TRAUMA AND RECOVERY

On Jay Ball's recommendation, I read Judith Lewis Herman's book, Trauma and Recovery. I hoep to gain insight into Maggie's psyche, and better understand he suffering, her coping mechanism and perhaps find the absolute root of what drives her journey forward.

From the Introduction

:

THE ORDINARY RESPONSE TO ATROCITIES is to banish them from consciousness. Certain violations of the social compact are too terrible to utter aloud: this is the meaning of the word unspeakable.
Atrocities, however, refuse to be buried. Equally as powerful as the desire to deny atrocities is the conviction that denial does not work. Folk wisdom is filled with ghosts who refuse to rest in their graves until their stories are told. Murder will out. Remembering and telling the truth about terrible events are prerequisites both for the restoration of the social order and for the healing of individual victims.
The conflict between the will to deny horrible events and the will to proclaim them aloud is the central dialectic of psychological trauma. People who have survived atrocities often tell their stories in a highly emotional, contradictory, and fragmented manner that undermines their credibility and thereby serves the twin imperatives of truth-telling and secrecy. When the truth is finally recognized, survivors can begin their recovery. But far too often secrecy prevails, and the story of the traumatic event surfaces not as a verbal narrative but as a symptom.
The psychological distress symptoms of traumatized people simultaneously call attention to the existence of an unspeakable secret and deflect attention from it. This is most apparent in the way traumatized people alternate between feeling numb and reliving the event. The dialectic of trauma gives rise to complicated, sometimes uncanny alterations of consciousness, which George Orwell, one of the committed truth-tellers of our century, called "doublethink," and which mental health professionals, searching for calm, precise language, call "dissociation." It results in protean, dramatic, and often bizarre symptoms of hysteria which Freud recognized a century ago as disguised communications about sexual abuse in childhood. . . .

...To study psychological trauma is to come face to face both with human vulnerability in the natural world and with the capacity for evil in human nature. To study psychological trauma means bearing witness to horrible events. When the events are natural disasters or "acts of God," those who bear witness sympathize readily with the victim. But when the traumatic events are of human design, those who bear witness are caught in the conflict between victim and perpetrator. It is morally impossible to remain neutral in this conflict.
It is very tempting to take the side of the perpetrator. All the perpetrator asks is that the bystander do nothing. He appeals to the universal desire to see, hear, and speak no evil. The victim, on the contrary, asks the bystander to share the burden of the pain. The victim demands action, engagement, and remembering. . . .

THREE THREE THREE

There are three versions of Maggie represented in the play... each with her own love, reality want, each possessing and refusing parts of the others. In examining the text, I would be remiss not to examine the idea of the triad-- why is three important, what does it mean, and how can I represent that meaning clearly.

The Triad is a Pythagorean title for the number three. According to Priya Hemenway they considered it the most beautiful number, as it is the only number to equal the sum of all the terms below it, and the only number whose sum with those below equals the product of them and itself.

Menage A Trois: More Mag's for one Man

IN Religion: Triple deities, legendary persons, deities, and mythological creatures (sometimes referred to as tripled, triplicate, tripartite, triune or triadic), are common throughout world mythology; the number 3 has a long history of mythical associations. The deities and legendary creatures of this nature typically fit into one of the following general categories:
triadic ("forming a group of three"): a triad, three entities inter-related in some way (life, death, rebirth, for example, or triplet children of a deity) and always or usually associated with one another or appearing together;
triune ("three-in-one, one-in-three"): a being with three aspects or modes of existence (e.g. Father, Son and the Holy Spirit in traditional Christian theology);
tripartite ("of triple parts"): a being with three body parts where there would normally be one (three heads, three pairs of arms, and so on); or
triplicate-associated ("relating to three corresponding instances"): a being in association with a trio of things of the same nature which are symbolic or through which power is wielded (three magic birds, etc.)

The Number 3:

1. Three is a PRIME number.

2. Three-dimensional means that something has length, width and depth.

3.Once upon a time there were three little pigs ... three billy goats gruff ... Stories often begin this way and have a similar structure. Number one and number two are always similar so the listener is lulled into believing number three will be the same. But with number three there is a twist in the tale.

