The Children's Hour

The first act takes place in “a room in the Wright-Dobie School for girls, a converted farmhouse about ten miles from the town of Lancet, Massachusetts” (5). Mrs. Lily Mortar, a “plump, florid woman of forty-five” (5), sits in a large chair with her eyes closed. Eight girls, ages 12 to 14, surround her. Six of the girls are sewing, and one, Evelyn Munn, is trimming another girl, Rosalie’s, hair. Peggy Rogers, the eighth girl, is reading out loud from The Merchant of Venice, and is bored. Mrs. Mortar opens her eyes, scolding Evelyn to stop haircutting and return to her sewing. Evelyn lisps that she “can’t get the hem thtrait” (6), displaying the dress she has ruined. Mrs. Mortar suggests that Evelyn repurpose the fabric and “be clever about it. Women must learn these tricks” (6). Mrs. Mortar prompts Peggy to keep reading, criticizing the child’s acting. She tells the girls that she had “many offers” to be in the movies, “but the cinema is a shallow art” (7). Mrs. Mortar reprimands another girl, Lois, for practicing for her Latin test and begins reciting the lines from Shakespeare herself.

Mary, another girl, sneaks into the room. Mrs. Mortar catches her, admonishing her for being late. She tells Mary that her lateness is discourteous and “courtesy is breeding. Breeding is an excellent thing” (8). Mary tells her that she went for a walk in order to bring Mrs. Mortar flowers. Mrs. Mortar, easily distracted by flattery, thanks her and reminds her again to be on time. Mrs. Mortar tells Peggy to stop reading, adding, “I am sure your family need never worry about your going on the stage” (9). Peggy replies that she intends to be a lighthousekeeper’s wife, and Mrs. Mortar responds, “Well, I certainly hope you won’t read to him” (9). She closes her eyes again.

Karen Wright, “an attractive woman of twenty-eight” (9), enters. It becomes apparent that the girls both like and respect her. Karen notices Rosalie’s butchered hair, directing her to come by her room later, so Karen can fix it. Helen, another girl, tells Karen that she still can’t find her lost bracelet. Mary reenters with the flowers in a vase, becoming less self-assured when she sees Karen. Karen immediately questions Mary’s story about going for a walk, noting, “There was a bunch exactly like this in the garbage can this morning” (11).

The bell rings as an appalled Mrs. Mortar reacts to the news that Mary fished her flowers out of the trash. As the students leave, Lois continues to rehearse her Latin, while Karen holds Mary back. Karen tells Mary that, unlike the other girls, she doesn’t seem to be happy at the school, asking why she lies so often.

Mary whines, “You never believe me. You believe everybody but me. It’s always like that. Everything I say you fuss at me about. Everything I do is wrong” (12). Mary then begins to cry.

Karen comforts her, requesting, “Let’s try to understand each other” (12). She tells Mary to come to her if she feels the need to go for a walk or skip class so Karen can try to understand, adding, “this kind of lying you do, [it] makes everything wrong” (12). Mary, “looking steadily at Karen” (12), insists that she did not lie about where she got the flowers. Disappointed, Karen proscribes the girl’s punishment: Mary must take recreation hours by herself for two weeks, may not horsebackride or play hockey, and must remain on school grounds. Additionally, this means that Mary cannot go to the boat-races as planned. Angrily, Mary warns that she will tell her grandmother she is treated badly and punished unnecessarily. Mrs. Mortar pipes up, “Why, I’d slap her hands!” (12).

Karen sends Mary to her room, but Mary complains that her stomach hurts. Karen tells her to ask Miss Dobie, Mrs. Mortar’s niece, who runs the boarding school with Karen, for some bicarbonate of soda, but Mary cries out dramatically that her heart is stopping and she can’t breathe, falling to the floor in an awkward faint. Unperturbed, Karen picks Mary up, directing Mrs. Mortar to ask Miss Dobie to call Joe, the doctor, and carries Mary off.

Martha Dobie, who is about Karen’s age, enters. Karen returns, and Martha tells her that she spoke to the doctor. Martha notes that Mary seemed fine earlier, and Karen says, “She probably still is. I told her she couldn’t go to the boat-races and she had a heart attack” (13). Martha and Karen discuss Mary’s behavior. When Karen tells Martha that Mary threatened to tell her grandmother, Martha responds, “And, please God, Grandma would believe her and take her away” (13). When Karen replies that this would tarnish the school’s reputation, Martha suggests talking to Mary’s grandmother, Mrs. Tilford, themselves. Karen counters that although Mrs. Tilford has been kind to them, “she’s too crazy about Mary to see her faults very clearly—and the kid knows it” (14). Martha offers that perhaps Joe could speak to Mrs. Tilford.

Karen and Martha agree that Mary is strange, and Karen muses, “We always talk about the child as if she were a grown woman” (14). Karen agrees to discuss the matter with Joe. Changing the subject, she brings up “our other pet nuisance” (14): Martha’s aunt, Mrs. Mortar. They complain about the would-be actress’s antics, which Martha hated throughout her childhood. Karen urges Martha that they need to “get rid of her soon” (14) and “scrape up enough money to send her away” (15). Martha comments that Karen has been patient, promising to deal with her aunt.

