show how the sisters are interested in the property of their father rather than to show true care and affection towards their father. The play begins with Mrs. Slater who is dressed in black demands her husband Henry and her daughter to be in black dresses as a symbol of mourning. The hero of the play Abel who is sick and bedridden is taken as a dead person and she starts dividing the properties of her father.

The three things Mrs. Slater takes from his father’s property, first she took his Slippers and asks her husband Henry Slater to wear it. Second is Clock, it was in the upstair in his room, and then it has been shifted to her ground floor and third one is Bureau. After all arrangement and shifting, her sister Mrs. Jordan and her husband Ben Jordan enter there for Mr. Abel’s mourning. Mrs. Slater asks them to have something like coffee or tea before seeing their father’s dead body and they start to discuss about the property of his father. Mrs. Jordan asks to her sister about Bureau and Clock to be there. Mrs. Slater tells her, it has been gifted by her father, before his death.

They plan to see the will, so Victoria Slater goes to get the Bureau key in the upstair her Grandfather’s room and she tells, he is alive and coming. Abel asks them about their black dress and shifted things. Mrs. Jordan explains to him all what happened. Then Able understands about their interest to get his property and he says, going to marry a woman who take care him up to end. He says, three things going to do on next day. First he has to change his property to his new wife and should pay the premium in Insurance office and last he has to go St. Philip’s Church to marry Mrs. John Shorrock who is a widow and living in Ring-O- Bells place. Finally Abel says thanks to Mrs. Slater for shifted the Bureau down because that will be easy to carry to Ring-O-Bells and the dear departed from there.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

awesome, stupendous and flabbergasting summary thanks a lot :-)

Gaurav Chawla said...

Lot of grammatical errors but the story is well explained.

Unknown said...

awesome

bavya said...

this is very useful fascinating great wonderful

Anonymous said...

gr8 everything in just 3 paras !!!!!!!!!!! awsm :)

Unknown said...

VERY nice and superb play.............

Unknown said...

good, but the last paragraph needs to be edited...

Unknown said...

i don't like this story...no freshness

Unknown said...

awesome,very nice and superb play.............

Unknown said...

that's what all I need , the appropriate summary of dear departed

Unknown said...

Please send me the full hindi translation of this play "The Dear Departed".
My email id ashishjha1661@gmail.com or Give me web where I got it & thanks for the nice, short & compact summary.

Unknown said...

this story is not well enough...it has no..value...I think that on my point of view..;-)
But you write summary quite well so thanks...:-)

bitoo jha said...

Its too gud

Unknown said...

the story is some what better , but there are lots of grammatical mistakes. By the way ring-o-bells is not a place its restaurant.

Unknown said...

Nice

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