"THE SECOND MRS. TANQUERAY" (ARTHUR WING PINERO).   Term Paper ID:26304 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Examines play's structure & how action on physical & mental planes reflects changes in character of Paula.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Examines play's structure & how action on physical & mental planes reflects changes in character of Paula. Paper Introduction: This study will examine the structure of Arthur Wing Pinero's play, The Second Mrs. Tanqueray, focusing on the ways the work divides what is going on in the physical world or the body and what is going on in the soul or the mind. In those structural terms, the study will examine the character of Paula as it changes and develops through the play. Pinero establishes the fact that Paula's character is profoundly affected by her physical environment, by what other people think about her in that environment, and, certainly, by the physical needs of her body. The playwright shows through this relationship of character to environment that Paula is a woman headed for disaster, because she is almost entirely shaped by what other people think of her and because she has little sense of her self separate from others. Pinero chooses this approach Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Theplaywright shows through this relationship of character to environment thatPaula is a woman headed for disaster, because she is almost entirely shapedby what other people think of her and because she has little sense of herself separate from others. In effect, what takes place on the physical level reflects what takesplace on a mental or spiritual level. This reader takes the view that Pinero has chosen this physical/non-physical approach in order to show that goodness does not always result inhappiness. Whatever his personal desires, conscious or unconscious, Aubreyseems to be trying to live and to put into practice the admonition to notjudge, to live with mercy and compassion for others, especially those likePaula who are obviously in need of such compassion. This physical/non-physical structure is emphasized as well by thecontrast between the reasonable and idealistic Aubrey and the flighty andunpredictable Paula. The character ofAubrey remains to this reader the greatest mystery, in terms of delineatingPinero's "message" about the meaning of the physical/non-physical structureof the play and its impact on the plot and characters. . Studio City, CA: PlayersPress, 1997.----------------------- 1 Still, there seems to be a clearly tragic message which goes beyondPaula's suicide: Aubrey has tried to do good, but it has resulted indisaster. Aubrey throughout the play essentially maintains some reasonablemeasure of equilibrium between the physical and non-physical parts of hischaracter, or being. Aubrey takes Paula into his home andhis life, into the physical realm he has created, in order to save herspiritually, in order to redeem her not only in her own eyes but in theeyes of society. in other words, Aubrey's act of compassion was meant to changesociety's view of Paula, Paula's behavior, and Paula's view of herself, atthe very least. Alas, for Ellean and Paula, that option is too late in coming. He believes that peopleat heart (that is, on a non-physical level), are good, and that given adecent opportunity to express and exercise that goodness, they will do so.He finds the contrary--that the harder he works to provide such anopportunity for society, as well as for Paula and his daughter, the worsethe situation becomes. Thisrejection leads to a major change in the physical setting, when the couplemoves to a far more isolated environment. Society assumes that Paula's past is one marked essentially bysexual activity which is deemed unacceptable by society, and that suchactivity is a sign of a corrupt mind and/or soul. Society as well does not change in its "thinking" with respect toPaula. the Second Mrs. Tanqueray. However, his act accomplished none of these goals and, infact, made a bad situation worse and finally tragic. Yet, the story is not that simple. In this environment thedifferences between the two, and the internal contradictions in Paula,become even more intense and troublesome. Of course, Paula's obsession with confessing all herpast activities--even when it means utter disaster for Ellean and Aubreyand Ellean's betrothed--also plays a major role in the tragedy. This reader does not consider it a coincidence that Aubrey mentionscompassion as his primary motivation in helping Paula in an early part ofthe play, and then Ellean refers to the mercy she wished she had shownPaula. Certainly almost every act undertaken by a humanbeing has some personal agenda included, some selfish motivation. . Of course, no such event follows, no such redemption occurs, becausethe physical change brought on by Paula's marriage to Aubrey does notchange her basically on a spiritual or mental level. The very fact that she is being judged by society for her past isanother aspect of the physical/spiritual structure of the play. However,as Pinero draws Aubrey, the character is certainly meant to be seen as agood man trying his best to do good in relationship with another humanbeing. More likely than a spiritual awakeningon the part of Aubrey is a further withdrawal from the world in guilt andself-pity, a