Gaslight

Most kids know of the fabled King Arthur because of the Disney movie The Sword in the Stone. At some time in a child’s life, they learn of the Knights of the Round Table and the wizard Merlin, both of which relate to King Arthur. In the medieval period, the legendary Round Table was known to have no head of the table, suggesting that there was not a real “leader” and that each knight was equal to the man sitting to his left and right. Each of the knights that sat at the Round Table of King Arthur shared a common belief system that upheld the seven knightly virtues—courage, justice, mercy, generosity, faith, nobility, and hope. Together, these seven virtues help define chivalry.

A couple of centuries after the Middle Ages, during the Victorian Era, cherished qualities were prudence, conventionalism, virtue, modesty, and respectability. There were horrible working conditions during the Victorian Era; the lower class was squeezed out by an emerging middle class. These circumstances led to a growing, palpable fear. In this age of progression, the popular theatre was melodrama. A clear cut hero represented everything that was right and was willing to sacrifice himself (or herself) for the goodness of others. The illiterate and foreign were able to comprehend these usually clear-cut dramas because they were easy to put together.

Patrick Hamilton’s Gaslight is a melodrama, whose heroine is Bella Manningham. Her husband plays psychological tricks on her and makes her doubt her sanity. She thinks that she is losing her mind, just like her mother had. In reality, Jack Manningham fools around with their maid, hides her trinkets, and estranges Bella from her family. He is a maniac thief, who is desperately searching for the rubies he tried to steal years ago. Bella is slow to catch on to what Detective Rough describes. Eventually, she trusts her intuition and begins to understand the flickering of the gaslights and the mysterious “ghost” footsteps. While trapped in her own London Doll’s House, Bella transforms into a stronger, more independent woman. I thought that she even embodied two of the aforementioned knightly virtues—courage and mercy.

When the detective showed up at her doorstep, Bella invited him in for tea and listened to his tale of the jewel thief. She followed his story and helped him discover the truth about her husband. By allowing the detective to open Jack’s desk puts herself in imminent danger. Regardless, Bella is as intrigued as the detective is. She has courage of the heart and takes on a difficult task of hushed defiance. When the detective left her for the night, she was required to stay up in her bedroom. When she receives the letter warning her of the dog’s safety, she rushes to its aid. Of course, this was a ploy of her husband’s. Later, when she has a moment alone with her recently exposed husband, she shows mercy. Bella is aware of the pain Jack’s words have caused her, so she carefully chooses her parting words. Bella, the chivalric knight that she is, exercised mercy on her husband. When he was taken away by the police, I felt a strange sense of peace and finality, rather than hostility. If I were her, I would be upset and tetchy, and I would rightly blame him. Her mercy and courage in the face of danger are very admirable traits.

To a degree, Bella also upholds her own convictions, certain in the back of her mind that the flicker in the gaslight is not a figment of her imagination. She was also convinced of her sanity—at first she would claim that she did not hide the painting, but after Jack’s constant mind games, she agreed to hiding it. She felt the same way to the missing grocer’s bill; she could not have hidden it because she remembers placing it plainly on the top of Jack’s desk. A chivalric knight has the same certainty in his (or her) convictions that Bella had. Also, chivalric knights always maintain a cheery demeanor and positive outlook. While at times Bella is stressed out, at the end of the play she returns to the windows and opens them. The open window is symbolic of good times to come. Amidst the tragedy of her finished marriage and lying, psychopath husband, she continues to live by her own chivalric code of hope and determination.