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Mrs. Packard
"Emily Mann is one of our most urgently engaging, provocative and significant American playwrights."--Joyce Carol Oates"Elizabeth Packard emerges as a vibrant, passionate force of nature."--"The New York Times"Illinois, 1861: Without proof of insanity, Elizabeth Packard is committed by her husband to an asylum. Based on historical events, Emily Mann's play tells of one woman's struggle to right a system gone wrong in this winner of the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays Award.Emily Mann is a playwright and director, now in her nineteenth season as artistic director of McCarter Theatre. Her award-winning plays have been produced throughout the world.
96 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 11, 2018
4.5/5 Intense.
“I am not mad; I merely disagree with my husband, as many sane wives do.”
I read this for a Gender and Woman Studies class and oh my god. The beginning is a bit slow but towards the end it was hard to put the book down. The last page was absolutely haunting
This story highlights the abusive power of men. Doctors taking advantage of their patients. Husbands treating their wives like property. Other men going against a woman because she has opinions of her own.
I highly recommend this story. What a thrilling tale of a woman refusing to bow down to men. Very empowering and insightful.
“I am not mad; I merely disagree with my husband, as many sane wives do.”
I read this for a Gender and Woman Studies class and oh my god. The beginning is a bit slow but towards the end it was hard to put the book down. The last page was absolutely haunting
This story highlights the abusive power of men. Doctors taking advantage of their patients. Husbands treating their wives like property. Other men going against a woman because she has opinions of her own.
I highly recommend this story. What a thrilling tale of a woman refusing to bow down to men. Very empowering and insightful.
April 6, 2024
I’m a sucker for a courtroom play. One that rages against the patriarchy, hypocritical religion, and exposes how poorly mistreated the ‘mentally ill’ are is even better. The fact that it was based on a real person and that it was funny, brings it to 5 stars. . I’m not so sure how well this could be staged, but I do think it is extremely relevant.
October 17, 2019
Emily Mann has created a powerful play based on historical events, about a woman, Mrs. Packard, who is committed to an insane asylum because she disagrees with her pastor husband's religious views of the world. Her committal at the hands of her husband, and an arrogant doctor who cannot fathom that he might be in the wrong, is that catalyst for a story that is thankfully a relic from the past, but is sadly, far too relevant to today's society.
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February 26, 2025“As I have told you repeatedly, you may think your own thoughts, Elizabeth, when you are thinking right; and once you are thinking right, you may return home.”
It’s SO hard to come up with a star rating for a written piece of art that’s supposed to be consumed preformed. I may come back to this for a rating, I might not. Absolutely loved this though, still hauntingly relevant today.
It’s SO hard to come up with a star rating for a written piece of art that’s supposed to be consumed preformed. I may come back to this for a rating, I might not. Absolutely loved this though, still hauntingly relevant today.
June 13, 2018
Riveting!
I was sceptical to read this at first due to it being an assignment for college. However, I found the play to be beautifully written, filled with heartache and pain felt for Mrs. Packard. Definitely will read this again just because it was a captivating story. 5/5!
I was sceptical to read this at first due to it being an assignment for college. However, I found the play to be beautifully written, filled with heartache and pain felt for Mrs. Packard. Definitely will read this again just because it was a captivating story. 5/5!
July 8, 2020
A truly off the wall story brought to life in a completely compelling way.
March 29, 2021
This was so engrossing. I am looking forward to producing that.
January 1, 2026
I loved this play. Great quick read, I read this in school and it was about a woman who was committed to an insane asylum bc her husband was sick of her
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 20, 2016
God, I really wanted to love this play more than I did. As much as my friends recommended the tar out of this play, I just didn't like it that much.
Mrs. Packard is a play about a case involving a young married woman proclaiming her radical ideas of religion to her Calvinist pastor husband, and it committed to an asylum. There's a lot of interesting twists within the asylum and the juxtaposition of the asylum scenes with the testimonials of witnesses during her trial were a nice touch... but I can't help but compare this to another film about a sane person in an asylum: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
What Cuckoo's Nest has that Mrs. Packard doesn't is real tangible drama with realistic characters. Besides Dr. Macfarlane, not many asylum staff or patients are very memorable because not a lot of them are fleshed out or interesting. And if you've see One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, a lot of the same themes and ideas are in Mrs. Packard, but with a feminist coat of paint over it, and an interesting look at how seriously religious folk take their dogma (especially back in Mrs. Packard's time).
The play is still decently written and holds interest while you read it, but after I finished it I personally had no desire to go back and read and dissect it like the other plays I've read this year. Mrs. Packard isn't terribly good or terrible terrible. It's just a decent play.
Mrs. Packard is a play about a case involving a young married woman proclaiming her radical ideas of religion to her Calvinist pastor husband, and it committed to an asylum. There's a lot of interesting twists within the asylum and the juxtaposition of the asylum scenes with the testimonials of witnesses during her trial were a nice touch... but I can't help but compare this to another film about a sane person in an asylum: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
What Cuckoo's Nest has that Mrs. Packard doesn't is real tangible drama with realistic characters. Besides Dr. Macfarlane, not many asylum staff or patients are very memorable because not a lot of them are fleshed out or interesting. And if you've see One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, a lot of the same themes and ideas are in Mrs. Packard, but with a feminist coat of paint over it, and an interesting look at how seriously religious folk take their dogma (especially back in Mrs. Packard's time).
The play is still decently written and holds interest while you read it, but after I finished it I personally had no desire to go back and read and dissect it like the other plays I've read this year. Mrs. Packard isn't terribly good or terrible terrible. It's just a decent play.
October 13, 2013
It's a fascinating story that makes you question till the end whether "she is sane or insane?" The testimonies from the trial seem ridiculous, but then at the very end when it sums up her life, it makes you wonder if you were being one sided on the whole thing. Otherwise, it is a very easy play to read, that gives you smooth transitions from scene to scene
August 23, 2016
Actual rating: 4.5
I enjoyed this play. I felt righteous anger for Mrs. Packard and I loved that I was able to feel so passionately about the text. It was also interesting to see how the reader/audience member had to question Mrs Packard's sanity. I didn't care for one of the transitions, but otherwise a lovely read!
I enjoyed this play. I felt righteous anger for Mrs. Packard and I loved that I was able to feel so passionately about the text. It was also interesting to see how the reader/audience member had to question Mrs Packard's sanity. I didn't care for one of the transitions, but otherwise a lovely read!
October 12, 2014
I really enjoyed this. It is thought provoking and empowering, but still very engaging. I couldn't help but draw parallels between Elizabeth and both Jane Eyre and Bertha Mason, and that was fun for me to think about.
11+
11+
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews