Theme/idea
Some themes in the play are explained below.
-Loneliness: The women in Picnic are all looking for that perfect relationship. Several of them see their desires personified in Hal, which causes a bit of conflict. Each of the women are alone in their own way. Flo’s husband is gone, which is not explained in the play, so she is without a man to help her run the house. Mrs. Potts’ mother forced her to annul her marriage when the old woman did not approve of her daughter’s choice in men. Madge, though she is with Alan, secretly wants more and is not able to be her true self around him. Millie is hidden in the shadow of Madge’s beauty and does not have a beau.
-Gender roles: According to Jeff Johnson, Inge experiments with gender roles in this play. Women of the time were typically quiet, modest, and submissive, but what about the domineering side of Flo or Rosemary? Men were typically dominant, strong, and straightforward, but what about the weak and self-conscious side of Hal?
-Beauty: Different ideas of beauty are tossed around in the play, but the term is mostly defined within Madge. She is so beautiful that some people only see her for her looks. This worries Madge throughout the play, especially since her mother lectures her on marrying the rich man now since her beauty will not last forever. Flo says that she may not have anything left after it’s gone. Millie and Rosemary are jealous of Madge’s beauty, Alan is in awe of it, and it is what originally attracts Hal to Madge. Hal is another type of beauty. He has his shirt off for a bit of the play, and the women fawn over him. But his handsomeness is also seen as a danger, especially by Flo. Different characters in the play see beauty as good and bad.
-Youth: This theme is in some ways connected with the theme of beauty. The characters that have youth do not appreciate it, and the older characters wish they had it. The cause of Rosemary’s breakdown before the picnic is her desire to be young again, and the realization that she never will be. Helen loves telling wild stories about her youth and making sure the young people in the play appreciate what they have.
Read more about this topic: Picnic (play)
Famous quotes containing the words theme and/or idea:
“One theme links together these new proposals for family policy—the idea that the family is exceedingly durable. Changes in structure and function and individual roles are not to be confused with the collapse of the family. Families remain more important in the lives of children than other institutions. Family ties are stronger and more vital than many of us imagine in the perennial atmosphere of crisis surrounding the subject.”
—Joseph Featherstone (20th century)
“And that is where I find myself now, in the middle—hating the idea of abortions, hating the idea of having them outlawed.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)