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December 4, 2013 by maggiew@uoregon.edu
For this week, please respond to Lettice and Lovage as an examination of art and politics. What does it say about how people relate to art? What is the role of politics in this world?
Looking forward to tomorrow!
Maggie
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First of all, I’d like start by saying that I’m incredibly sorry and upset that I missed the reading on Monday night. I was looking forward to it very much, but unfortunately it slipped my mind and, on top of that, I had the date written down wrong in my planner. Water under the bridge, I suppose. Moving on.
Despite the fact that I didn’t make it to the reading on Monday night, I was able to finish the play. In reading the work, it wasn’t easy to tell that both Lettice and Lotte are extraordinarily underwhelmed by the world around them. Lettice’s habit of embellishing stories and straying from the facts illustrates her own need to be surrounded by activity and excitement in a world that she finds boring; Lotte’s cold demeanor and repression of her personality signify a sense of uncomfortableness in her own skin due to the demands society has placed upon her. When these two women eventually start to become friends and discover their shared dislike of modern English architecture, playwright Peter Shaffer truly illuminates the degree to which these two women are lost in a world that they don’t understand. In their shared fascination for antiquated architecture and for reenacting historical events, these women are able to find some bit of comfort and to put some distant between themselves and reality. As Professor Mossberg shared with us in class, Shaffer has always been interested in what she referred to as “independence of mind.” Throughout the entire play, Lettice and Lotte’s relationship is based on the relationship between the original and the mundane. At first, this contrast plays out in the portrayal of the two women, but as their friendship grows, the viewer/reader discovers that the imagination of these two women are what places the BOTH of them at odds with the mundanity of the modern world. All in all, Shaffer’s play is a commentary on the difficulty we face in discovering autonomy in a world that is rapidly changing–whether we like it or not.
Lettice and Lovage is an intimate portrayal of the relationship people form with art. Lettice’s use of theater as an outlet to escape reality along with the emotional connection and fond memories she has of her mother and theater demonstrate that art isn’t just something to be looked at but to be felt. It was her escape from the “mere.” Lottie’s immersion into theater help her to break out of her shell and expand upon an unknown passion. Together, through art, they’re inspired to conquer the present together and stop being cowardly, and gain confidence along the way.