British Literature Since 1800:
Drama
The Importance of Being Earnest (1895)
Mrs. Warren's
Profession
Text of the Play (off-site)
Characters:
Vivie Warren, a strong-minded, practical woman
Mrs. Warren, her mother, who as a youth was poor, but with no way
open for her to earn money, so she started a chain of "houses" in Europe
for men to get some pleasure, as a businesswoman
Mr. Praed, a character with whom we can identify, a pretty standard middle-upper class gentle man
Sir George Crofts, Mrs. Warren's business partner
Reverend Samuel Gardner, Frank's "Roman" father
Frank Gardner, who turns out to be Vivie's half brother, actually the son of Mrs. Warren and Rev. Gardner;
Vivie's former sweetheart
Waiting for Godot
Characters:
Estragon and Vladimir, bums
Pozzo, who seems to be somehow powerful
Lucky, a dehumanized servant of Pozzo
a Goatheard boy, messenger for Godot
in act 2 Pozzo's blind and Lucky's mute; a few leaves have grown on the tree.
The Dumb Waiter (1960)
Characters:
Ben
Gus
They are hitmen, with Ben in a position of more authority, it seems.
The Real Inspector Hound (1968)
Characters:
Moon--a dramatic critic, a stand-in for Higgs, (Moon's own stand-in is Puckeridge) and
Birdboot, an elder one I imagine, easily offended because of a guilty conscience
Mrs. Drudge, the help
Simon Gascoyne
Magnus Muldoon, half brother of Albert Muldoon, in a wheelchair; turns out to be third-string critic Puckeridge, then revealed later to be Albert Muldoon, missing for years after hunting in Canada
Mrs. Cynthia Muldoon, the Margaret Dumont of the show, also has some history with Simon
Felicity Cunningham, her friend, with some slight past with Simon
Inspector Hound
The Corpse, of Higgs as it turns out
The Celtic Revival in Ireland:
Recent Decades:
Top Girls (1982)
Marlene, in all acts, a modern woman, works at an employment agency
Characters from Act I:
Isabella Bird, Scottish travelling woman
Dull Gret, from Brueghel, fighting devils in hell
Pope Joan, who had pretended to be a man
Patient Griselda, from Chaucer, faithful
Lady Nijo, a Japanese wooman, first an Emperor's courtesan and later a walking Buddhist nun
Act II Characters
i. Jeanine, job applicant.
ii. Angie, 16, Marlene's niece, and Kit, 12
Joyce, Angie's mom--well, all right, acutally she's Angie's aunt and Marlene is her mom. It's been a secret.
iii. Nell and Win, who work at the "Top Girls" employment agency
Louise, a 46 year old job applicant, worked at the same place for 21 years, interviewed by Win
Shona, a 21 year old pretending to be 29, interviewed by Nell
Mrs. Kidd, whose husband Howard was passsed over for general mgr in favour of Marlene
Act III Characters.