mental/emotional state which has already affected Ellean,Aubrey's daughter: "I helped to kill her. However, he is able to do so because he is an idealistin denial about the harsh nature of the real world. Perhaps the ultimate message of the with respect to Aubrey is simplythat (just as Paula seems doomed to spin out of control at some point inher sad life) Aubrey is just as doomed to try to do good and yet to bringabout destruction despite his good intentions. Therefore, the playwright is using at each stage of the play thispowerfully conflicting relationship between the physical and the non-physical. However, the change which does take place is precisely that which waspredicted by the opening scene--rather than taking a redeemed Paula intoits bosom, society essentially rejects both Paula and Aubrey. Work CitedPinero, Arthur W. Pinero establishes the fact that Paula's character is profoundlyaffected by her physical environment, by what other people think about herin that environment, and, certainly, by the physical needs of her body. Paulais dead, the result of her own and others' failings. Certainly, in any case, Pinerois saying that somehow the physical expression of Paula's pain (suicide)could have been prevented had Ellean joined with her father and shown Paulamercy, compassion, and forgiveness. Is the fact that Aubrey is an idealist meant by Pinero to show that aperson of high ideals must also have their feet planted firmly in the real(physical) world of harsh reality if they are to have any hope of changingpeople and/or society? Perhaps the suggestion is that we all need one another, that some ofus need the compassion and mercy of more than one person to redeem us whenwe have fallen far off the spiritual path. Certainly the split between thephysical and the mental/spiritual is obvious in the play, just as themessage seems obvious that one should not judge another's spiritual worthby what he or she does in the physical (i.e., sexual) realm. " (Pinero 18). However, the ending (with Ellean regretting that she had notbeen more merciful toward Paula when Paula told her of her pastrelationship with Ellean's intended) certainly tells us that the playwrighthas not written off the moral or spiritual aspect of life. He finds that no rearrangement of the physical world can changethe non-physical world, at least in terms of Paula as a representation ofthat ambiguous world. In those structural terms, the study will examine thecharacter of Paula as it changes and develops through the play. She is still seen as the woman she was, still judged for her pastactivities. Thesituation, of course, brings to mind the Bible and the admonition that hewho is without sin should cast the first stone. Perhaps Aubrey has come to this realization about the sometimesterrible nature of reality after his daughter tells him that Paula haskilled herself at the end of the play, but because it is the end of theplay, the reader can only speculate. Pinero chooses this approach because itemphasizes the fact that most people do, indeed, live life on the physicalplane and are, in fact, shaped especially by what others think of them onthat plane. In that context, when Aubrey speaks of "compassion," he might bespeaking in a religious sense, in that compassion for those who "suffer"(rather than for those who "sin" and should be condemned or at leastostracized) is seen as a redemptive force designed to save Paula's verysoul. . Where the couple is in the physical world first brings judgmentupon them by society, but when they leave that urban environment for a moreisolated, or even ostracized environment, their own problems intensify. This study will examine the structure of Arthur Wing Pinero's play,The Second Mrs. Tanqueray, focusing on the ways the work divides what isgoing on in the physical world or the body and what is going on in the soulor the mind. However, how does such a simple scenario include the fact that Aubreyis trying to live up to such a standard of goodness, such non-judging, suchcompassion and mercy? Clearly, the suggestion here is that Aubrey himself is thinkingcompassionately and fairly of Paula, and the suggestion is further thatAubrey has no motivation beyond trying to restore to Paula some sense ofhonor, as if marrying Aubrey would indeed accomplish such a restoration forher besmirched past and reputation. If I'd only been merciful!" (7 ). Is the message, then, that there is no hope of doing good in theworld, no hope of exercising one's spiritual power in order to alter themental if not the physical world? In otherwords, society is judging Paula's worth as a person--her character, hermind, even her soul--on the basis of the physical, or what she does withher body. The play to this reader is a message about not judging others, andthis judgment is rooted in condemning a person in terms of their non-physical worth (morality, mentality, spirituality) based on their behavior,and especially on behavior which is seen as physically unacceptable. Aubrey believes that he is motivated by spiritualconcerns, which is evident in his conversation with Drummle early in thefirst Act: "Of course, I don't expect you to think compassionately, fairlyeven, of the woman. Nevertheless, the more Aubrey tries to help, the worse the situationbecomes. 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