4. If the number of petals on a flower is a multiple of three, it is probably from a group of plants called the monocotyledons which includes crocuses, daffodils, tulips, lilies and other plants grown from bulbs.

5. A tress of hair originally meant a plait or pigtail with three interwoven strands of hair.

WICCA
The Rule of Three (also threefold law or law of return) is a tenet of Wicca. claiming that whatever energy a person puts out into the world, be it positive or negative, will be returned to that person three times. John J. Coughlin states that " . . . there is a literal reward or punishment tied to one's actions, particularly when it comes to working magic," and that "there are many Wiccans, experienced and new alike, who view the Law of Return as an over-elaboration on the Wiccan Rede." The Rule of Three has been compared by Karl Lembke to other ethics of reciprocity, such as the concept of karma in Dharmic religions and the Christian edict, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"

TRIPLE GODDESS OF WICCA:

In ancient Indo-European mythologies, various goddesses or demi-goddesses appear as a triad, either as three separate beings who always appear as a group (the Greek Moirae, Charites, Erinnyes and the Norse Norns) or as a single deity who is commonly depicted in three aspects (Greek Hecate and the cult image of Latin Diana Nemorensis, of whom Hecate is one part[1]). Often it is ambiguous whether a single being or three are represented, as is the case with the Irish Brighid and her two sisters, also called Brighid, or the Morrígan who is known by at least three or four different names. In most ancient portrayals of triple goddesses, the separate deities perform different yet related functions, and there is no obvious difference in their ages. In Wicca and related Neo-pagan religions, the Triple Goddess is, along with the Horned God, held in particular reverence, and her three aspects are most often portrayed as being of different ages: Maiden, Mother and Crone.

Maiden, Mother, and Crone
Some followers of Neopagan religions believe that in ancient Old Europe, the Aegean and the Near East, a great Triple Goddess was worshipped, predating the patriarchal religions imported by nomadic speakers of Indo-European languages (later superseded by patriarchal monotheism). Some identify this goddess with Gaia, the Earth Mother (Roman Magna Mater). That such a Great Goddess existed is disputed by authors such as Cynthia Eller and Philip G. Davis.
Descriptions of the relation between Greek Mythology and the Triple Goddess can be found in many of the myths translated in Robert Graves' anthology The Greek Myths and more cryptically and poetically in his book The White Goddess and his book of essays entitled Mammon and the Black Goddess. Graves translates a poem of the Sufi mystic Ibn Arabi (1165-1240) which illustrates a triple goddess as a theme among medieval Sufis:

I follow the religion of Love,
Now I am sometimes called
A Shepherd of gazelles
And now a Christian monk,
And now a Persian sage.
My beloved is three-
Three yet only one;
Many things appear as three,
Which are no more than one.
Give Her no name,
As if to limit one
At sight of Whom
All limitation is confounded.

Maiden
Among Pagans, "The Maiden" represents enchantment, inception, expansion, the promise of new beginnings, birth, youth and youthful enthusiasm.

Mother
The Mother represents ripeness, fertility, sexuality, nurturance, fulfillment, stability, power and life.

Crone
The Crone represents wisdom, repose, death, and endings. Like the moon which waxes once again after the new moon and like in the year, where spring always follows winter. The Crone is an end, but she is always followed by the Maiden once more. It is death and rebirth, representing the common pagan belief of reincarnation as well as the renewing cycles of the moon and of the year.

the New Moon is the white goddess of birth and growth;
the Full Moon, the red goddess of love and battle;
the Old Moon, the black goddess of death and divination.

TRIAD

In sociology a triad is a group of three people. It is one of the simplest human groups that can be studied and is mostly looked at by microsociology. One common rule that has been widely observed is that in any group of three people two will tend to unite against the other one. This makes triads a far less stable arrangement than dyads. Larger groups also tend to be more stable because of the greater variety of relationships that can form in them. This is true for many different groups of people from groups of three siblings to groups of coworkers. This rule makes triads a very unstable grouping that has a high likelihood of leading to conflict. Because of this, groups of three are often avoided. For instance university roommates are almost always put in groups of two, as a room with three is far more likely to lead to conflict and unhappiness.
An important exception is when one of the members of the group is clearly dominant. Allegiance to a dominant can create a team mentality, both from the submissives to the dominant, the dominant to the submissives, and the submissives to one another.
A store with three employees can function very well if one is clearly the boss. The other two may unite against the one, or one another for the boss' favor, but since they are far weaker this will not have much effect. In other circumstances, the shared allegiance to the dominant allows them to have a stable relationship, tiered or no. This is also true in polygamous marriages. In societies where polygamy is practiced, sexual relationships often follow these rules, dependent also on societal rules.

