The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds
Encyclopedia
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds is a 1964 play
written by Paul Zindel
, a playwright and science teacher. Zindel received the 1971 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
and a New York Drama Critics' Circle
Award for the work. The play's world premiere was staged in 1964 at the Alley Theatre
in Houston, after which it premiered in New York City
Off Broadway. It was adapted for the screen
in 1972, directed by Paul Newman
and starring his wife Joanne Woodward
, daughter Nell Potts, and Roberta Wallach, daughter of Eli Wallach
. Woodward won the award for Best Actress
at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival
.
consisting of single mother Beatrice and her two daughters, Ruth and Tillie, who try to cope with their abysmal status in life. The play is a lyrical drama
, reminiscent of Tennessee Williams
' style.
Shy Matilda "Tillie" Hunsdorfer prepares her experiment
, involving marigolds
raised from seeds exposed to radioactivity, for the science fair
. She is, however, constantly thwarted by her mother Beatrice, who is self-centered
and abusive
, and by her extroverted and unstable sister Ruth, who submits to her mother's will. Over the course of the play, Beatrice constantly tries to stamp out any opportunities Tillie has of succeeding, due to her own lack of success in life. As the play progresses, the paths of the three characters diverge: Tillie wins the science fair through perseverance; Ruth attempts to stand up to her mother but has a nervous collapse at the end of the play, and Beatrice—driven to the verge of insanity
by her deep-seated enmity towards everyone—kills the girls' pet rabbit
Peter and ends up wallowing in her own perceived insignificance. Despite this, Tillie (who is much like her project's deformed but beautiful and hardy marigolds) secretly continues to believe that everyone is valuable.
of the play. A quiet and introverted character who is teased at school. She copes with her life by immersing herself in science, hoping to reach a philosophical epiphany
. Her untiring quest
for her individuality stands in open defiance of her mother's wish for total control over the family. Because of this, she receives the brunt of the abuse. Tillie also owns a rabbit named Peter, given to her by her science teacher, Mr. Goodman.
Ruth Hunsdorfer: Tillie's older sister. A brash but confused adolescent, she looks to others for advice
, but often gains this insight from Beatrice. Although abused as well, she often bends to her mother's will, putting her in her favor and sheltering her from the full extent of her abuse. On many occasions, she attempts to make Tillie look like the crazy one, even though she herself underwent psychiatric treatment. She also takes a liking to Tillie's pet rabbit, to the point where she blackmails Tillie for possession of Peter, and threatens to kill her mother if she harms him. There is evidence in the story suggesting that Ruth may have epilepsy
.
Beatrice Hunsdorfer: Tillie's and Ruth's mother. A single mother whose life has gone awry, she copes with it through self-loathing, cynicism
, and drug abuse
, and by verbally (and at times physically) abusing her two daughters. As the play's main antagonist
, Beatrice is mainly narcissistic
, domineering, and lethally short-tempered
, which is only worsened by the drugs. However, her plight is sympathetic
, as her past reveals a life spiraling steadily downward from serendipitous
circumstance
s, leading her to self-destruction.
Mr. Goodman: Tillie's science teacher. He serves as a mentor
to Tillie. Mr. Goodman is mentioned on many occasions, but never seen, although the dialogue often implies that he is the only positive role model
in Tillie's life.
Nanny: An elderly boarder
in the Hunsdorfer household. Silent throughout, she doesn't contribute much beyond being yet another burden
to the already stressed-out Beatrice who verbally abuses her as she does her daughters.
Mr Frank: Beatrice's Father. A deceased vegetable vendor. After his wife (Beatrice's mother) died, he raised Beatrice on his own. Although he had a lowly status, Beatrice holds him in high regard—"He makes up for all the men in the world"—and smiles imagining her daughters meeting him.
Janice Vickery: Tillie's rival at the science fair. Her experiment involved boiling the skin off a dead cat
so she may use its skeleton
. She plans to use a dog
in her next science fair project.
said that he chose to shoot the film in Bridgeport, Connecticut
because it was only 17 minutes from his home in Westport
.
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
written by Paul Zindel
Paul Zindel
Paul Zindel Jr. was an American playwright, author, and educator.-Early years:Zindel was born in Tottenville, Staten Island, New York to Paul Zindel,Sr., a policeman, and Beatrice Frank, a nurse; his sister, Betty Hagen, was a year and a half older than he. Paul Zindel, Sr...
, a playwright and science teacher. Zindel received the 1971 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama was first awarded in 1918.From 1918 to 2006, the Drama Prize was unlike the majority of the other Pulitzer Prizes: during these years, the eligibility period for the drama prize ran from March 2 to March 1, to reflect the Broadway 'season' rather than the calendar year...
and a New York Drama Critics' Circle
New York Drama Critics' Circle
The New York Drama Critics' Circle is made up of 24 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines and wire services based in the New York City metropolitan area. The organization was founded in 1935 at the Algonquin Hotel by a group that included Brooks Atkinson, Walter Winchell, and Robert Benchley...
