SUMMARY:

One-act play "A Matter of Husbands" by Ferenc Molnar is twisted. It tells the story of a sincere woman who is married to a lawyer who has a lot of connections to a famous actress. Because she believes her husband is having an affair with her, the sincere young woman approaches the well-known actress. The well-known actress tells the story of a man's attempt to trick his wife into giving him more affection through a well-staged act. We discover that the spouse was concealing in the wardrobe the whole time when the ‘Famous Actress’ ultimately attempts to convince the ‘Earnest Young Woman’ that the story is genuine.

This play looks at how actors play different roles in real life and on stage, as well as how much they can fool us. At the beginning of the play, the Earnest Young Woman shows up on stage and is impatiently waiting for the Famous Actress. The Earnest Young Woman shouts violently at the Famous Actress to return her husband as she approaches the stage through the door. The well-known actress categorically denies taking her husband. Because he was given the contract for a case, she asserts that she knows him. She asks the Earnest Young Woman why she thinks Alfred is in love with her in order to con the Earnest Young Woman into believing a lie.

After hearing this, the actress smiles and maintains that she has not received any letters or flowers from him. The Famous Actress now asserts that an odd event led Earnest Young Woman to believe that she and her husband misunderstood each other. Famous Actress convinces the Earnest Young Woman that her husband is having an affair with her to get her attention and love back. The Earnest Young Woman then acknowledges her error and accepts her apology. The Famous Actress calls Alfred from her own bedroom after the eager, or sincere, woman leaves the stage. This is how the play comes to an end.

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS BELOW.

a. To whom does Earnest Young Woman appeal for assistance?

Earnest Young lady is an innocent lady. She is in love with her husband, but she finds out that the Famous Actress has snatched him from her. Consequently, she approaches the Actress and requests that she return her husband as a favor.

b. According to the Earnest Young Woman, what signals her husband's love for Famous Actress?

The Earnest Young Woman says that sending flowers and a suspicious love letter are signs that her husband is in love with a famous actress. The Famous Actress receives flowers from her husband through a messenger. A florist tells her about it, and she finds out about it. Her husband eventually loses track of the love letter on the table, in which he expresses regret for not being able to see the Famous Actress and gives her ten thousand kisses.

c. Is Famous Actress's argument convincing to Earnest Young Woman? How?

Based on the basic conversation between Famous Actress and Earnest Young Woman, it appears that she is convinced. The Famous Actress tells her that Earnest Young Woman's husband has arrived and asks her to fake a relationship with him so that she will be jealous and love her back. She informs her that a lot of actors are willing to take on such opportunities to connect with their families.

d. As they talk about him, where is the earnest young woman's husband hiding?

According to the play, The Earnest Young Woman's spouse appears at the play's conclusion when the Famous Actress summons him from her private chamber. This suggests that during the play, the Earnest Young Woman's spouse is hiding in the Famous Actress' room. In fact, it reveals that Alfred and the famous actress are having an affair.

e. When do you think Famous Actress really excels in the acting world?

I think the famous actress is very good at acting when she tells the honest woman that her husband is playing a game on her to make her jealous so that she will change her attitude and try to impress him as much as possible.The Earnest Young Woman grants her request for a hairpiece.She asserts that Alfred possesses it out of fear that her fans will steal it and give it to him.

f. How do we know that Famous Actress is in love with Earnest Young Woman's husband?

In the play's concluding scene, we learn that the Famous Actress is in love with the Earnest Young Woman's husband. First, we think that during their heated discussion, the Famous Actress stole the Earnest Young Woman's husband. Later, Alfred receives a call from the private room of the Famous Actress. Then it becomes abundantly clear that the Earnest Young Woman has been deceived and that the Famous Actress is in love with her husband.

g. In a paragraph, write down the play's plot.

