something unspoken summary

 Tennessee Williams (1911- 1983)

• He was an American playwright and screenwriter. 
• He is considered one of the three foremost playwrights of 20th-century American drama.
• Apart from the plays he also wrote two novels, essays, poetry, film scripts, short stories, and an autobiography, Memoirs 1975.

MAJOR PLAYS

• The Glass Menagerie (1944)
• A Street Car Named Desire (1947)
• 27 Wagon Full of Cotton and Other one-act Plays 1966)- Volume of a one-act play
• Dragon Country, a Book of Plays (1970)- another volume of a one-act play

AWARDS AND HONOURS

• Group Theatre Award- for his American Blues 1939, A collection of one-act plays.
• Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948 and 1955.

One act play.

The one-act play is a form of drama that consists of one act and one or more scenes. It has attracted attention since about 1980. One-act plays became more common in the 19th century. The number of writers who contributed to one-act plays in the 20th century was also very large. It includes dramatists like  John Masefield, Lady Gregory, J M Synge, John Galsworthy, Arthur Miller, Edward Albee, and Tennessee William.

AN INTRODUCTION TO SOMETHING UNSPOKEN

"Something Unspoken" is a one-act play written by Tennessee William. It was first published in 1959. It tells us a story of an elderly woman Cornelia Scott and her desire to be the president of a club called Daughter of the Confederation. Apart from that it also talks about the relationship between Cornelia Scott and her secretary, Grace Lancaster. There is something unspoken between both of them. They cannot break the silence and disclose it to each other.

Something Unspoken Characters Sketch.

There are three major characters in the play.

Miss Cornelia Scott- She was a sixty years old wealthy woman. She is one of the most important characters in the play.  Most of the actions take place in her residence. She wanted to elect into the post of Regent unanimously without any election. Because of the fear of defeat in the election, she did not participate in the election campaigning. At the end of the play he was eagerly waiting for the result, but when the result has come Scott was defeated by another candidate. 

Miss Grace Lancaster- She is a secretary of Scott. She is 45 years old. She has light brown hair, pale eyes, thin figure. She wore a pink gown. Grace has been with Scott for 15 years. There is something unspoken developed between Cornelia Scott. and Grace Lancaster. 

Miss Esmeralda Hawkins- She is a minor character in the play. She passes every piece of information from the place where the annual election of Confederate Daughters takes place.

Something Unspoken short summary.

The story develops around the two characters Cornelia Scott and grace Lancaster. When the opening of the play there is Cornelia Scott who is seated at a small mahogany table that is set for two people. One of the seats was occupied by Scott another was left free.  On the table, there is a cradle phone, a silver tray of mail, and a decorated silver coffee urn. This is the opening of the play "Something Unspoken"

At the beginning of the play, Cornelia is dialing a number on the phone and pretending herself as her secretary Grace. The call was attended by Mrs. Reid at Mrs. Horton Reid's residence. And she informed that she will not come to the meeting of the Confederate Daughters as she is not feeling good. 

Cornelia looks a little nervous today. Because today evening they are going to conduct an election for the post Regent in the club Confederate Daughters. She already occupied most of the minor positions of the club.  Now Cornelia wanted to select for the post but did not want to attend the campaigning and election. She was afraid of failure in the election.    

Cornelia was appointed a spy, Esmeralda Hawkins, at the place where the meeting going to be held. She passes each and every incident to her. Esmeralda informed that the meeting did not start so far. That was the time for having lunch. The election will conduct after the dinner. 

Now there is an important conversation between Cornelia Scott and Grace. Cornelia kept fifteen roses for Grace on the table. Because today Grace and Cornila are going to complete 15 years of togetherness as a boss and secretary. A rose for each year.

On this occasion, Cornelia wanted to disclose her affection toward Grace. But Grace was not ready to admit it. It was very obvious in their conversation. 

Grace;        Thank you for the roses.

Cornelia:    I don't want thanks from you either. All I want is a little return affection, not much, but sometimes a little.

Grace:        You have that always, Cornelia.

Cornelia:     And one thing more; a little outspokenness

This conversation shows that there is something like a wall that cannot break, especially in the case of Grace. Grace has affection toward Cornelia but she did not want to admit it. She always tried to escape from such questions of Cornelia. 

Once again the telephone rang. That was Esmeralda. Esmeralda informed that Mrs. Hornsby has been elected as Regent. The message broke Cornelia, therefore she decided to resign her membership in the club. At the end of the play, Cornelia asks for a notebook and pencil for writing her resignation letter.

Something Unspoken Themes

Fear- Cornelia Scott was really afraid of rejection from the others, especially from the members of the club Confederate Daughters. Because of the fear of rejection and defeat in the club election, she is not ready to visit the place where the election was conducted. She wanted to elect her unanimously to the post of Regent without an election.

Love and homosexuality are other themes that are reflected in the play. There is a homosexual attraction between Cornelia Scott and Grace Lancaster. But they are not able to disclose it to each other. There is an intimacy between them at the same time they are not able to disclose it by breaking the silence.

Self-importance and pomposity are the other important themes reflected in the play. Cornelia was a self-pretentious character who give primary concern to self and pomposity. In reality, the life of Cornelia was a dull and boring one. The only enjoyment in her life was the pretension to self-importance. She always wanted to get approved by others. She enjoyed people seeking her opinion about fashion, music, gardening, and so on. 

Conclusion.

Something Unspoken is all about the story of an isolated and frustrated woman, Cornelia Scott. This one-act play tells us the story of an elderly woman Cornelia Scott and her desire to be a regent of the club, Confederate Daughters. Her secretary Grace has love and sympathy for each other. But they cannot break the wall of silence even though they have been living 15 years together. There is something unspeakable between them, that makes the play more tensed and complex.