The Drama “The Little Foxes” by Lillian Hellman Essay (Book Review)

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The title of this drama is the essence of all three members of the Hubbard family. This heading means the identification of the characters with foxes, animals that people most often associate with cunning, tricks, and deception. While two greedy brothers have divided the family assets into two independent businesses, the sister uses her wealthy but humble husband as a tool to fulfill her ambitions (Hartley & Ladu, 1948).

Each of the three members of the Hubbard family tries to outsmart the other for the most benefit. In the title, however, there is one controversial point, since the characters presented cannot in any way be called “little” foxes, being adults. However, this phrase references the Bible and the Song of Solomon, in which there are lines about foxes that spoil vineyards full of ripe grapes. Therefore, despite the slight possible confusion, this name perfectly reflects the essence of the relationship between Hubbard’s siblings.

Initially, the headline directs the reader to the actions of all three members of the Hubbard family, giving them a characterization and immediately setting a specific mood. By looking at the words at the beginning of the play, the reader can immediately expect some kind of trick. From my point of view, the formation of the heading can be approached from a slightly different angle. The main character Regina and her brothers can also be characterized by the phrase that Regina’s daughter, Alexandra, utters at the end of the play. When she leaves her mother, she calls her “one who eats the earth,” referring to the earlier metaphor.

These words mean that there are people in the world who do terrible things, and many stand and watch them, not trying to change anything. Thus, I would call this piece “One who eats the earth.” This title, unlike the original, does not give the reader the characteristics of the characters at the beginning of the play. But closer to its end, when the aforementioned metaphor appears in the text, and then, when Alexandra almost directly calls her mother that way, the name finally acquires meaning, clearly describing all three main characters.

Reference

Hartley, L., & Ladu, A. (Eds.) (1948). Patterns in modern drama: Ibsen, Chekhov, Galsworthy, O’Neill, Kelly, Thurber, Nugent, Hellman. Prentice Hall. Web.

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