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شب بخیر، مادر
شب بخیر،مادر نمایش یک شب تعیین کننده از زندگی یک مادر و دختر است ،مادر سعی دارد جلوی دخترش جسی را که قصد خودکشی دارد بگیرد به همین سبب سعی می کند تلخ کامی جسی را در زندگی توجیه کند-فروپاشی ازدواج اش را ،بزه کار شدن پسرش را،و...-اما متوجه می شود که جسی آگاهانه قصد مرگ کرده تا حداقل عنان این یک لحظه از زندگی اش دست خودش باشد.
First published January 1, 1983
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About the author
Marsha Norman
57 books54 followersMarsha Norman is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. She received the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play 'night, Mother. She wrote the book and lyrics for such Broadway musicals as The Secret Garden, for which she won a Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical, and The Red Shoes, as well as the libretto for the musical The Color Purple and the book for the musical The Bridges of Madison County. She was co-chair of the playwriting department at The Juilliard School until stepping down in 2020.
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December 18, 2016
'Night, Mother is Marsha Norman's play that won the Pulitzer for drama in 1983. Produced the year after Beth Henley won the Pulitzer for Crimes of the Heart, the two women ushered in a renaissance of Southern female play writing. Chilling in its message and delivered with no intermission, 'Night, Mother tells the tale of a mother and daughter grappling to stay afloat in life.
Forty-year-old Jessie Cates has battled epilepsy, mental illness, and depression for her entire life. Following her latest episode a year earlier which resulted in her husband Cecil leaving and divorcing her, Jessie has moved back home with her mother Thelma. Even though Jessie diligently catalogues ever item the pair owns, it appears that she has finally turned the corner in her life.
Widowed Thelma has come to terms with the fact that she and her husband never loved each other all that much. A woman growing old in an sprawling house, Thelma needs Jessie's companionship and caregiving as much as Jessie needs her. Yet, Jessie was always more like her father, from her interests in fishing and horseback riding to her genetic makeup that is the root cause of her epileptic seizures. As a result, the pair was never as close as mothers and daughters should be.
In this short, powerful play, Jessie tells her mother that she is not only contemplating suicide, but that she is about to do it. Both women have baggage lasting for their entire lives, and Thelma in desperation, attempts to talk Jessie out of it. In her tale of Southern grit, Norman brings issues like mental health diseases and suicide to a forefront at a time when society was first becoming aware of the issues at large. First starring Kathy Bates as Jessie, 'Night, Mother most likely delivered as chilling a performance to its initial audience as it does in printed form.
Having read many Pulitzer winning plays this year, I rate 'Night, Mother highly, both for its genre of female Southern grit and its message about mental health awareness. A chilling story that runs the gamut of human emotions, I would be interested in seeing a playhouse production of this tale. Even though I prefer charming Southern stories to the grittiness, I rate Marsha Norman's play 4 stars for its grit and rawness.
Forty-year-old Jessie Cates has battled epilepsy, mental illness, and depression for her entire life. Following her latest episode a year earlier which resulted in her husband Cecil leaving and divorcing her, Jessie has moved back home with her mother Thelma. Even though Jessie diligently catalogues ever item the pair owns, it appears that she has finally turned the corner in her life.
Widowed Thelma has come to terms with the fact that she and her husband never loved each other all that much. A woman growing old in an sprawling house, Thelma needs Jessie's companionship and caregiving as much as Jessie needs her. Yet, Jessie was always more like her father, from her interests in fishing and horseback riding to her genetic makeup that is the root cause of her epileptic seizures. As a result, the pair was never as close as mothers and daughters should be.
In this short, powerful play, Jessie tells her mother that she is not only contemplating suicide, but that she is about to do it. Both women have baggage lasting for their entire lives, and Thelma in desperation, attempts to talk Jessie out of it. In her tale of Southern grit, Norman brings issues like mental health diseases and suicide to a forefront at a time when society was first becoming aware of the issues at large. First starring Kathy Bates as Jessie, 'Night, Mother most likely delivered as chilling a performance to its initial audience as it does in printed form.
Having read many Pulitzer winning plays this year, I rate 'Night, Mother highly, both for its genre of female Southern grit and its message about mental health awareness. A chilling story that runs the gamut of human emotions, I would be interested in seeing a playhouse production of this tale. Even though I prefer charming Southern stories to the grittiness, I rate Marsha Norman's play 4 stars for its grit and rawness.