At the beginning of the play, the Earnest Young Woman approaches the famous actress's living room and demands that she return her husband. The well-known actress responds that she has not married him, despite having met him. She wants to know why the blame is being placed on her. The Earnest Young Woman claims that her husband has apologized to her in a love letter and sent her flowers. She recognizes that particular letter to the actress in front of her. The well-known actress claims that her husband came up with this scheme so that he could get closer to her. Earnest Young Woman is persuaded by her, who guarantees that such circumstances are common among entertainers. In order to make their wives jealous, numerous coworkers, including supervisors, approach her for favors. The Earnest Young Woman acknowledges her error and expresses gratitude to the actress for her assistance. She even gives the famous actress a kiss, delighted by her assistance. As soon as the Earnest Young Woman leaves the drawing room, the Famous Actress calls Alfred from her bedroom.

REFERENCE TO THE CONTEXT

a. Sketch the character of the Famous Actress in the context.

Sara is the name of the famous actress in this play. She is a well-known and successful stage actress from Hungary. She has excellent acting skills and is significantly smarter than Alfred and his wife. She pretends to be having an affair with Alfred in this play to make Earnest Young Woman jealous, but in reality, she is in love with Alfred for his money and personality. Additionally, the well-known actress possesses unparalleled stage speech talent and resembles a Greek goddess and princess.

b. Draw attention to the distinctions between a regular woman and an actress.

The difference between an ordinary woman and an actress is that the former is extremely intelligent while the latter is easily fooled due to her innocence and blind belief in her husband.

In "A Matter of Husband," the ordinary woman is depicted as foolish and terrified, easily deceived by the actress's fictitious narrative. Convinced that her husband was having an affair, she had arrived at the actress in tears. The actress, on the other hand, convinced her that her husband was trying to reclaim his love for her by making her jealous. She gained the woman's trust, and she accepted the narrative without question. It was eventually discovered that the actress' husband was in her room. This demonstrates that the ordinary woman was afraid, while the actress was clever.

c. According to Famous Actress, theater actors are used by men who want to get their ex-wives back by making them jealous. Do you concur with her assertion? Why? Why not?

I do not concur with the Famous Actress’s assertion because this statement is phony. It is a clear white lie in order to save herself and Alfred from Alfred’s wife’s anger. She is an actress and she is experienced with dialogues, stories and acting. Her name suggests that she is a famous actress and I believe it was due to her awesome acting that she became famous. Therefore, this statement is a tactic to fool the innocent woman.

d. How does Famous Actress embarrass Earnest Young Woman?

Famous Actress fabricates a story about actors and men in the theater to make a fool of a young woman. Earnest Young Woman blames the famous actress, claiming that she and her husband are having an affair. She convinces Earnest Young Woman that her husband is playing with her in order to make her jealous, and she hopes that she will reciprocate her affection. The Earnest Young Woman acknowledges her error and apologizes to her after hearing her points of view. She kisses the Famous Actress after being finally persuaded and satisfied.

e. The stage of the theater is where the two women are having their conversation. In A Matter for Husband, what role does the theater house play as a setting?

The theater has been used as part of the setting to show how performers' primary goal is to get the audience to believe in the illusion. In addition to the exceptional performances by the actors, the atmosphere of the theater made it possible to create an illusion among the audience. Both characters have been able to have their private conversations, which shouldn't take place in public, in a pleasant setting at the theater. As part of the setting, the theater house has played a significant role in the presentation of the topic at hand.

f. What do you think of the play's conclusion?

The play "A Matter of Husbands" is excellent.It has a twisty and enigmatic conclusion.The final scene of the play is both powerful and tragic.In this drama, it is made clear that clever people always take advantage of innocent, dumb people.The famous actress claims that the young woman is overjoyed with her husband toward the play's conclusion because he wants to be treated with affection.In the performance, the famous actress can simply deceive her.The wealthy young woman's husband and the well-known actress live happily together.The play's decision is heartfelt yet unexpected.

REFERENCE BEYOND THE TEXT

a. Write a paragraph about your favorite actor or actress.

My favorite actor is Paresh Rawal. He is a Bollywood actor who was trained in theatre before joining movies. Initially, he used to act as a villain and was an acclaimed villain. Slowly afterwards when the trend of comic movies started to be popular and he too started looking old, he changed his track and started to work as a comedian in the movies. Some of the great comic movies are Hera Pheri series, Hungama, Manoranjan etc. He is still at work and is still popular in all age groups. I think our Nepali comedians can learn a lot from him.