Award for the work. The play's world premiere was staged in 1964 at the Alley Theatre
Alley Theatre
The Alley Theatre is a Tony Award-winning indoor theatre in Downtown Houston, Texas, and hosts two stages. The "Hubbard" is the main stage with seating for 824; the more intimate "Neuhaus" seats 310. Nine towers and open-air terraces give the Alley Theatre a castle-like quality. Inside, a staircase...
in Houston, after which it premiered in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Off Broadway. It was adapted for the screen
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (film)
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds is a 1972 American drama film produced and directed by Paul Newman. The screenplay by Alvin Sargent is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same title by Paul Zindel...
in 1972, directed by Paul Newman
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
and starring his wife Joanne Woodward
Joanne Woodward
Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward is an American actress, television and theatrical producer, and widow of Paul Newman...
, daughter Nell Potts, and Roberta Wallach, daughter of Eli Wallach
Eli Wallach
Eli Herschel Wallach is an American film, television and stage actor, who gained fame in the late 1950s. For his performance in Baby Doll he won a BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer and a Golden Globe nomination. One of his most famous roles is that of Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly...
. Woodward won the award for Best Actress
Best Actress Award (Cannes Film Festival)
The Best Actress Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of films at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946.-Award Winners:-External links:* * ....
at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival
1973 Cannes Film Festival
The 26th Cannes Film Festival was held on May 10–25, 1973. At this festival two new non-competitive sections were added: 'Étude et documents' and 'Perspectives du Cinéma Français' ....
.
Plot
The play revolves around the dysfunctional familyDysfunctional family
A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often abuse on the part of individual members occur continually and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such actions. Children sometimes grow up in such families with the understanding that such an arrangement is...
consisting of single mother Beatrice and her two daughters, Ruth and Tillie, who try to cope with their abysmal status in life. The play is a lyrical drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, reminiscent of Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
' style.
Shy Matilda "Tillie" Hunsdorfer prepares her experiment
Experiment
An experiment is a methodical procedure carried out with the goal of verifying, falsifying, or establishing the validity of a hypothesis. Experiments vary greatly in their goal and scale, but always rely on repeatable procedure and logical analysis of the results...
, involving marigolds
Tagetes
Tagetes is a genus of 56 species of annual and perennial mostly herbaceous plants in the sunflower family . The genus is native to North and South America, but some species have become naturalized around the world. One species, T...
raised from seeds exposed to radioactivity, for the science fair
Science fair
A science fair is generally a competition where contestants present their science project results in the form of a report, display board, and models that they have created. Science fairs allow students in grade schools and high schools to compete in science and/or technology activities...
. She is, however, constantly thwarted by her mother Beatrice, who is self-centered
Narcissism
Narcissism is a term with a wide range of meanings, depending on whether it is used to describe a central concept of psychoanalytic theory, a mental illness, a social or cultural problem, or simply a personality trait...
and abusive
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
, and by her extroverted and unstable sister Ruth, who submits to her mother's will. Over the course of the play, Beatrice constantly tries to stamp out any opportunities Tillie has of succeeding, due to her own lack of success in life. As the play progresses, the paths of the three characters diverge: Tillie wins the science fair through perseverance; Ruth attempts to stand up to her mother but has a nervous collapse at the end of the play, and Beatrice—driven to the verge of insanity
Insanity
Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...
by her deep-seated enmity towards everyone—kills the girls' pet rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
Peter and ends up wallowing in her own perceived insignificance. Despite this, Tillie (who is much like her project's deformed but beautiful and hardy marigolds) secretly continues to believe that everyone is valuable.
Characters
Matilda "Tillie" Hunsdorfer: The main protagonistProtagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of the play. A quiet and introverted character who is teased at school. She copes with her life by immersing herself in science, hoping to reach a philosophical epiphany
Epiphany (feeling)
An epiphany is the sudden realization or comprehension of the essence or meaning of something...
. Her untiring quest
Quest
In mythology and literature, a quest, a journey towards a goal, serves as a plot device and as a symbol. Quests appear in the folklore of every nation and also figure prominently in non-national cultures. In literature, the objects of quests require great exertion on the part of the hero, and...
for her individuality stands in open defiance of her mother's wish for total control over the family. Because of this, she receives the brunt of the abuse. Tillie also owns a rabbit named Peter, given to her by her science teacher, Mr. Goodman.
