Prompt 3: Conduct of Life

It is obvious that Fornes chooses to strip away at his scenes until they are sharp and jarring to the audience. Unlike Trifles and Overtones which are both detailed in their own way, The Conduct of Life purposely lacks the details that create a fulfilled world. Fornes wanted to leave his audience dissatisfied and curious. It’s like people watching in a way. You get a small glimpse of someone’s behavior, but the rest of their existence is left to the imagination.

I found myself almost entranced with these characters. Fornes places a huge emphasis on the social environment of the play, and she makes the Dramaturgical choice to create two opposing psychological levels in each character. First we have Orlando, who speaks often of the problems in his government, yet he never seems to notice his own personal problems. His wife, Letitia has this big speech about how she could never stand to hurt a deer, and when she sees a poor girl who is obviously suffering, she does absolutely nothing to help her and even forces the child to take her blame when she murders her husband. Then we have Nena, herself, who doesn’t speak at all in the play until almost the end, when she voices the most eloquent and beautiful monologue in the script. Finally there is dear Olympia. All throughout the story, it is hinted that she has some sort of mental handicap, yet she turns out to be wiser and more kind-hearted than any of the other characters. These distinct, double personalities were specifically chosen to make the audience reflect upon themselves and how they truly are.

One of the definitions of conduct is the direction or management of something (how it is executed). At first I thought that the play’s title reflected Orlando’s conduct (as in personal behavior), but after closer thought, I concluded that the title reflects the actual conduct of the character’s lives. In this play, we see how these characters choose to manage both themselves and their surroundings. It is not titled after the characters behaviors but more how they choose to live based on the people around them.