September 19, 2023
دوستانِ گرانقدر، این نمایشنامه، گفتگویِ شبانهٔ یک مادر و دختر است.. شخصیتِ اصلیِ داستان، «جسی کینز» ۴۰ ساله بوده که زنی رنگ پریده و ضعیف است.. این زنِ تنها، مبتلا به صرع بوده و بسیار کم حرف میباشد... جسی حتی در زندگیِ مشترک و عشق هم شکست خورده و شوهرش «سیسیل» او را طلاق داده و ترک کرده است.. حتی فرزندش «ریکی» که در مسیرِ خلافکاری و اعتیاد قرار گرفته هم به دیدنِ جسی نمیرود، مگر آنکه بخواهد چیزی از مادرش دزدیده و بردارد... تمامی این مسائل باعث شده تا جسی به این باور برسد که در تمامیِ دورانِ زندگی با او همچون زباله رفتار شده و همه از او سواستفاده کرده اند.. جسی با مادرش «تلما» که ۶۰ سال سن دارد، زندگی میکند... حال، نزدیک به شبِ تولدِ جسی است و جسی تفنگِ قدیمی پدرش را پیدا کرده و به مادش میگوید، قصدِ خودکشی دارد.. بنابراین گفتگوها حولِ محورِ خودکشی او میچرخد و مادر قصد دارد تا با زبان و دلیل آوردنهای مختلف و به حرف گرفتنِ دخترش، از خودکشیِ وی، جلوگیری کند... عزیزانم بهتر است خودتان این نمایشنامه را که سببِ شهرتِ «مارشا نورمن» شده است را خوانده و از سرانجامِ آن آگاه شوید
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جملاتِ انتخاب شده از این کتاب
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مادر: تو نمیدونی مرگ چه جوریه! ممکنه اصلاً ساکت نباشه. اگه مثلِ ساعتِ شماطه دار باشه و تو هم هیچ وقت نتونی بیدار بشی و خاموشش کنی، چی؟
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جسی: مرگ یعنی ناپدید شدنِ تمومِ اون آدمها و چیزهایی که من میشناختم. مرگ یعنی سکوت... سکوتِ محض
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جسی: اگه از من بپرسی، میگم مسیح هم خودکشی کرد
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جسی: من نمیتونم زندگیم رو کاریش بکنم.. نه میتونم تغییرش بدم، نه میتونم بهترش کنم، نه میتونم به خودم بقبولونم که ازش خوشم میاد. نه میتونم بیشتر دوسش داشته باشم، نه میتونم درستش کنم... اما میتونم متوقفش کنم که.. ببندمش، خاموشش کنم، مثلِ رادیویی که دیگه برنامهٔ به درد بخوری برایِ شنیدن نداره. این تنها چیزیه که واقعاً متعلق به منه و خودِ من باید تصمیم بگیرم که چی سرش بیاد.... متوقف میشه... من میخوام متوقفش کنم
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جسی: سیگار تنها چیزیه که دیدم همیشه دقیقاً همون چیزیه که فکر میکنی باید باشه.. دقیقاً همون طور که دفعهٔ قبل بوده، هر وقت هوسش رو بکنی، دم دستته و واقعاً ساکت و بی صداست
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جسی: کسی که من از دست دادمش، خودمم.. کسی که هیچوقت نبودم، کسی هست که سعی کردم بشم، اما هیچ وقت نشدم.. کسی هست که منتظرش بودم، اما هیچ وقت نیومد، هیچ وقت هم نمیاد... بنابراین، میبینی، دیگه مهم نیست که تو دنیا یا حتی تو این خونه دیگه چه اتفاقی می افته، چه دری به تخته میخوره... منم اون چیزی که ارزشِ منتظر شدن داشت، ولی نشد که بشه... منی که ممکن بود تأثیر دیگه ای رو زندگیم داشته باشه.... اون من دیگه پیداش نمیشه، پس دیگه دلیلی برای موندن نیست
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امیدوارم این ریویو در جهتِ آشنایی با این کتاب، کافی و مفید بوده باشه
«پیروز باشید و ایرانی»
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جملاتِ انتخاب شده از این کتاب
++++++++++++++++
مادر: تو نمیدونی مرگ چه جوریه! ممکنه اصلاً ساکت نباشه. اگه مثلِ ساعتِ شماطه دار باشه و تو هم هیچ وقت نتونی بیدار بشی و خاموشش کنی، چی؟
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جسی: مرگ یعنی ناپدید شدنِ تمومِ اون آدمها و چیزهایی که من میشناختم. مرگ یعنی سکوت... سکوتِ محض
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جسی: اگه از من بپرسی، میگم مسیح هم خودکشی کرد
**************************
جسی: من نمیتونم زندگیم رو کاریش بکنم.. نه میتونم تغییرش بدم، نه میتونم بهترش کنم، نه میتونم به خودم بقبولونم که ازش خوشم میاد. نه میتونم بیشتر دوسش داشته باشم، نه میتونم درستش کنم... اما میتونم متوقفش کنم که.. ببندمش، خاموشش کنم، مثلِ رادیویی که دیگه برنامهٔ به درد بخوری برایِ شنیدن نداره. این تنها چیزیه که واقعاً متعلق به منه و خودِ من باید تصمیم بگیرم که چی سرش بیاد.... متوقف میشه... من میخوام متوقفش کنم
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جسی: سیگار تنها چیزیه که دیدم همیشه دقیقاً همون چیزیه که فکر میکنی باید باشه.. دقیقاً همون طور که دفعهٔ قبل بوده، هر وقت هوسش رو بکنی، دم دستته و واقعاً ساکت و بی صداست
**************************
جسی: کسی که من از دست دادمش، خودمم.. کسی که هیچوقت نبودم، کسی هست که سعی کردم بشم، اما هیچ وقت نشدم.. کسی هست که منتظرش بودم، اما هیچ وقت نیومد، هیچ وقت هم نمیاد... بنابراین، میبینی، دیگه مهم نیست که تو دنیا یا حتی تو این خونه دیگه چه اتفاقی می افته، چه دری به تخته میخوره... منم اون چیزی که ارزشِ منتظر شدن داشت، ولی نشد که بشه... منی که ممکن بود تأثیر دیگه ای رو زندگیم داشته باشه.... اون من دیگه پیداش نمیشه، پس دیگه دلیلی برای موندن نیست
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امیدوارم این ریویو در جهتِ آشنایی با این کتاب، کافی و مفید بوده باشه
«پیروز باشید و ایرانی»
December 26, 2024
شب بخیر مادر به نظرم همون چیزیه که یک نمایشنامه کوتاه باید باشه - چیزی که تو حدود شصت صفحه و طی یک صحنه روایت میشه: یک برش هولناک از زندگی که تکونت میده - بدجورم تکونت میده.
