In Overtones the specific stage directions and characteristics of the
four women easily aided in the visualization on stage while reading. Although Harriet doesn’t see Hattie and
Margaret cannot see Maggie, I do believe that the two inner selves can see each
other. Their catty remarks towards
each other seem to spark their desires even more, thus edging them on to make
their purpose for being there stronger and stronger.
However,
the situation could go either way, depending on how the director stages the
show. On one end, Hetty and Maggie
could just assume that the other is there, but not be able to see or hear what the
other is saying. The two inner selves never actually respond to each other, but
it seems as if they understand what the other is trying to do. An example of this lies on page 11 when
Maggie says, “She’s taunting you. Get even with her.”
On the other hand, if the two could see each other, it would
make their purpose a little stronger and their hate more intense. I could see the two being nose to nose,
attempting to rip each other apart emotionally, on page 17 in this bit:
Hetty: [to Maggie] I hate you!
Maggie: [to Hetty] I came for your gold.
Hetty: [to Maggie] I am going to make you and your husband
suffer
Maggie: [to Hetty] He has forgotten all about you
One thing that stuck out to me that sort of broke the rules
of Harriet and Hetty not seeing each other was at one point when they
physically interacted with each other. The stage directions state on page 5 that Harriet drapes a
scarf on Hetty. Clearly this
indicates that the Harriet has to see her inner self in order to put the scarf
on her. This inconsistency takes
away from the separation between the inner and outer selves.
I agree with you that the two inner selves, Hetty and Maggie, can in fact see each other. It is through their ability to see each that the audience is able to understand the hatred between Harriet and Margaret. I; however, do no believe Harriet can actually see Hetty. While the script states that Harriet covers Hetty’s face, I believe this is meant to portray Hetty as an invisible entity. Hetty, while present, is just a thought inside Harriet’s head. She has no body.
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