Mechanization
The title indicates that a major theme of the play is going to have something to do with machines and, indeed, machinery is utilized throughout. The opening scene sets the stage for this exploration of the mechanization of modern man by drawing the curtains to reveal an office abuzz with energy. Sound becomes imagery with a cacophony of office noise: typewriter keys, phones ringing, filing cabinets opening and closing, machines adding up numbers. Humanity is connected to machinery through the first few lines of dialogue which consist of numbers being read out, the alphabetical listings of a file cabinet—Bonds, Contracts, Data, etc.—and switchboard operators directing calls.
Helen’s Interior Dialogues/Monologues
All of the characters are presented as external representations of dehumanized figures automatically going through existence with no inner life except for Helen. She is the only character into whose mind the audience is given witness and even this glimpse is presented through a fractured and fragmented lens. Nobody else can hear what she says in these monologues, indicating the collapse of communication as way to connect with others and what she does say is presented in short, repetitive phrase that must be put together by the audience to make any sense. This highly stylistic presentation becomes imagery creating an underlying foundation for the continuing collapse of Helen’s mental state as the pressure to conform to societal expectations becomes too burdensome to bear.
An Attitude of Platitudes
What the audience really gets to know of George Jones is that unlike his wife, he has fully embraced the gender expectations society has placed upon him. He is not capable of revealing what’s inside through an interior monologue because there is nothing inside. George is all surface, completely surface and only surface. This fact of his personality is most effectively conveyed through the imagery of the dialogue which is his only way of being defined. That imagery is a series of empty platitudes, homilies, proverbs and slogans that are all directed toward the power of positive selling:
“I’m never in a hurry—that’s how I get ahead.”
“Everybody’s got to brace up and face things! That’s what makes the world go round.”
“All men are born free and entitled to the pursuit of happiness.”
“Haste makes waste.”
Open Windows
Some of the “episodes” takes place in rooms with an open window. In these scenes, sounds are heard coming through the window that acts as background imagery to underline the central action of the scene. For instance, after giving birth, the sanity-challenging repetitive noise of a riveting machine can be heard from the construction site of a new wing for the hospital. The harsh mechanical sound of the power tool used for construction persists throughout the scene as it moves towards Helen’s declaration that she will not submit anymore. In this particular instance, the sound from the window acts as imagery to create a sort of subliminal portrait in the mind that Helen is constructing a new life for herself as she builds up the courage to rebel in action as well as thought. Other episodes feature snippets of conversation coming through the window that act as a counterpoint to the particular subject of the central scene at that particular instance.