Anthropology
3 distinct species of the genus Homo:
Homo habilis "capable man"
Homo erectus "upright man"
Homo sapiens "wise man"

Geology
Three basic planes: Above- Surfaced- Beneath
Three basic Earth divisions: Core- Mantle- Crust.
Three basic rock formations: Igneous- Metamorphic- Sedimentary.

Psychology
In his later work, Freud proposed that the psyche was divided into three parts: Ego, super-ego, and id.

In Philosophy
Plato split the soul into three parts: the appetitive, the spirited, and the rational
Hegel's dialectic of Thesis + Antithesis = Synthesis creates three-ness from two-ness

In Education
3 R's: Reading~ 'Riting~ 'Rithmetic
3 divisions: Elementary (Grade) School~ Middle (Jr. High or Intermediate) School~ High (Sr. High) School
3 levels: Primary (~Elementary) Education~ Secondary (~Jr. + Sr. High) Education~ Tertiary (College, University, Polytechnical Institute, TAFE) Education
3 University degrees: Bachelor's~ Master's- Ph.D
3 University distinctions: Cum Laude~ Magna Cum Laude~ Suma Cum Laude
3 testing formats: True/False~ Multiple Choice~ Essay
3 levels to grade formulas: A+ (A plus)~ A (A neutral)~ A- (A minus)
3 good grade divisions: A~ B~ C
3 rings of the school bell return children to class after a fire drill.
3 ring notebooks are one standard of usage for holding looseleaf notebook paper (2 is another in lever-arch).
3-number combination locks are a standard usage for lockers.

As a lucky or unlucky number:
Three (三) is considered a good number in Chinese culture because it sounds like the word "alive" (生 pinyin sheng1, Cantonese: saang1), compared to four (四, pinyin: si4, Cantonese: sei3) that sounds like the word "death" (死 pinyin si3, Cantonese: sei2).

Counting to three is common in situations where a group of people wish to perform an action in synchrony: Now, on the count of three, everybody pull! Assuming the counter is proceeding at a uniform rate, the first two counts are necessary to establish the rate, but then everyone can predict when "three" will come based on "one" and "two"; this is likely why three is used instead of some other number.

In Vietnam, it is bad luck to take a photo with three people in it.

Luck, especially bad luck, is often said to "come in threes".

Some cultures in history have a place for people of third gender such as in Thailand.

It is often believed that people die in threes. This only includes people in one's personal sphere (ie. directly impact on one's day-to-day life).

There is a superstition that states it is unlucky to take a third light, that is, to be the third person to light a cigarette from the same match or lighter. This is commonly believed to date from the trenches of the First World War when a sniper might see the first light, take aim on the second and fire on the third.

3 strikes and the player is out.

3rd time's the charm.

In Music
In music, the Roman numeral iii is the mediant scale degree, chord, or diatonic function, when distinguished III = major and iii = minor.
Three is the number of performers in a trio.
There are 3 notes in a triad, the most important and basic form of any chord.

In a standard jazz combo there are 3 necessary parts: bass, percussion, and chord maker.

Phillip

Throughout the play we hear much name-calling of poor Phillip. How to specifically define his disability-- his hunchback, his eyes, his soul will be a wonderful process to explore.

From TOM about Phillip: poor deformed boy, mean little imp who's father's a rogue, a creature with a hump, mean and crafty, puny miserable body

From MAGGIE about Phillip: Sings like an angel, I am so sorry for you, clever, sing like an angel, I wish you were my brother as well as Tom, I won't forget you, tempter, i could hardly love anyone better, poor phillip

From Lucy about Phillip: friend.