چون از همون صفحات ابتدایی نمایشنامه متوجه خواهید شد و اگر هم هر متنی راجع به این نمایشنامه بخونید احتمالا متوجه میشید، این نمایشنامه راجع به قصد خودکشی یک دختر به نام جسیه که با مامانش زندگی میکنه. در واقع کل نمایشنامه متشکل از دیالوگ جسی و مامان سر همین موضوعه.
حالا چی باعث میشه این متن یه نمایشنامه هولناک بشه؟ ظرافتی که نویسنده تو نگاهش به این مسئله داشته. یه لحظه فکر کنید تو دنیای واقعی یه فرد (چه دختر چه پسر) تو طبقه ای زندگی کرده که پدر و مادرها نه تنها تا خرخره تو ناآگاهانی و حماقتِ حاصل از فقر و فلاکت هستند، بلکه با هم تشکیل ناکارآمدترین و سمیترین خانوادهها رو دادن. حالا این فرد از همون بچگیاش هم با بدبیاری و بدبختی بار اومده باشه. فردی که در بزرگسالی هم چیزی جز ناکامی و تلخکامی و بیماری سرنوشتش نباشه. حالا تصور کنید یه روز این فرد بالای خاکسترِ تمام این زندگی وایساده و با حالی اندکی التیام یافته از ضربات زجرآور زندگی، به مادرش میگه من خودمو میخوام بکشم!
به نظرم اینجاس که نویسنده نشون میده چقدر همه چیز میتونه واقعی و نزدیک و در عین حال، دور و مضحک به نظر برسه. از همون ابتدا، واکنش مادرِ سرکوبشده، محروم و عامهی این خانوادهی مضحک که زندگیاش، مثل بسیاری از آدمای واقعی، تنه به تنهی زندگی نباتی میزنه (حداقل از دید رخوتی که توی زندگی دارن و سالها میتونن بدون دیدن و تجربه کوچکترین چیز جدید یا یادگرفتن چیزی با تلوزیون و روزمرگی فاجعهوار سر کنن) چیزی جز ناباوری نابالغانه و بچگانه نیست. ناباوریای که کم کم رنگ و بوهای متفاوتی به خود میگیره. در ادامه هم بالا و پایین رفتن مداوم این کنشها و واکنشهارو بین این دختر و مادر میبینیم و پرده از این زندگی تلخ برای جسی و مادرش و دیگر افراد این خانواده برداشته میشه.
البته که تو این داستان، جسی هم مصون نیست. اگه یکم دقیق تر بشیم به رابطه کورکورانه جسی با پدرش و تحتالشعاع قرار گرفتن مادرش از این رابطه میرسیم. پدری نالایق و مادری کوتهفکر بالاخره بعد از هرکاریم، تاثیری در محصول نهایی این خانواده که جسی باشه گذاشتن که از لابهلای خطوط این نمایشنامه پیداست.
در نهایت باید بگم که نمیدونم هرمخاطبی با این نمایشنامه چه تجربهای کسب میکنه اما من با "جزر و مد مهیبِ این آخرین موجهای یک زندگی" بالا و پایین رفتم و در کشتی از همهجا شکستهشون سهیم بودم. یا حداقل حس کردم که سهیمم و میدونم وقتی همه چیز دنیا دست به دست میده تا در پسِ سادگیها و پیچیدگیها، تقصیرها و بیتقصیریها، دوستداشتنها و نداشتنها، دروغها و حماقتها، یه کاری کنه تا نشون بده که زندگی چقدر میتونه نشه که بشه. گرچه بازم مدام سعی میکنیم بتونه که بشه ولی شایدم یه روز مثل جسی نخوایم که حتی اگه یک درصد شدنی باشه، بشه که بشه.
* این نمایشنامه رو با ترجمه مهتاب صفدری خوندم که به نظر ترجمه خوبی بود. توی گودریدز نتونستم ادیشن مرتبط با این ترجمه رو پیدا کنم.
چون از همون صفحات ابتدایی نمایشنامه متوجه خواهید شد و اگر هم هر متنی راجع به این نمایشنامه بخونید احتمالا متوجه میشید، این نمایشنامه راجع به قصد خودکشی یک دختر به نام جسیه که با مامانش زندگی میکنه. در واقع کل نمایشنامه متشکل از دیالوگ جسی و مامان سر همین موضوعه.
حالا چی باعث میشه این متن یه نمایشنامه هولناک بشه؟ ظرافتی که نویسنده تو نگاهش به این مسئله داشته. یه لحظه فکر کنید تو دنیای واقعی یه فرد (چه دختر چه پسر) تو طبقه ای زندگی کرده که پدر و مادرها نه تنها تا خرخره تو ناآگاهانی و حماقتِ حاصل از فقر و فلاکت هستند، بلکه با هم تشکیل ناکارآمدترین و سمیترین خانوادهها رو دادن. حالا این فرد از همون بچگیاش هم با بدبیاری و بدبختی بار اومده باشه. فردی که در بزرگسالی هم چیزی جز ناکامی و تلخکامی و بیماری سرنوشتش نباشه. حالا تصور کنید یه روز این فرد بالای خاکسترِ تمام این زندگی وایساده و با حالی اندکی التیام یافته از ضربات زجرآور زندگی، به مادرش میگه من خودمو میخوام بکشم!
