30 pages • 1 hour read
Lucille FletcherSorry, Wrong Number
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1943A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Character Analysis
Mrs. Stevenson
Mrs. Stevenson is an anxious woman whose health does not permit her to leave her luxurious yet lonely bedroom. The first stage direction to describe her notes that she is a “querulous, self-centered woman” (7), and she proves this to be true as the play unfolds. In true noir fashion, this protagonist is not necessarily a character people typically root for, but her self-centeredness makes her more interesting and complex. She is unpredictable and temperamental, a character that keeps audiences on their toes, subverting expectations at the time that a woman with disabilities would be exclusively vulnerable or helpless. Mrs. Stevenson’s physical disabilities prevent her from seeking safety by leaving her apartment, but it is her selfish temperament that prevents her from securing the help she needs.
Fletcher implies that Mrs. Stevenson has leveraged her health manipulatively over the years and has grown entitled. She frequently says phrases such as “I’m a sick woman—I’m entitled—” (18) or “I’m an invalid, and I’m very nervous, and I’m not supposed to be annoyed” (16) to guilt and/or pressure others into doing what she asks. She is dependent on her husband, and panics when she can’t reach him. Fletcher is careful not to suggest that Mrs. Stevenson deserves what happens to her, however. For all her dislikable traits, she has positive characteristics that complicate her character. She is determined and bold, and she is not afraid to make herself heard.
Elbert Stevenson
Elbert Stevenson is never seen on stage, nor is his voice ever heard. However, the character still carries a great presence throughout the play. The inciting incident of the plot is Mrs. Stevenson trying to call Elbert, and accidentally overhearing the plot for her murder instead. Her attempts to reach him (which grow increasingly more impossible) help to drive the suspense of the story.
Though the script never directly says that Elbert is the client who hires George and the 1st Man to kill Mrs. Stevenson, all signs point to him as the guilty party. Even though Mrs. Stevenson tells Sergeant Duffy that he “adores [her]— waits on [her] hand and foot” (15), there are several other clues that point to Elbert as the most likely suspect for arranging the murder. His guilt is more explicitly proven in the film adaptation of this script.
The Murderers: 1st Man and 2nd Man (George)
The 1st Man is the one on the phone who relays all of the specifics of the murder plot to George (the 2nd Man, who carries out the murder). He is the one who tells George what time to be at Mrs. Stevenson’s address, and when the sound of the train will come by and drown out her screams. His voice is written as calm and collected as he instructs George to make it quick, simple, and to look like a robbery.
If the 1st Man is the brains of the operation, then George is the brawn. George does not say much in Sorry, Wrong Number, but he has a major role in the overall plot. At the end of the play, he is the one who goes to Mrs. Stevenson’s bedroom and stabs her, then delivers the iconic last line of the play when he realizes Sergeant Duffy is on the line. Both men are flat characters who primarily serve as plot elements.
Sergeant Duffy
Sergeant Duffy is the police officer that Mrs. Stevenson turns to for help when she overhears the murder plot. Sergeant Duffy is introduced in the play in a scene where he is selecting a dessert to eat. The dessert occupies much of Sergeant Duffy’s mind as Mrs. Stevenson pours out her concerns to him. He is kind, but dismissive of her claims, and provides comic relief as he chides Mrs. Stevenson for her selfishness while rushing a panicked woman off the phone so he can enjoy his dessert.
One important role Sergeant Duffy plays is that he poses a very important question to Mrs. Stevenson. When she refuses to let the subject of the potential murder go, he enquires about her motive. He says that she shouldn’t be so worked up about the call, “Unless, of course, you have some reason to believe this call is phony—and that someone may be planning to murder you?” (15). For the first time, Mrs. Stevenson is forced to evaluate who she is afraid for in this situation: the strange woman who is allegedly going to be murdered, or herself.