From MRS PULET: poor bent boy, very strange and lonely, going out of his mind,

TOM=Odysseus

In sc. 7, Tom is playing the "Odysseus Game": Here is the story he is learning about:

Cyclops: Homeric Parallel
In Book 9 of The Odyssey, Odysseus describes his adventures among the one-eyed Cyclopes, who are "giants, louts, without a law to bless them" (9:106; Fitzgerald, p. 160). They live in a fertile land but are ignorant of agriculture; they "have no muster and no meeting, / no consultation or old tribal ways, / but each one dwells in his own mountain cave / dealing out rough justice to wife and child, / indifferent to what the others do" (9:112; Fitzgerald, p. 160). Odysseus and a scouting party are trapped in the cave of Polyphemus, one of the Cyclopes, who scoffs at Zeus and at the laws of hospitality that govern the "civilized" world, acting out his scorn by devouring two of Odysseus's men. Polyphemus imprisons Odysseus and his remaining companions, presumably to be eaten at the rate of two a day. The second evening he "feasts" again, and then Odysseus plies him with wine. In the course of the drinking bout Odysseus announces that his name is "Noman," and when the one-eyed giant collapses into drunken sleep, Odysseus blinds him with a burning pike of olive wood. Polyphemus shouts that "Noman" has ruined him, and his neighbors (taking him literally) mock him and refuse to help. In the morning Odysseus and his remaining men escape Polyphemus's search by hiding among his sheep. Once free and launched in his ship, Odysseus makes the mistake of revealing his identity, taunting the blind Polyphemus, who heaves a rock and almost sinks Odysseus's ship. Then the blind giant calls on his father, Poseidon, to prevent Odysseus from returning home, or, if "destiny / intend that he shall see his roof again far be that day, and dark the years between. / Let him lose all companions, and return / under strange sail to bitter days at home" (9:532ff; Fitzgerald, p. 173). Since destiny does "intend" that Odysseus return home, Poseidon is only able to grant the latter part of his son's prayer.

Fascinating connections to the story... This is why the play feels both epic and intimate at once.

Hubris is excessive pride with a lofty self-respect totally apart from reality; it distorts a person’s view of the world, much like a funhouse mirror. Hubris is a characteristic of the protagonist, Odysseus, in the epic poem, The Odyssey, by the blind poet Homer. The hero Odysseus is a dynamic character who, blinded by hubris, changes his perspective on life according to the positive and negative experiences he endures and overcomes during his adventure. He faces many challenges on his long journey that lead to his becoming the true epic hero which his pride makes him believe he is in the first place. From eluding a massive Cyclops, to floating all alone in the middle of the ocean on a wooden plank, Odysseus survives it all with the help of the gods on his epic quest to become a true hero. One of the first challenges Odysseus faces during his ten-year expedition involves the Cyclops monster. A son of Poseidon, the one-eyed Cyclops traps Odysseus and many of his crew members in his cave. Being the clever, creative person that he is, Odysseus comes up with a plan to stab the Cyclops in his eye with a huge wooden spear. When the beast falls asleep, many crew members push aside the huge rock blocking their only exit. Odysseus gives the okay, and they thrust the weapon into Poseidon’s son’s eye. They escape through the exit wearing sheep wool so, if grabbed, the Cyclops will think that they are sheep. While most of the crew escapes, the vane Odysseus perceives himself as the hero and the one responsible. As usual, he takes all the credit, thus maddening the gods for not acknowledging their contribution to the escape.

Odysseus’ epiphany or life change occurs when he is stranded in the middle of the ocean floating on a wooden plank after leaving Calypso’s island. Poseidon’s face appears in a series of huge waves and says to Odysseus, “My goal is not to kill you. You must understand that without the gods, man is nothing.” It is at this moment that Odysseus realizes the gods have been controlling his fate all along. It is true that he has always shown the heroic traits of courage and bravery, but now, he gains the humility and wisdom that comes with this new understanding. This newfound wisdom, gained when he is on the brink of death, results in an even more heroic Odysseus. Now, in addition to courage, cleverness, and a sense of adventure, he also possesses humility and wisdom, gained through life experience. More importantly, he realizes his own shortcomings. The hubris is gone, and he can see the world more truthfully.

WOW!