به نظرم اینجاس که نویسنده نشون میده چقدر همه چیز میتونه واقعی و نزدیک و در عین حال، دور و مضحک به نظر برسه. از همون ابتدا، واکنش مادرِ سرکوبشده، محروم و عامهی این خانوادهی مضحک که زندگیاش، مثل بسیاری از آدمای واقعی، تنه به تنهی زندگی نباتی میزنه (حداقل از دید رخوتی که توی زندگی دارن و سالها میتونن بدون دیدن و تجربه کوچکترین چیز جدید یا یادگرفتن چیزی با تلوزیون و روزمرگی فاجعهوار سر کنن) چیزی جز ناباوری نابالغانه و بچگانه نیست. ناباوریای که کم کم رنگ و بوهای متفاوتی به خود میگیره. در ادامه هم بالا و پایین رفتن مداوم این کنشها و واکنشهارو بین این دختر و مادر میبینیم و پرده از این زندگی تلخ برای جسی و مادرش و دیگر افراد این خانواده برداشته میشه.
البته که تو این داستان، جسی هم مصون نیست. اگه یکم دقیق تر بشیم به رابطه کورکورانه جسی با پدرش و تحتالشعاع قرار گرفتن مادرش از این رابطه میرسیم. پدری نالایق و مادری کوتهفکر بالاخره بعد از هرکاریم، تاثیری در محصول نهایی این خانواده که جسی باشه گذاشتن که از لابهلای خطوط این نمایشنامه پیداست.
در نهایت باید بگم که نمیدونم هرمخاطبی با این نمایشنامه چه تجربهای کسب میکنه اما من با "جزر و مد مهیبِ این آخرین موجهای یک زندگی" بالا و پایین رفتم و در کشتی از همهجا شکستهشون سهیم بودم. یا حداقل حس کردم که سهیمم و میدونم وقتی همه چیز دنیا دست به دست میده تا در پسِ سادگیها و پیچیدگیها، تقصیرها و بیتقصیریها، دوستداشتنها و نداشتنها، دروغها و حماقتها، یه کاری کنه تا نشون بده که زندگی چقدر میتونه نشه که بشه. گرچه بازم مدام سعی میکنیم بتونه که بشه ولی شایدم یه روز مثل جسی نخوایم که حتی اگه یک درصد شدنی باشه، بشه که بشه.
* این نمایشنامه رو با ترجمه مهتاب صفدری خوندم که به نظر ترجمه خوبی بود. توی گودریدز نتونستم ادیشن مرتبط با این ترجمه رو پیدا کنم.
February 19, 2014
In my youth, I had a strange list of comfort films that I would turn to both when I was happy or feeling blue. My mom never understood why I gravitated to A Trip to Bountiful, Mrs. Brown, Remains of the Day, and my special favorite ‘night, Mother. I’m sure a part of me likes “sad” things, but I think that even as a youngster, I’ve always been attracted to simplistic beauty that is both deep and meaningful. It’s hard to marry these elements, especially in literature and film, but when I come across them, I have to snatch them up!
I am currently reading a literary thriller wherein the victim was murdered in such a way as to call in to question whether it was self-administered. When perusing the victim’s bedroom, the uncanny order of the closets lead one of the detectives to question whether the victim had “arranged” things in preparation for death, as is common with many people contemplating suicide. I couldn’t help but remember ‘night, Mother, which I had no idea was a play—further yet, that it garnered the Pulitzer Prize in 1983.
A one-act play spanning a few hours, this quite simply is the story of a woman, Jessie, preparing for her death, and her candid, endearing conversation with her mother, who desperately tries to both understand and dissuade her daughter from taking her life. It is such a beautifully written play, and though it’s heavy in scope, I never felt overwhelmed. You find yourself playing the devil’s advocate for both sides, as you’re forced to see how life and its disappointments can snub the life force out of some people who are too “good” for all of the bad out there.
I think the line that just made me lose it was the following, and even reading it now, it just gets to my core!
I am currently reading a literary thriller wherein the victim was murdered in such a way as to call in to question whether it was self-administered. When perusing the victim’s bedroom, the uncanny order of the closets lead one of the detectives to question whether the victim had “arranged” things in preparation for death, as is common with many people contemplating suicide. I couldn’t help but remember ‘night, Mother, which I had no idea was a play—further yet, that it garnered the Pulitzer Prize in 1983.
A one-act play spanning a few hours, this quite simply is the story of a woman, Jessie, preparing for her death, and her candid, endearing conversation with her mother, who desperately tries to both understand and dissuade her daughter from taking her life. It is such a beautifully written play, and though it’s heavy in scope, I never felt overwhelmed. You find yourself playing the devil’s advocate for both sides, as you’re forced to see how life and its disappointments can snub the life force out of some people who are too “good” for all of the bad out there.
I think the line that just made me lose it was the following, and even reading it now, it just gets to my core!
“…I didn't know! I was here with you all the time. How could I know you were so alone?”
November 22, 2025
Remember word problems in math class? Hellish, weren't they? This award winning play is that sort of hell.
Forget the problem with trains crossing America from two different directions. You won't be asked when they will meet in Chicago. The only movement in this play is the relay of words between a daughter and mother. The former wants to kill herself. The latter can't believe her ears.
If a = the daughter and b = the mother, when do they meet minds and what is the outcome?
Answers are in the pages of this remarkable two women play.
