Jessie’s Last Conversation with Mama 'Night Mother, a play by Marsha Norman, focuses on the last conversation between Mama and her daughter Jessie, before Jessie commits suicide. Jessie is in her late thirties or early forties; she is no emotional teenager trying to evoke anger from her mother. One could argue that this last conversation between Jessie and her mother centers around Jessie trying to ready her mother for her death, or to think back on fond memories. Rather, Jessie chooses to use this final night between her and her mother to get answers about her seizures, and when she does, to make her mother aware of how her choices have affected Jessie's life.
This conversation between Mama and Jessie was not meant to ready Mama physically for Jessie's suicide. Mama does not need Jessie's help around the house, Jessie even implies it herself. When Mama tells Jessie that she does so much, and that she doesn’t have to take care of her if she’ll just agree to not commit suicide, Jessie responds with, “You’ve just …show more content…
Although Mama does not fully grasp that she made a mistake, Jessie still achieves her goal. She does not want to argue with her mother, or hold a grudge. She says about her decision to tell Mama about her suicide, "I only told you so I could explain it, so you wouldn't blame yourself, so you wouldn't feel bad. There wasn't anything you could say to change my mind. I didn't want you to save me. I just wanted you to know" (48). This statement applies also to her choice to talk about Mama's past choices regarding Jessie: she doesn't want to hurt her, but she does want her to know that she should have known about her seizures as a child. Jessie knows that she and her mother do not see her mother’s choices the same way. In the end, it is good enough for Jessie to have responded to her mother’s past choices, even if Mama does not understand why her decisions were the wrong
This conversation between Mama and Jessie was not meant to ready Mama physically for Jessie's suicide. Mama does not need Jessie's help around the house, Jessie even implies it herself. When Mama tells Jessie that she does so much, and that she doesn’t have to take care of her if she’ll just agree to not commit suicide, Jessie responds with, “You’ve just …show more content…
Although Mama does not fully grasp that she made a mistake, Jessie still achieves her goal. She does not want to argue with her mother, or hold a grudge. She says about her decision to tell Mama about her suicide, "I only told you so I could explain it, so you wouldn't blame yourself, so you wouldn't feel bad. There wasn't anything you could say to change my mind. I didn't want you to save me. I just wanted you to know" (48). This statement applies also to her choice to talk about Mama's past choices regarding Jessie: she doesn't want to hurt her, but she does want her to know that she should have known about her seizures as a child. Jessie knows that she and her mother do not see her mother’s choices the same way. In the end, it is good enough for Jessie to have responded to her mother’s past choices, even if Mama does not understand why her decisions were the wrong