IMAGES OF A FLOOD

Be thankful for the least gift, so shalt thou be meant to receive greater.
Thomas a Kempis
Endeavor to be always patient of the faults and imperfections of others for thou has many faults and imperfections of thine own that require forbearance. If thou are not able to make thyself that which thou wishest, how canst thou expect to mold another in conformity to thy will?
Thomas a Kempis
Love flies, runs, and rejoices; it is free and nothing can hold it back.
Thomas a Kempis
Never be entirely idle; but either be reading, or writing, or praying or meditating or endeavoring something for the public good.
Thomas a Kempis
- More quotations on: [Laziness]
Of two evils we must always choose the least.
Thomas a Kempis
- More quotations on: [Evil]
Remember that lost time does not return.
Thomas a Kempis
The good devout man first makes inner preparation for the actions he has later to perform. His outward actions do not draw him into lust and vice; rather it is he who bends them into the shape of reason and right judgement. Who has a stiffer battle to fight than the man who is striving to conquer himself.
Thomas a Kempis
Who has a harder fight than he who is striving to overcome himself.
Thomas a Kempis
First keep the peace within yourself, then you can also bring peace to others.
Thomas a Kempis, 1420
- More quotations on: [Peace]
And when he is out of sight, quickly also is he out of mind.
Thomas a Kempis, Imitation of Christ
Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.
Thomas a Kempis, Imitation of Christ

Thomas, whose family name was Hammercken, was born in the Rhineland town of Kempen near Düsseldorf in Germany. The school he attended at nearby Deventer in Holland had been started by Gerard Groote, founder of the Brothers of the Common Life. These were men devoted to prayer, simplicity, and union with God. Thomas of Kempen, as he was known at school, was so impressed by his teachers that he decided to live his own life according to their ideals. When he was 19, he entered the monastery of Mount St. Agnes, which the Brothers had recently started near Zwolle in Holland and which was then being administered by his older brother John. He spent the rest of his long life behind the walls of that monastery
. The pattern of Thomas's life remained the same over the years. He devoted his time to prayer, study, copying manuscripts, teaching novices, offering Mass, and hearing the confessions of people who came to the monastery church. From time to time Thomas was given a position of authority in the community of monks, but he consistently preferred the quiet of his cell to the challenge of administration. He was pleasant but retiring. The other monks eventually recognized Thomas's talent for deep thought and stopped troubling him with practical affairs.
Thomas wrote a number of sermons, letters, hymns, and lives of the saints. He reflected the mystical spirituality of his times, the sense of being absorbed in God. The most famous of his works by far is The Imitation of Christ, a charming instruction on how to love God. This small book, free from intellectual pretensions, has had great appeal to anyone interested in probing beneath the surface of life. "A poor peasant who serves God," Thomas wrote in it, "is better than a proud philosopher who … ponders the courses of the stars." The book advised the ordering of one's priorities along religious lines. "Vain and brief is all human comfort. Blessed and true is that comfort which is derived inwardly from the Truth." Thomas advised where to look for happiness. "The glory of the good is in their own consciences, and not in the mouths of men." The Imitation of Christ has come to be, after the Bible, the most widely translated book in Christian literature. Thomas died in the same monastic obscurity in which he had lived, on Aug. 8, 1471.

Here is a bit more info, also a prayer that is within the text of the play:

Thomas is known almost entirely for composing or compiling a manual of spiritual advice known as The Imitation of Christ, in which he urges the reader to seek to follow the example of Jesus Christ and to be conformed in all things to His will. An extract follows: When God bestows Spiritual comfort, receive it with a grateful
heart; but remember that it comes of God's free gift, and not
of your own merit. Do not be proud, nor over joyful, nor
foolishly presumptuous; rather, be the more humble for this
gift, more cautious, and more prudent in all your doings, for
this hour will pass, and temptation will follow it. When
comfort is withdrawn, do not immediately despair, but humbly
and patiently await the will of Heaven; for God is able to
restore you to a consolation even richer than before. This is
nothing new or strange to those who know the ways of God, for
the great Saints and Prophets of old often experienced these
changes. ...Indeed, the temptation that precedes is often a
sign of comfort to follow. For heavenly comfort is promised to
those who have been tried and tempted."To him who overcomes,"
says God, "I will give to eat of the Tree of Life."
PRAYER (traditional language)
Holy Father, who hast nourished and strengthened thy Church by The writings of thy servant Thomas a Kempis: Grant that we may learn from him to know what we ought to know, to love what we ought to love, to praise what highly pleaseth thee, and always to seek to know and follow thy will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
PRAYER (contemporary language)
Holy Father, who have nourished and strengthened your Church by The writings of your servant Thomas a Kempis: Grant that we may learn from him to know what we ought to know, to love what we ought to love, to praise what highly pleases you, and always to seek to know and follow your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Psalm 34:1-8 or 33:1-5,20-21Philippians 4:4-9Luke 6:17-23 (St2)

