Machinal

Episode 4, “Maternal,” and Episode 5, “Prohibited,”furtherHelen’s downward spiral. In Episode 4, she refuses to submit to motherhood, despite having just given birth. In Episode 5, she goes out to a bar to mix with other men. She will not accept her baby or bring the child to her breast, and she will not talk except to say no. When she’s finally alone, her speech moves back and forth from drowning puppies to Godto repetition of clichés about babies, and,then, to religion again, ending with “I’ll not submit” (802). In the bar, surrounded by couples in various stages of engagement, she says, “I want to keep moving” (883). She learns from the man she will have an affair with what it takes to finally get free, when the man she meets says, “I killed a man to get free” (955-956).

Episode 4focuses on Helen as a mother. We hear steel being riveted offstage. Onstage, characters in a hospital settingare seen but not heard. The young woman lies still in bed. She doesn’t respond when the nurse asks her questions, including, “Aren’t you glad it’s a girl?” (717-718). The young woman only shakes her head. We can still hear the riveting.