Forget the problem with trains crossing America from two different directions. You won't be asked when they will meet in Chicago. The only movement in this play is the relay of words between a daughter and mother. The former wants to kill herself. The latter can't believe her ears.
If a = the daughter and b = the mother, when do they meet minds and what is the outcome?
Answers are in the pages of this remarkable two women play.
September 20, 2015
عالی بود،عالی،واقعا موقع خوندنش یه جاهایی نفسم میگرفت،حرفهای یک مادر و دختر در مدت یکی دو ساعت،تلاش برای حرف زدن و درک همدیگه در زمان باقیمانده،تلاش برای توضیح دادن،یه برخورد کامل،با حرفهایی که فقط در موقعیت های خاص میتونن بین دو نفر رد و بدل بشن،حرفهایی که .جنسش برای همه آشناست و همه گوشه و کنار ذهنمون این جنس حرفها رو حداقل با یه نفر داریم
یکی از غمگینترین و زندهترین نمایشنامه هایی که تا به حال خوندم.
یکی از غمگینترین و زندهترین نمایشنامه هایی که تا به حال خوندم.
January 20, 2016
This brilliant Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Marsha Norman examines the conflict between the will to survive and the choice not to. The original Broadway production made a star of Kathy Bates as the suicidal woman who spends an evening preparing her mother for her departure. This is a riveting script.
Read
April 26, 2022Wow
April 8, 2012
Truly one of my favorite stories of all times. I cry every time I read it. I also wrote a 30-page paper on it, so I think it is fair to call me obsessed. It's a play, so you can easily read it in one sitting...just not on mother's day. :o)
February 1, 2017
I did a one person play of this and in high school!
April 7, 2024
Tek gecede anne kız karakterler arasında geçen bir oyun. Eşiyle ayrıldıktan sonra annesi Thelma ile oturmaya başlayan Jessie'nin yaşamına son verme kararını annesine söylemesi ve Jessie bu kararı gerçekleştirmeye çalışırken annesinin onu durdurmaya çalışması üzerine diyaloglardan ibaret bir metin. Oldukça etkileyici. Ajitasyona düşmeden ve aksamadan bir ailenin ve sosyal çevresinin tahlili yapılmış. Oyun aile dinamikleri, akıl sağlığı ve iletişimsizlik üzerine epeyce konuşturur. Amerika'nın Güney eyaletlerinden çıkan yazarların yeteneği bambaşka gerçekten. Ülkemizde İyi Geceler Anne başlığıyla sahnelenmiş. Yetenekli oyuncuların elinde sarsıcı olabilecek potansiyele sahip.
July 30, 2025
به توصیه عرفان گرفتمش. در عین مشخص بودن همه چیز، کشمکش داشت و درباره تنهایی و ارتباطات کسی بود که دیگه امیدی نداره. مخصوصا ارتباطش با مادرش، و این که چطور چنین رابطه نزدیکی میتونه دور و غریبه بشه.
January 28, 2008
What I would give to have seen the Kathy Bates production.
September 10, 2020
I have been into a deep reading slump for nearly a month. I tried getting back to reading, but my attention was scattered and I couldn't focus. Today, I tried reading a play, and I'm happy to report that it finally worked. Hopefully I'm back :)
I discovered Marsha Norman's "'night, Mother" in a literary anthology that I have. I read her potted biography at the beginning of the play and found it very fascinating. I finally got around to reading the play today.
Jessie's mother is trying to take out a cupcake from the kitchen cabinet. She calls Jessie to ask her something. Jessie enters the room. Jessie seems to be cleaning up something elsewhere in the house. Jessie and her mother start talking. At one point Jessie asks her mother where her father's gun was kept. Jessie's mother tells her that it is in a box in the attic. Jessie goes and gets it. Her mother asks her why she needs the gun. Jessie tells her why. At this point, I have to stop and ponder on whether I should tell you why. I don't want to spoil the surprise and so I won't, and I will skirt around this. Her mother thinks that Jessie is joking, but when she realizes that Jessie is serious, she tries to talk Jessie out of it and uses every kind of stalling tactic to buy time. The rest of the play is a long conversation between Jessie and her mother. What Jessie is planning to do, and whether she succeeds in it or whether her mother succeeds in preventing her is told the rest of the story.
"'night, Mother" is a play which grabs your attention from the first line of dialogue and never lets go till the end. The story is intense, the dialogue is crisp and sharp and amazing and asks all the big questions in beautiful everyday ways, and as the play hurtles towards its denouement, our heart starts beating harder. It is haunting and heartbreaking. I cried when I read the last page.
I loved "'night, Mother". It is a haunting book. I am so glad I discovered Marsha Norman. I haven't heard of many women playwrights before. I haven't read any before (except for a short 10-page play by Wendy Wasserstein). When we talk about 20th century playwrights after the Second World War, the typical names that are mentioned are Tennessee Williams, Harold Pinter, Bertolt Brecht, Samuel Beckett, Arthur Miller – all men. Women playwrights seem to be rarer than rare birds. It is odd. The reason might be that there are not many women playwrights around, or they are there, but they are not getting enough visibility. I think it is probably a combination of both, but I also feel that it is more the first than the second. If we do a simple test, we can discover this. If we pick a contemporary poetry anthology, we'll find that half the poets featured are women. But if we pick an anthology of plays, we'll be lucky to see even one play by a woman playwright. I don't know why things are the way they are. But I am very happy to discover that there are amazing women playwrights out there, and Marsha Norman is among them. "'night, Mother' is one of the great plays I've ever read. It won the Pulitzer when it first came out, was successfully performed in Broadway, and was adapted into a movie starring Sissy Spacek and Anne Bancroft. I hope to watch the movie sometime. I can't wait to read more plays by Marsha Norman.
