Donne's Wit Character Analysis

In Margaret Edson’s W;t, Vivian Bearing, a renowned professor of seventeenth-century poetry, struggles with her diagnosis of fourth degree ovarian cancer. During her time at the hospital, Susie Monahan serves as her primary nurse and Jason serves at the clinical fellow in charge of Vivian. Susie acts as a foil for Jason, in values and approach to life, and the juxtaposition of these two characters is used to show (the progression of Vivian’s character) Vivian’s transition from a life solely focused on knowledge, to one of human kindness. Vivian Bearing’s cockiness, lack of empathy, and thirst for knowledge are evident when she’s a professor. Her cockiness is evident in how she interacts with the audience, how she breaks the fourth wall, where she makes statements such as “Donne’s wit is...a way to see how good you really are. After twenty years, I can say with confidence, no one is quite as good as I” (20). However, she acknowledges how she, “the senior scholar ruthlessly denied her simpering students the touch of human kindness she now seeks” (59). She has with a student who requests an extension on a paper because the student’s grandmother died and he has to go home for the weekend. She refuses to give him an extension—“Do what you will, but the paper is due when it is due” (63)—showing her commitment to …show more content…
Vivian then explains to Susie the meaning of soporific, but when Susie says that “that was pretty dumb” (73) Vivian responds “No! No, no! It was funny! (74). And then, when Susie says “I’m glad you explained it” (74), Vivian simply says “I’m a teacher” (74). This interaction shows that Vivian has finally figured out the good side of teaching, what a teacher should