HAIR and the Bible

Hair Length:
You may have difficulty believing this but God told us very plainly about how men and women ought to wear their hair. In I Corinthians 11:14-15, Paul tells us that it is natural for a man to wear short hair and for a woman to wear long hair. Short hair on a woman is a dishonor to that woman. The context of these verses shows that this is a statement of fact. It is not optional; it is not a suggestion; it is a fact that can be readily observed in the world.
If it is so natural, why do some women wear their hair short? The short hair is a symbol of their rebellion - rebellion against their parents, against society, against religion, or against everything. Until the feminist movement, women wore their hair long. When women rebelled against society, they cut their hair short. God is not pleased with people who rebel against things that are right. As Christians, we need to be more mature in our attitudes. Wrong things happen all the time in this world, but you cannot correct a wrong with another wrong.
Of course, the question then is how short is too short? Deuteronomy 22:5 stated that clothing between men and women was to be distinctive. It seems reasonable that hair lengths between men and women should also be distinctive.

Moles, the devil and other phrases and ideas...

They mention in the play that Mrs. Tulliver is afraid of men with moles (superstitions...) upon further research: mole on eyebrow - one will be hanged; mole on ear - drowned; mole above breath - wealth; moles on the neck - hung; mole on the arm - riches; mole on the arm - fight many successful battles.

The significance of moles featured in fortune-telling booklets from the 17th to the 19th centuries. They were thought to be signs of character or fate. One over the heart meant wickedness; over the spleen, a passionate nature, and poor health; on the right armpit or ear, wealth and honour, but on the left, the reverse. During the great witchcraft manias of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, such birthmarks as moles, as well as warts, were considered "devil's marks" if they did not bleed when pricked. Professional witch finders like the infamous Matthew Hopkins (died 1647) used pricking on suspected witches. Moles, warts, scars, or other birthmarks were pricked with a long pin; if there was no pain or bleeding, the suspect was claimed to be a witch. Special pricking tools like thin daggers were developed, and some enthusiastic witch prickers (who claimed a substantial fee for each convicted witch) even used trick pricking tools with a hollow shaft and retractable blade, to make sure that the suspect would feel no pain and there would be no bleeding.



ON MAGGIE READING "The Political History of the Devil"

General scholarly opinion is that Defoe really did think of the Devil as a participant in world history. He spends some time discussing Milton's Paradise Lost and explaining why he considers it inaccurate. His view is 18th century Presbyterian - he blames the Devil for the Crusades and sees him as close to Europe's Catholic powers.

A new edition of Daniel Defoe's The Political History of the Devil has recently been published, and receives a review in the April 2 issue of the TLS. The book covers not only Satan's involvement in biblical history, but his continuing involvement in the political and religious events of Defoe's own time. For Defoe, the devil is an enlightened character "advanc'd in all kinds of knowledge and arts" and "really very modern," even "the best Gentleman of you all." Sounds like a fine, and quite timely book.

With that last bit of insight, it is more clear why Maggie is so fascinated with the devil, he posesses many of the qualities that her family admires. And that she possesses as well.





To cut one's comb= To take down a person's conceit. In allusion to the practice of cutting the combs of capons.

(A capon is a rooster whose reproductive organs were removed at a young age. Typically, the castration is performed when the chicken is between 6 and 20 weeks old.
The benefits are a non-aggressive male that can serve as a maternal father for baby chicks. They also produce ample, tender meat when butchered and as such are a choice poultry meat in some locales.The caponisation of poultry is banned in the United Kingdom on animal welfare grounds, though the meat itself is not illegal.)