Have you read "'night, Mother"? What do you think about it? Have you read plays by women playwrights? Who are your favourites? Please give me some recommendations.
I discovered Marsha Norman's "'night, Mother" in a literary anthology that I have. I read her potted biography at the beginning of the play and found it very fascinating. I finally got around to reading the play today.
Jessie's mother is trying to take out a cupcake from the kitchen cabinet. She calls Jessie to ask her something. Jessie enters the room. Jessie seems to be cleaning up something elsewhere in the house. Jessie and her mother start talking. At one point Jessie asks her mother where her father's gun was kept. Jessie's mother tells her that it is in a box in the attic. Jessie goes and gets it. Her mother asks her why she needs the gun. Jessie tells her why. At this point, I have to stop and ponder on whether I should tell you why. I don't want to spoil the surprise and so I won't, and I will skirt around this. Her mother thinks that Jessie is joking, but when she realizes that Jessie is serious, she tries to talk Jessie out of it and uses every kind of stalling tactic to buy time. The rest of the play is a long conversation between Jessie and her mother. What Jessie is planning to do, and whether she succeeds in it or whether her mother succeeds in preventing her is told the rest of the story.
"'night, Mother" is a play which grabs your attention from the first line of dialogue and never lets go till the end. The story is intense, the dialogue is crisp and sharp and amazing and asks all the big questions in beautiful everyday ways, and as the play hurtles towards its denouement, our heart starts beating harder. It is haunting and heartbreaking. I cried when I read the last page.
I loved "'night, Mother". It is a haunting book. I am so glad I discovered Marsha Norman. I haven't heard of many women playwrights before. I haven't read any before (except for a short 10-page play by Wendy Wasserstein). When we talk about 20th century playwrights after the Second World War, the typical names that are mentioned are Tennessee Williams, Harold Pinter, Bertolt Brecht, Samuel Beckett, Arthur Miller – all men. Women playwrights seem to be rarer than rare birds. It is odd. The reason might be that there are not many women playwrights around, or they are there, but they are not getting enough visibility. I think it is probably a combination of both, but I also feel that it is more the first than the second. If we do a simple test, we can discover this. If we pick a contemporary poetry anthology, we'll find that half the poets featured are women. But if we pick an anthology of plays, we'll be lucky to see even one play by a woman playwright. I don't know why things are the way they are. But I am very happy to discover that there are amazing women playwrights out there, and Marsha Norman is among them. "'night, Mother' is one of the great plays I've ever read. It won the Pulitzer when it first came out, was successfully performed in Broadway, and was adapted into a movie starring Sissy Spacek and Anne Bancroft. I hope to watch the movie sometime. I can't wait to read more plays by Marsha Norman.
Have you read "'night, Mother"? What do you think about it? Have you read plays by women playwrights? Who are your favourites? Please give me some recommendations.
December 25, 2024
نمایشی که ساعت ۲۰:۱۵ یه شنبه کاملا معمولی شروع میشه
و با شنیدن صدای گلوله نزدیکای ساعت ۲۲ شب به پایان میرسه.
توی این دو ساعت ما شاهد مکالمهای بین این مادر و دختر هستیم که هیچوقت نتوستن باهم ارتباط برقرار کنن و همهی این درد و دلها موکول شده به ساعتهای پایانی عمر این دختر…
این شلیک و تیر خلاصی تنها کاریه که جسی ازش خوشش میاد، چون تنها کاریه که در همهی این عمر ۴۰ سالهش قراره به اختیار خودش انجام بده…
تلما (مادر) مثل یه کودک ابتدا انکار و مقاومت میکنه، میترسه و در نهایت تسلیم این تصمیم مرگبار دخترش میشه.
مادری که خودش هیچ خیری از زندگیش ندیده و به این ترتیب زندگی دخترش رو هم به نابودی میکشونه. ولی جسی نمیتونه مثل مادرش با بیخیالی و سرخوشی به این زندگی نکبتبار ادامه بده.
یکی از بهترین نمایشنامههایی که خوندم، دیالوگها واقعی، مضحک، غمانگیز و تکاندهندهن.
و با شنیدن صدای گلوله نزدیکای ساعت ۲۲ شب به پایان میرسه.
توی این دو ساعت ما شاهد مکالمهای بین این مادر و دختر هستیم که هیچوقت نتوستن باهم ارتباط برقرار کنن و همهی این درد و دلها موکول شده به ساعتهای پایانی عمر این دختر…
این شلیک و تیر خلاصی تنها کاریه که جسی ازش خوشش میاد، چون تنها کاریه که در همهی این عمر ۴۰ سالهش قراره به اختیار خودش انجام بده…
تلما (مادر) مثل یه کودک ابتدا انکار و مقاومت میکنه، میترسه و در نهایت تسلیم این تصمیم مرگبار دخترش میشه.
مادری که خودش هیچ خیری از زندگیش ندیده و به این ترتیب زندگی دخترش رو هم به نابودی میکشونه. ولی جسی نمیتونه مثل مادرش با بیخیالی و سرخوشی به این زندگی نکبتبار ادامه بده.
یکی از بهترین نمایشنامههایی که خوندم، دیالوگها واقعی، مضحک، غمانگیز و تکاندهندهن.
