Suicide In Marsha Norman's Night Mother

The act of suicide has long been criticized as a selfish and devious act among many people. Contrary to popular belief, some people believe that suicide is self-empowering and a courageous act of self control. In Marsha Norman’s 1947 playwright, Night Mother, the main character, Jessie Cates, commits suicide in which she is criticized and condemned by her mother, Thelma Cates. The character Jessie, is described as woman in her late thirties, fat, controlled by her mother, unfashionable, and is diagnosed with epilepsy. Given the characteristics of Jessie and her conditions, it can almost be detected that she isn’t living a completely happy life. While all these external factors may have influenced her suicide, the text does state that “It is …show more content…
Faced with the perception that her life no longer has a meaningful purpose, she comes to a critical moment of decision. Although the play only takes place in a single setting and time frame, the dialogue between Jessie and Thelma depicts the daughter’s reassessment of her life’s direction. At the start of the play, Thelma and Jessie appear to have a normal evening together; however, only minutes into the play, Jessie announces that she plans on killing herself. What follows is an intense conversation that reveals a number of issues such as mother-daughter relationships and one’s right to choose his or her destiny. An analysis of these issues based off of the character’s dialogue will further explain how Jessie uses suicide to take her life into her own hands without giving up. For example, while Thelma attempts to convince Jessie not to take her own life, the underlying meaning behind the mother’s statements reveals the problem of the two’s relationships because Thelma assumes her way of viewing things is how everyone else should see them. To illustrate, Jessie tells her Mama that she needs a gun, and Thelma, who initially thinks she needs it for protection, responds by saying “You take the TV way too serious, hon. I’ve never seen a criminal in my life. This is way too far to come for what’s out here to steal. Never seen a one” (Norman 717). Thelma challenges Jessie’s perceptions in order to gain her compliance, and she discredits Jessie’s expressed need through addressing it from her own limited position. This instance exposes the lack of effective communication between the two because Thelma’s statements portray her as short-sighted and self-centered, which represents the story’s conflict confirming that discord, rather than harmony, is a dominant characteristic of the dialogue. Through the two character’s statements, one learns how their perceptional differences create a