Wit Impressions

Reading the play isn't my first encounter with Wit. I had seen the movie before I took this class. I enjoyed reading the play,  a lot. It gave me a chance to savor and think about the words. 

The stage directions, were very important. Included in that, Vivian breaks the fourth wall all the time. The play begins even, with the the house lights partially on. That is a significant choice on the part of the writer. It engages the audience more and tells them that they are a part of this. She also was to have her IV pole with her, throughout the play, no matter what the scene really was. 

Even the fact that some of the characters were supposed to double up as other characters, I felt was significant. It's as if these memories and flashbacks are just shadows, they're not really happening. They are a facade that Vivian is putting up over the top of everything that's going on around her. Which, of course, is the case. In some ways that's what a memory is. 

One of the most meaningful things was the almost juxtaposition of Vivian actually being afraid and showing the humanity she always shied away from, with Sally, and with her only visitor, her mentor, reading her a story, and comparing it to an allegory for God.