November 22, 2024
روایتی از بیصدا رنج کشیدن انسانها.
شاید همواره داستانهایی که شنیدیم و خوندیم از لحظهی تصمیم به خودکشیه. اینکه آدمها فلسفهبافی میکنن و دلایلشون برای خودکشی رو مرور میکنن. گرفتار دردهاشون میشن و طی سکوت طولانی یه نامهای مینویسن و بعد تمام. اما تو این نمایشنامهی کوتاه مکالمهای شکل میگیره بین جسی و مادرش. جسی نه از دردها و دلایلش میگه و نه حتی تصمیمش از روی استیصاله. اینطور که به نظر میرسه اون حالش بد نیست. فقط به قول خودش مثل اینه که الان توی اتوبوسی قرار گرفته باشه و اینجا پیاده شدنش تفاوتی نداره با پیاده شدن توی ایستگاه دیگه.
شاید همواره داستانهایی که شنیدیم و خوندیم از لحظهی تصمیم به خودکشیه. اینکه آدمها فلسفهبافی میکنن و دلایلشون برای خودکشی رو مرور میکنن. گرفتار دردهاشون میشن و طی سکوت طولانی یه نامهای مینویسن و بعد تمام. اما تو این نمایشنامهی کوتاه مکالمهای شکل میگیره بین جسی و مادرش. جسی نه از دردها و دلایلش میگه و نه حتی تصمیمش از روی استیصاله. اینطور که به نظر میرسه اون حالش بد نیست. فقط به قول خودش مثل اینه که الان توی اتوبوسی قرار گرفته باشه و اینجا پیاده شدنش تفاوتی نداره با پیاده شدن توی ایستگاه دیگه.
October 25, 2015
Nomadic SA Chick's Book Reviews
Summary
Jessie is tired. She's tired of her life, of disappointment, or heart-aches, and fight. Jessie wants to die. Recently divorced, Jessie has moved back in with her widowed mother, along with her wild-child teenage son. On a lonely night, Jessie shares her death plan with her mother, and there begins the play as her mother tries everything she can to get Jessie to change her mind.
Review
This play left me speechless. Norman did a great job writing on such a heavy and sensitive subject of suicide. I was not expecting that. I felt like it was an honest reflection of someone who is determined to end their life. It feels weird to say, but I loved this play. It is really good. It's dark yet honest, and very raw.
Ratings (based on a 10 point scale)
Quality of Writing - 9
Pace - 10
Plot Development - 9
Characters - 8
Enjoyability - 9
Insightfulness - 7
Ease of Reading - 9
Photos/Illustrations - N/A
Overall Rating - 5 out of 5 stars
Summary
Jessie is tired. She's tired of her life, of disappointment, or heart-aches, and fight. Jessie wants to die. Recently divorced, Jessie has moved back in with her widowed mother, along with her wild-child teenage son. On a lonely night, Jessie shares her death plan with her mother, and there begins the play as her mother tries everything she can to get Jessie to change her mind.
Review
This play left me speechless. Norman did a great job writing on such a heavy and sensitive subject of suicide. I was not expecting that. I felt like it was an honest reflection of someone who is determined to end their life. It feels weird to say, but I loved this play. It is really good. It's dark yet honest, and very raw.
Ratings (based on a 10 point scale)
Quality of Writing - 9
Pace - 10
Plot Development - 9
Characters - 8
Enjoyability - 9
Insightfulness - 7
Ease of Reading - 9
Photos/Illustrations - N/A
Overall Rating - 5 out of 5 stars
September 11, 2010
Years ago I saw part of the movie version of this play starring Sissy Spasek and Anne Bancroft. Just the little bit I watched has stayed with me after a good 20 years or so.
'night Mother is a play about a woman named Jessie who tells her mother she has decided to commit suicide. Jessie lists out her reasons and her mother tries to get her to change her mind. The dialog is painful and harrowing and packs quite a punch. If reading this had such an impact on me I can only imagine what it must have been like to see it live.
'night Mother is a play about a woman named Jessie who tells her mother she has decided to commit suicide. Jessie lists out her reasons and her mother tries to get her to change her mind. The dialog is painful and harrowing and packs quite a punch. If reading this had such an impact on me I can only imagine what it must have been like to see it live.
July 20, 2011
Damn.
June 1, 2025
ﻣﺎدر: ﺗﻮ ﻧﻤﯽ دوﻧﯽ ﻣﺮگ ﭼ ﻪﺟﻮري ﺋﻪ. ﻣﻤﮑﻦ ﺋﻪ اﺻﻼً ﺳﺎﮐﺖ ﻧﺒﺎﺷﻪ. اﮔﻪ ﻣﺜﻞ ﺳﺎﻋﺖ ﺷﻤﺎﻃﻪ دار ﺑﺎﺷﻪ و ﺗﻮ ﻫﻢ ﻫﯿﭻ وﻗﺖ ﻧﺘﻮﻧﯽ ﺑﯿﺪار ﺑﺸﯽ و ﺧﺎﻣﻮش ش ﮐﻨﯽ، ﭼﯽ؟
April 18, 2014
I have been fascinated by this story since I was just a little girl . It asks a lot of pertinent questions forcing the reader to think about things we usually push away to the back of our minds although one day we will have to face them anyway. It 's also just such a major tear jerker and so suspenseful too. I do love this one. Reading it as an adult was much different for me as it was when I was 10 years of age but still, I recall the same feelings and the same questions being raised in my own young mind about life and just how it can get to you, people and how the ones we love let us down the most even when it's the very last thing they intended to do, and about choices- and of course the big question of life after death. Yes I give this one 3.5 stars -- no wait -- 4 stars for originality.