HEYDAY!: "heyday" comes from the old Germanic word "heida," meaning "hurrah!" In 16th century England, "Hey!" or "Heyda!" was a common interjection, a cry of joy or excitement. Later on, "heyda" came to mean a time of celebration, and the "da" was gradually replaced in English by "day," giving us "heyday."

BEDLAM: An english abbreviation of the word BETHLEHEM. A London hospital originally intended for the poor suffering from any ailment and for such as might have no other lodging, hence its name, Bethlehem, in Hebrew, the "house of bread." During the fourteenth century it began to be used partly as an asylum for the insane, for there is a report of a Royal Commission, in 1405, as to the state of lunatics confined there. The word Bethlehem became shortened to Bedlam in popular speech, and the confinement of lunatics there gave rise to the use of this word to mean a house of confusion. Bedlam was founded in 1247 as a priory in Bishopsgate Street, for the order of St. Mary of Bethlehem, by Simon Fitz Mary, an Alderman and Sheriff of London. This site is now occupied by the Liverpool Street railway station. In the next century it is mentioned as a hospital in a license granted (1330) to collect alms in England, Ireland, and Wales. In 1375 Bedlam became a royal hospital, taken by the crown on the pretext that it was an alien priory. It seems afterwards to have reverted to the city. At the beginning of the sixteenth century the word Bedlam was used by Tyndale to mean a madman, so that it would seem as though the hospital were now used as a lunatic asylum exclusively. In January, 1547, King Henry VIII formally granted St. Bartholomew's hospital and Bedlam, or Bethlehem, to the city of London, on condition that the city spend a certain amount on new buildings in connection with St. Bartholomew's. In 1674, the old premises having become untenable, it was decided to build another hospital, and this was erected in what is now Finsbury Circus. This came to be known as old Bedlam, after the erection of a new building in St. George's Fields, which was opened August 1815, on the site of the notorious tavern called the Dog and the Duck.
The attitude of successive generations of Englishmen towards the insane can be traced interestingly at Bedlam. Originally, it was founded and kept by religious. Every effort seems to have been made to bring patients to such a state of mental health as would enable them to leave the asylum. An old English word, "a Bedlam" signifies one discharged and licensed to beg. Such persons wore a tin plate on their arm as a badge and were known as Bedlamers, Bedlamites, or Bedlam Beggars. Whenever outside inspection was not regularly maintained, abuses into the management of Bedlam, and in every century there were several commissions of investigation. Evelyn in his Diary, 21 April 1656, notes that he saw several poor creatures in Bedlam in chains. In the next century it became the custom for the idle classes to visit Bedlam and observe the antics of the insane patients as a novel form of amusement. This was done even by the nobility and their friends. One penny was charged for admission into the hospital, and there is a tradition that an annual income of four hundred pounds was thus realized. This would mean that nearly 100,000 persons visited the hospital in the course of a year. Hogarth's famous picture represents two fashionable ladies visiting the hospital as a show place, while his "Rake," at the end of the "Progress," is being fettered by a keeper. After an investigation in 1851, the hospital came under regular government inspection and has since been noted for its model care of the insane. It accommodates about three hundred, with over sixty attendants. Its convalescent home at Witley is an important feature. The management is so good that each year more than one-half of the patients are returned as cured.

Nearing the end of summer...

The summer was meant to be spent working on my thesis, and in actuality, I think it was better spent working on getting healthy and gearing up for a fresh start as I enter the last year at CMU. Many changes will come about this year, fewer classes, a bigger production, higher expectations, written documentation, and the loss of the head of the school and the loss of my advisor. Thankfully, Mladen Kiselov will still be around in the fall to serve as my Directing advisor on the show. Phew! And Narelle Sissons will be there as advisor for me and my designers, hopefully enabling a cohesive environment and process from an advisory perspective.