Ruth Hunsdorfer: Tillie's older sister. A brash but confused adolescent, she looks to others for advice
Advice (opinion)
Advice is a form of relating personal or institutional opinions, belief systems, values, recommendations or guidance about certain situations relayed in some context to another person, group or party often offered as a guide to action and/or conduct...
, but often gains this insight from Beatrice. Although abused as well, she often bends to her mother's will, putting her in her favor and sheltering her from the full extent of her abuse. On many occasions, she attempts to make Tillie look like the crazy one, even though she herself underwent psychiatric treatment. She also takes a liking to Tillie's pet rabbit, to the point where she blackmails Tillie for possession of Peter, and threatens to kill her mother if she harms him. There is evidence in the story suggesting that Ruth may have epilepsy
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
.
Beatrice Hunsdorfer: Tillie's and Ruth's mother. A single mother whose life has gone awry, she copes with it through self-loathing, cynicism
Cynicism
Cynicism , in its original form, refers to the beliefs of an ancient school of Greek philosophers known as the Cynics . Their philosophy was that the purpose of life was to live a life of Virtue in agreement with Nature. This meant rejecting all conventional desires for wealth, power, health, and...
, and drug abuse
Drug abuse
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered dependent. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts...
, and by verbally (and at times physically) abusing her two daughters. As the play's main antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
, Beatrice is mainly narcissistic
Narcissism
Narcissism is a term with a wide range of meanings, depending on whether it is used to describe a central concept of psychoanalytic theory, a mental illness, a social or cultural problem, or simply a personality trait...
, domineering, and lethally short-tempered
Rage (emotion)
Rage is a feeling of intense anger. It is associated with the Fight-or-flight response and oftentimes activated in response to an external cue, such as the murder of a loved one. The phrase, 'thrown into a fit of rage,' expresses the immediate nature of rage that occurs before deliberation. If left...
, which is only worsened by the drugs. However, her plight is sympathetic
Sympathy
Sympathy is a social affinity in which one person stands with another person, closely understanding his or her feelings. Also known as empathic concern, it is the feeling of compassion or concern for another, the wish to see them better off or happier. Although empathy and sympathy are often used...
, as her past reveals a life spiraling steadily downward from serendipitous
Serendipity
Serendipity means a "happy accident" or "pleasant surprise"; specifically, the accident of finding something good or useful without looking for it. The word has been voted as one of the ten English words hardest to translate in June 2004 by a British translation company. However, due to its...
circumstance
Circumstance
- Legal terms :* Aggravating circumstance* Attendant circumstance, a legal concept which Black's Law Dictionary defines as the "facts surrounding an event."* Exigent circumstance* Extenuating circumstances- Films :...
s, leading her to self-destruction.
Mr. Goodman: Tillie's science teacher. He serves as a mentor
Mentor
In Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcimus or Anchialus. In his old age Mentor was a friend of Odysseus who placed Mentor and Odysseus' foster-brother Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus, and of Odysseus' palace, when Odysseus left for the Trojan War.When Athena visited Telemachus she...
to Tillie. Mr. Goodman is mentioned on many occasions, but never seen, although the dialogue often implies that he is the only positive role model
Role model
The term role model generally means any "person who serves as an example, whose behaviour is emulated by others".The term first appeared in Robert K. Merton's socialization research of medical students...
in Tillie's life.
Nanny: An elderly boarder
Boarder
A boarder may be a person who:*snowboards*skateboards*bodyboards*surfs*stays at a boarding house*attends a boarding school*takes part in a boarding attackThe term may also refer to*The Boarder...
in the Hunsdorfer household. Silent throughout, she doesn't contribute much beyond being yet another burden
Burden
-As a surname:*Arthur Scott Burden , American equestrian*Chris Burden, American avant-garde artist*Doug Burden , American rower.*Henry Burden, 19th century industrialist*Jane Morris née Jane Burden , English artists' model...
to the already stressed-out Beatrice who verbally abuses her as she does her daughters.
Mr Frank: Beatrice's Father. A deceased vegetable vendor. After his wife (Beatrice's mother) died, he raised Beatrice on his own. Although he had a lowly status, Beatrice holds him in high regard—"He makes up for all the men in the world"—and smiles imagining her daughters meeting him.
Janice Vickery: Tillie's rival at the science fair. Her experiment involved boiling the skin off a dead cat
Cat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
so she may use its skeleton
Skeleton
The skeleton is the body part that forms the supporting structure of an organism. There are two different skeletal types: the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, and the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside the body.In a figurative sense, skeleton can...
. She plans to use a dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
in her next science fair project.
Film production
Director Paul NewmanPaul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
said that he chose to shoot the film in Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...
because it was only 17 minutes from his home in Westport
Westport, Connecticut
-Neighborhoods:* Saugatuck – around the Westport railroad station near the southwestern corner of the town – a built-up area with some restaurants, stores and offices....
.