June 2, 2012
Terse, tense, and always timely, Marsha Norman's play reaches down into the depth of despair to reveal the stark reality of a dream lost and a life left unlived. Set in anyhome, and anytown, the play takes an unflinching look at the choice to die vs. the desire to live through the eyes of Jessie, an epileptic woman in her late 30's - whose life has remained vague, despite her wish for otherwise. Her mother, a matter-of-fact older woman, must come to face to face with the truth despite her wish to gloss it over as she battles her own mortality. In the end, Norman gives us a play of pure power that is crowded with meaning and yet, stark in its solitude.
Powerful and poignant, whether it is read or performed.
Powerful and poignant, whether it is read or performed.
January 7, 2022
I went into this book knowing nothing about it. I didn't look it up or read the back, and wow did it take me by surprise. At 8 pages in it took a turn that hooked me. The play shows you a relationship between a mother and a daughter, and how their dynamic changes over a course of an evening. It is not for everyone as it deals with darker subjects but shows that life choices are made by a compilation of your past ones.
May 14, 2022
"It's somebody I lost, all right, it's my own self. Who I never was. Or who I tried to be and never got there. Somebody I waited for who never came. And never will."
December 23, 2024
جسی: فکر کنم بتونم خودمو بکشم، مامان.
تلما: این گناهه! می ری جهنم!
جسی: من که می گم خودِ مسیح هم خودکشی کرد.
.
.
طبق معمول وارد کتاب فروشی شده بودم و پرسه می زدم که این کتاب رو بهم معرفی کردن. نشستم و همونجا یک نفس خوندمش، انگار کارکنان رو با دیر رفتنم حسابی آزردم.
تلما: این گناهه! می ری جهنم!
جسی: من که می گم خودِ مسیح هم خودکشی کرد.
.
.
طبق معمول وارد کتاب فروشی شده بودم و پرسه می زدم که این کتاب رو بهم معرفی کردن. نشستم و همونجا یک نفس خوندمش، انگار کارکنان رو با دیر رفتنم حسابی آزردم.
December 16, 2013
Much of the play felt amateurishly calculated and redundant. The integration of the characters' history through dialogue was clumsily cobbled between spurts of the mother's protests and felt canned. The writing almost seems like an acting exercise of clear objectives and tactics that would be useful for scene work except it carries on for too long to remain interesting. The tactics and literary devices are so unsubtle the play reads like an amateur trying to write a play about suicide but only digging at the surface level. It's overall message seems to be that suicide is a necessary avenue for people with certain first world problems and that those preventing them that are in the wrong and should be convinced otherwise.
July 16, 2012
Review seen here: http://bookishnonsense.blogspot.com/2...
This is one of those plays where the acting would have to be absolutely stellar. It's all tension. It's about a woman, Jessie, who very calmly goes about her day and tells her mother she is going to kill herself. It's very dark. Norman does an excellent job creating these characters and revealing their stories. There are only two characters in this play, which as I said, heightens the tension. There is no intermission, and you absolutely MUST read this in one sitting, no interruptions. 5/5
This is one of those plays where the acting would have to be absolutely stellar. It's all tension. It's about a woman, Jessie, who very calmly goes about her day and tells her mother she is going to kill herself. It's very dark. Norman does an excellent job creating these characters and revealing their stories. There are only two characters in this play, which as I said, heightens the tension. There is no intermission, and you absolutely MUST read this in one sitting, no interruptions. 5/5
December 17, 2018
And we hear the shot, and it sounds like an answer, it sounds like No.
August 4, 2024
Mama (Coming over, now, taking over now): What are you doing?
Jessie: The barrel has to be clean, Mama. Old powder, dust gets in it. . .
Mama: What for?
Jessie: I told you.
Mama (Reaching for the gun): And I told you, we don't get criminals out here.
Jessie (Quickly pulling it to her): And I told you. . .(Then trying to be calm) The gun is for me.
Mama: Well, you can have it if you want. When I die, you'll get it all, anyway.
Jessie: I'm going to kill myself, Mama.
Mama (Returning to the sofa): Very funny. Very funny.
Jessie: I am.
Mama: You are not! Don't even say such a thing, Jessie.
Jessie: How would you know if I didn't say it? You want it to be a surprise?
Winner of the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for drama, Marsha Norman's 'night, Mother is a claustrophobic play about a daughter telling her mother she will be committing suicide that night and the conversations which ensue. Without any intermissions or acts or parts, it's a nonstop build of intensity and despair. As a reader/viewer, we ask ourselves: How mentally ill is Jessie? What is wrong with Thelma, her mother?
While the pacing in unrelenting, I marvel at Norman's ability to dramatize Jessie's decision and have Jessie defend her choice of suicide over continued existence. This aspect of the play makes it somewhat dangerous as drama, since a potential viewer/reader can be beguiled by Jessie's rebellious stance, believing Jessie makes more sense than her mother. But she doesn't...right?
It's a tough play to digest. The conversations seem real, the setting seems real and common. Life--especially for Jessie--really sucks. But is this the proper response?
'night, Mother is a harrowing yet provocative glimpse into mental illness and suicide. It's a play not easily digested, not easily forgotten.
March 5, 2023
Good play, sad story, not very famous in Iran but it's been on stage twice, different times.
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