There have already been some frustrations circling this project. This is my opportunity to get it out in writing.
Over a year ago I requested an independent study with student designers to workshop ideas of design and movement on this quite difficult text... that couldn't happen. I did, however, manage to create an independent study with Narelle Sissons and we explored the script together in a very collaborative and exciting way.
Also, I was told, incorrectly, that MILL would be produced in the Chosky in May, when the season was finally sorted out, however, MILL was slotted for the Rauh in December. This felt like a blow, because I had different expectations, and therefore was disappointed... however, with this new fresh attitude and break from the daily grind of school, I am able to see this former blow as an opportunity for an added challenge.

From initial readings, I sensed an extreme verticality to the play. In the first scene, the idea of drowning is introduced, in the mid-section, Maggie is seeking discipline from a "higher"authority. The ideas of heaven and hell, in many forms are extremely prevalent. But important to me in the process is a sense of surprise and exploration, not only of text but also space. After all, I am a visual artist in addition to psychological artist. (i just made up that term "psychological artist" but it seems appropriate). So, having a show in the Rauh and immediately jumping to a vertical design approach was boring because I have seen several shows in that space try to accomplish that and it basically determines that one should put the set in a corner and have audience on two sides. Boring. I had to look deeper into the text and figure out, besides the obvious verticality, what the story is really doing. And quite literally, we are drowning. Ideas of swimming pools, a river , the mill all came out. Movement, movement, movement became so important. I needed a space that could transform in a highly theatrical way. No tricks, no set pieces automated and slided in and out, the space must be defined by the scenes and the play exist in transition only. This play is so much about transition. Maggie is always changing. Her world is static, but she is constantly challenging, succumbing, adjusting to new insights and environments. If Maggie is our heroine, our voice, our relative, we must see the world through her eyes. That means we are seeing the world the the hugely imaginative eye of a child. A perpetual child who suffers from being an incredible person in a very ordinary environment. The play is largely about fitting a square peg into a round hole. It is about extraordinary people who don't belong in the ordinary world. It is dangerous and brutal for these people and they are victims of trauma. if Maggie were born today she would be put on Ritalin, that's if she was born today! Maggie was born in the second half of the 19th century. She is more likely to be killed than drugged. She is a lover too. She is constantly trying to find love. So at it's most basic level this is a love story. An impossible love story. And that sense of impossibility must be evident. The audience is living her life with her and should feel the roller coaster. They should be trying to keep up with the quick pace and high energy mill that keeps churning. There is no question that Maggie is going to die, but the audience must keep hoping that she finds a way out. At the end, the audience should feel totally wiped out. Exhausted and mesmerized. How did they do all that? Is this the same space we entered almost 2 hours ago, when did it become how it is now? A magical journey is in store for the audience. A hugely theatrical, impossible to capture on camera, event.

The most recent turn of events, a little blip on the radar after all is said and done, but quite unnerving right now, is the recent departure of my dramaturge. Last year, I assumed a I would be given a capable student dramaturge, but due a shortage of dramaturgy students, no one was assigned to the show. bah humbug. After many emails and frustrations, Jay Ball agreed to take on the show, even though he was leaving CMU School of Drama after the fall semester. Just two weeks ago, Jay emailed that he could no longer do the show.... not his fault, but I was pretty, well, let's say frustrated. A part of the thesis is a cohesive analysis of the play, it's origin, the playwright, the period it's set in, the period it's written, how it meets with society today, and, of course, answers to what everything in the play means. A dramaturge is an enormous asset to this part of the development process. Not having a dramaturge at all is still unthinkable. I am hopeful a recommendation of a faculty member in the literature dept. will step up to the challenge. Otherwise, I have a lot more work in store.

I know these types of frustrations will come and go. They have little to do with WHY I chose this play and the ultimate WHAT that will be created. This is because ALL of these challenges become parameters to work within. The structure of the play is not completely unlimited. There are budgets, and students and schedules and spaces to be considered. These are realities that affect the daily ins and outs, but have NO power over the art we create. That IS limitless. My job is to tell an amazing story, I can do that with two sticks and a lampshade, (luckily I don't have to). So rather than focus on these nitty-gritty details of politics and logistics, I must focus on the story I want to tell-- which I have not fully thought thru yet. I need to know these characters as though they are my family and watch and guide the actors into unique and exciting living creatures. I need to work with the other artists to gather all resources and make something important