In her play “W;t”, Margaret Edson discusses the problematic questions of suffering and seeking for the sense of life and life priorities with references to the reflections of Vivian Bearing, professor of English, on her life with the ovarian cancer and on her previous life experience.
The final scenes of the play make the viewer think about the sense of life while referring to Dr. Bearing’s thoughts on the problem, but the controversial character of the play influences the viewer’s vision of the theme and idea significantly, affecting the interpretation of the ending.
Edson draws the viewers’ attention to the fact that, during the whole life, Dr. Bearing focused on the ideals of science, on the role of knowledge, on the mystic poetry of John Donne instead of concentrating on the other life values such as family and relations. Nevertheless, Vivian had rethought her vision of the life values while suffering from pain and loneliness before she died.
The conclusions of Dr. Bearing in relation to the priorities in life can make the viewer focus on the personal interpretation of these significant questions and agree with Dr. Bearing’s final considerations. Thus, the ending of “W;t” can be interpreted as the call to action in order to change the attitude to the life and to determining the life priorities; this call is hidden under the deep conclusions and detailed reflections of Dr. Bearing on her life.
The viewer knows that Dr. Bearing is suffering from the fourth stage of the metastatic ovarian cancer from the first pages of the play. In spite of the fact that it is rather difficult to accept the idea of Dr. Bearing’s death, this situation is discussed as unavoidable that is why much attention is paid to Dr. Bearing’s thoughts about her vision of the situation.
From this point, the ending of the play cannot be discussed as unpredictable for the viewer, but to make definite conclusions about the play, it is necessary to follow Dr. Bearing’s life journey with focusing on the fact that the woman intends to rethink her attitude to life and its values.
The interpretation of the play’s ending as the call to action seems to be reasonable because the main character achieves the definite type of enlightenment before dying, and this enlightenment changes Dr. Bearing’s whole vision of life and its laws.
It is the time when Dr. Bearing achieves not typical scientific enlightenment, but the spiritual enlightenment. That is why, the focus on the character’s spiritual enlightenment makes the viewer interpret the ending as a kind of a call to action when it is important to change the attitude to life today, without any delay.
The ending of “W;t” can affect the person’s life significantly because a range of thoughts attack a viewer after the curtain came down.
These thoughts include considerations about the fragility of the person’s life and feelings; about pain and sufferings experienced by millions of people round the globe every moment; about the role of good and sensitive relations in the man’s life; about the role of the support; about the correlation between primary and secondary goals; and about the correlation between the role of reason or sense and sensibility or feeling in the human life.
The variety of thoughts on the play’s ending makes a person find the right answers to the problematic questions about the values and sense of life which cannot be answered during the decades. The main conclusion made after viewing the play can become the focus on people’s relations, support, openness, and feelings as the way to the happy and productive life.
Thus, while leaving the theatre, it is possible to reflect on oneself as a different person because new horizons for the personal development become determined. During all her life, Dr. Bearing focused on knowledge instead of on her feelings. The woman displaced the role of a husband or close people in her life with John Donne’s sonnets.
However, while thinking over her previous life, Dr. Bearing often refers to the thoughts about her father because the relations with the father are the closest in her life. Furthermore, while thinking about her relations with the nurse Susie, Dr. Bearing understands that kindness is more important than wit and reason.
It is possible to become a different person after viewing “W;t”, if the principles to live according to the reason are changed with the principles to live according to the feelings. Dr. Bearing states that she learns how to suffer, but the viewer can assume that the woman finally understands how to live.
From this perspective, the play can change the vision of the similar situations in life which are associated with significant sufferings and pain through demonstrating the paths to go in order to find the relief.
Margaret Edson’s “W;t” is important to be viewed because its ending provides people with the great variety of opportunities to rethink their own life and visions of the life sense and priorities. The viewer can receive the chance to change his or her life with references to the ideas of humanity and compassion as opposed to the ideals of reason and science.