tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37798767.post3030687196006212318..comments2023-12-13T04:20:40.592-08:00Comments on Middle-Class Death Trips: Children of the Reagan GenerationChris Newfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01078395415386100872noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37798767.post-16329835377451917542012-12-31T12:03:50.352-08:002012-12-31T12:03:50.352-08:00What an interesting and insightful review! Of cour...What an interesting and insightful review! Of course, my review would focus on the interpersonal happenings more than on the political landscape, and I certainly agree that Polly is the strongest character. She repeatedly took action to change the course of their lives, most notably with her son. However, I find her brutal, entirely self-serving, often eviscerating blackmail to be appalling. Her sister lives in terror of being thrown out on her own. Her daughter doesn't publish her book for fear of abandonment<br />Polly is the queen of her stark, sterile landscape, casually tossing verbal darts at random into each of her minions, keeping everyone in line. Her sister is the court jester, accepting all the barbs, carrying the history of Polly's rise to power. Silda is also the other Polly, the one who was crushed. Between the two they form Nancy Reagan.<br />Polly seems a contemporary version of many of the great destructive queens of traditional drama, murdering her own children (or banishing them) both of which she inflicted on one son. The character who gets no attention by the playwright is the one kid that got it right; when Mom shows up, he leaves, he never engages. If he had seen through her, her need for control, her deep seated fear of losing that control, it would have added another dimension to the play.<br />Fun to think about! - RickiAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com