Anatomy of a Suicide: Part 5

Lesson: 12th October 2017

Carol and John

During this lesson, we again focused on Carol and John and their relationship. In my opinion, their relationship is not an open one which is highlighted in the very first scene where it is clear that John doesn't know Carol's inner most thoughts at all and was completely taken by surprise by Carol's suicide attempt. It is clear that John feels somewhat guilty for not being there for Carol but still wants to support her. Below are three freeze frames and their transitions which were initially based upon Carol and John's relationship. However, before we performed it, we said that the piece was based upon the phrase "We said vows" which is said by John. I think this highlights John's despair and hurt towards Carol because the fact they married suggests that they should be open about everything which Carol clearly isn't due to her failed suicide. In my opinion I think that the succession of freeze frames suggest John's response to the line and his opinions on how the two ended up in the situation presented at the beginning of the piece.

This freeze frame initially was to show how John and Carol's relationship may have been at the beginning where they would have told each other everything that they're thinking about. This is shown by how tightly Carol and Peter (here played by Hannah and Peter) are hugging each other and that they can keep depressing thoughts at bay (shown by the rest of the group laid around them in a circle) by each others presence. However, with the emphasis put on the aforementioned line, it slightly changed the idea behind the freeze frame. It suggests at first that John's opinion on their relationship is very much the same as it was before, that they were initially very close in their marriage. However, as the people on the floor are gripped onto their legs, it suggests that Carol's bad thoughts are clinging on but, as their relationship (to John at least) seems strong, the thoughts are kept at bay, which is shown by the ring being lower than Carol and John. Additionally, the ring could symbolise a wedding ring and with people gripping onto the couple's leg it suggests that Carol maybe feel constrained by marriage due to these thoughts that she thinks she can't ever share with her husband.

Initially, this freeze frame showed how John appears to be bearing the brunt of the guilt in the relationship due to Carol's suicide. However, with the line change, it suggests that John is trying to hold Carol up throughout the marriage without even realising it. As Carol appears to be falling/sliding down John's back, this suggests that she's not in control of the situation which puts more pressure on John to heal the marriage, especially after Carol's suicide. Again, the other people within the freeze frame are either lifting Carol up on John's back even more, or are pressing John's head further down. This suggests that their marriage is faltering slightly due to Carol's invasive thoughts and due to her attempted suicide.

At first, this freeze frame was meant to show John's grief and despair at Carol's attempted suicide and the problems that it will cause for both of them. With John standing in front of Carol, it suggests that John is fully taking control of the situation but is also ashamed of what Carol has done. In this sense it is somewhat clear that John holds all the power in their marriage because it seems that Carol has given up on their vows and has broken them by trying to die - in essence, an escape clause from the marriage. In this sense, the 'old' Carol could be dead to John, replaced by a woman who he no longer thinks he understands.

Bonnie and Jo

In this lesson we also read the first scene in which Bonnie appears. Bonnie is the daughter of Anna and the granddaughter of Carol and it is clear to see some echoes of both Anna's and Carol's stories in Bonnie's throughout each scene. There are some major differences between Bonnie's first scene and the other two women's; for example, Bonnie is not the character who has most of the speech in this scene, instead this is given to Bonnie's future partner, Jo. This would suggest to the audience that Jo is the main character within this story, confirmed as Jo is the character who's injured within this scene and not Bonnie. Additionally, Bonnie begins the scene by saying a variation of "I'm sorry" which is how both Anna and Carol had begun their scenes. This would signal to the audience that Bonnie is the main character within this story, but this may be missed due to Jo's overwhelming speech.

I think that the audience would warm to Jo more because she shows more embarrassment at the situation than Bonnie does, most probably because Bonnie is a doctor and sees this on a daily basis. This could make the audience want Jo to be the main character within this story because Jo has allowed more of her character to be seen and more of her life (her given circumstances). In contrast, Bonnie is quite subdued about her family life, possibly because of her mother's suicide and of her slightly dysfunctional family, which would make the audience trust her less than Jo.

Whilst this scene is happening, there are two other scenes also occurring on stage. In Carol's scene, Carol is talking to a child, Daisy, about her attempted suicide - Daisy is being unsupportive throughout and telling Carol about what other members of Carol think about her. In Anna's scene, Anna is taking heroin; both of which juxtapose the humour in Bonnie's scene by being slightly more serious.