How I Learned to Drive

How I Learned to Drive, a play written by Paula Vogel, premiered Off-Broadway in 1997 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1998. It addresses pedophilia, victim blaming, and misogyny, as well as the complexities of love and family. Through non-chronological flashbacks, Li’l Bit, now in her forties, uses learning to drive as a metaphor for her learning about sex, and about life, from her aunt’s husband, Peck, with whom she has a sexual relationship. Each scene is designated a driving rule that also reflects the life lesson Li’l Bit learns therein. Well-received by critics as well as survivors of sexual assault, the play addresses sexual double standards women face and how women are often blamed for their own abuse. It also illuminates how women are molded and manipulated not only by their abusers but by society at-large. However, Peck is not cast wholly as a villain, nor does Li’l Bit always reject his advances. The play acknowledges both the immorality of Peck’s behavior and the complicated connection he shares with Li’l Bit. In doing so, it also addresses the issues of sympathy and forgiveness. The contrast between the play’s biting humor and the serious subject matter reflects the complicated relationship between Li’l Bit and