Karen reveals that she plans to marry Joe, possibly after the term ends. Anxiously, Martha asks, “Then we won’t be taking our vacation together?” (15). Karen responds that the three of them can go. Martha bitterly accuses Karen of planning to leave the school, and Karen tries to reassure her that marrying Joe would not change anything. They argue until Joe, formally known as Dr. Joseph Cardin, enters. Karen tells him that he needs to examine Mary, who is his cousin. Joe comments, “Our little Mary pops up in every day’s dispatches” (16). Irritably, Martha rushes him out of the room, and Karen also leaves. Mrs. Mortar reenters, offended that Mary sent her away for the doctor’s examination. Martha dismisses her aunt’s complaints, and Mrs. Mortar alleges that Karen is repeatedly impolite. Martha responds that Karen is “very patient” (17) with her, causing Mrs. Mortar to become indignant.

Mrs. Mortar laments that purchasing the land and starting the school was a mistake for Martha and Karen. Martha suggests that since Mrs. Mortar has “talked about London for a long time” (18), she might wish to return there, adding that they can spare the money, in order to pay for her fare. Mrs. Mortar wails that her niece is trying to kick her out, exasperating Martha. Martha admits that she does want Mrs. Mortar to leave, as the three of them (including Karen) cannot get along living in the same house. When Martha is unmoved by Mrs. Mortar’s histrionics, Mrs. Mortar confronts her niece about her responses to Karen and Joe, accusing her of envying Joe. Mrs. Mortar charges, “You’re fonder of Karen, and I know that. And it’s unnatural, just as unnatural as it can be. You were always like that even as a child. If you had a little girl friend, you always got mad when she liked anybody else” (20). She suggests that Martha ought to find a man to marry. Furious, Martha responds, “The sooner you get out of here, the better” (20).

There is a noise from beyond the door, and Martha discovers Evelyn and Peggy, who claim that they came downstairs to check on Mary. Martha accuses them of listening, and Peggy asserts that they weren’t eavesdropping on purpose. Martha sends them back upstairs, telling her aunt that with the way she speaks, it isn’t safe to have her around children. Joe returns, affirming that Mary has nothing wrong with her. Martha suggests that something is wrong with her, just not physically. Joe admits that his aunt, Mary’s grandmother, spoils Mary. Martha intimates that perhaps Joe could speak to his aunt about Mary. Joe mentions his impending marriage to Karen. Noticing Martha’s reaction, he confronts her, asking why she seems so opposed to the wedding. Ashamed, Martha apologizes, crying on Joe’s shoulder as he hugs her. Karen returns, and Martha reports that she caught Evelyn and Peggy, Mary’s roommates, eavesdropping. Karen agrees to talk to them.

Mary returns, buttoning her dress and demanding to see her grandmother. Peggy and Evelyn enter, and Karen addresses them. She asserts that she will have to separate the three of them. Mary complains that Rosalie, who she is to move in with, hates her. Karen replies, “That’s a very stupid thing to say. I can’t imagine Rosalie hating anyone” (23). Mary cries that she is being punished for being sick, and appeals to Joe. Joe suggests that if she faints again, they should let her stay on the floor. Karen sends the girls back upstairs to switch rooms as she and Joe exit. Alone in the room, the girls complain. Mary knocks over a vase, which was a gift from Joe to Karen, and it breaks. Peggy and Evelyn are fearful, but Mary laughs, suggesting that she will lie her way out of trouble. Peggy promises to bring Mary gifts from the boat show, and Mary claims, “I won’t let you go if I can’t go. But I’ll find a way to go” (25). Evelyn and Peggy express remorse for eavesdropping, and Mary mocks them.

As Evelyn and Peggy report what they overheard to Mary, Rosalie enters to tell her to move her belongings before she has to go to class. Mary calls Rosalie an idiot, ordering her to move her things for her and promising to let her borrow her necklace and belt buckle. This offer strikes a chord, and Rosalie responds nervously, claiming, “I don’t know what you’re talking about” (26), but reluctantly agreeing. Mary implies vaguely that she is blackmailing Rosalie, urging Evelyn and Peggy to continue telling her what they heard. Peggy relates what Mrs. Mortar said about Martha’s jealousy of Joe and Karen, which Mary questions. Suddenly, Peggy remembers that if Rosalie moves Mary’s things, she will discover the copy of Mademoiselle de Maupin, an erotic book that some of the girls are passing around, and tell on them. Mary admits that she was late to class because she was finishing the book. The girls lament their separation.

Mary again accuses Karen of singling her out, and Peggy defends her. Mary spits, “That’s right, stick up for your crush. Take her side against mine” (28). Peggy denies the accusations. Mary tells her friends that she is not staying at school and plans to escape and then demand that her grandmother allow her to stay at home. She claims that she will invent a reason that she is unhappy at school. Peggy and Evelyn try to convince her not to leave, but Mary demands that they give her all of their money for a taxi, including the money from Peggy’s meager allowance, which she has sacrificed to save up for a bike. When Peggy refuses, Mary twists her arm behind her back, hitting Evelyn when she tries to intervene. Sobbing, Peggy agrees to give her the money.