MOTHERS DAY

The play starts with a scene of Mrs Pearson and Mrs Fitzgerald drinking tea
during an afternoon in early autumn. Mrs Fitzgerald is a fortune teller and is
telling Mrs Pearson’s fortune. Both of them have contrasting personalities. While
Mrs Pearson looks pleasant but anxious, Mrs Fitzgerald looks stronger with a
sinister personality. The former is in her forties, and the latter is older.

The conversation starts with Mrs Fitzgerald advising Mrs Pearson to take a stand
and be the boss of her own family. Mrs Pearson replies meekly that it was not that
simple – she was still fond of them even if they were thoughtless and selfish. Mrs
Fitzgerald reminds her that it is not acceptable to be treated the way she was
treated by her children and her husband. Mrs Pearson replies dubiously that she
does try to drop them a hint, and she does not know how to begin. She looks at
the clock and panics, saying they will be home soon and nothing is ready.

Mrs Fitzgerald tries to calm her down and asks Mrs Pearson to put her foot down,
but Mrs Pearson does not seem to be sure about her capabilities. To this, Mrs
Fitzgerald replies that she will do it for Mrs Pearson. The latter denies politely
explaining that her husband and children would resent Mrs Fitzgerald. Then Mrs
Fitzgerald reveals her plan, which involves an exchange of their personalities.
She then takes Mrs Pearson’s hands and chants a spell, after which Mrs Pearson
talks out of Mrs Fitzgerald’s body and vice versa.

Mrs Pearson, who is now Mrs Fitzgerald, sounded alarmed at this transformation
and expressed her fear – in case they were not able to reverse their personalities
into their own respective bodies. Mrs Fitzgerald, who is now Mrs Pearson,
convinced her not to worry and go to her home. She could come back after some
time to check on things. Mrs Fitzgerald hurries back to her house while the real
Mrs Fitzgerald, in the form of Mrs Pearson, waits for the children and husband to
return home from work. She smokes away carelessly, whereas the real Mrs
Pearson has never smoked in her life.
The daughter Doris, a pretty young girl in her twenties, bursts inside the room
asking her mother to iron her yellow silk dress because she is going out for the
night. She notices her mother smoking and starts questioning her. Mrs Pearson
calmy retaliates, saying there is no law against smoking. When Doris asks her
mother if tea is ready, Mrs Pearson informs her that she has had her tea and is
thinking about going for dinner at Clarendon. Doris, who has now become sulky,
reminds her mother that she works hard and Mrs Pearson has always prepared
tea and ironed clothes for her. Mrs Pearson rebukes Doris’s comments and
reminds her that she works twice as much as Doris but gets paid in neither wages
nor thanks. She also goes further to insult Charlie Spence, with whom Doris had
planned to go out in the evening in her yellow dress. Doris is on the verge of
tears.

Mrs Pearson’s son Cyril arrives home after a while and starts asking for tea and
things that he needs for going out in the evening. In a similar manner to how she
put down Doris, Mrs Pearson replies curtly to Cyril’s demands and queries –
implying that she could not care less. She reminds Cyril that everyone in the
family expects her to listen to their rude comments and demands. She has
decided to fight against it just like Cyril goes to the Union in case of any
discrepancies at work.

As Cyril stands there baffled by Mrs Peasrson’s unnatural behaviour, Doris joins
him in the living room. She had been crying, and her mother just aggravates the
situation by telling her that a crying face does not suit her for an evening out with
Charlie Spencer. As Cyril tries to figure out what Mrs Pearson could have
possibly said to Doris, he finds her looking for some stout in the kitchen. Cyril
and Doris talk to each other about the new development in Mrs Pearsons’s
attitude. They find the thought of their father dealing with Mrs Pearson’s
behaviour funnily intriguing and wait for his arrival.

As Mrs Pearson enters the drawing room with her stout, she intercepts the
siblings’ laughter and giggles and reprimands them for not behaving their age.
When Doris asks the reason behind her sudden change in behaviour, Mrs
Pearson replies that all the family members do is come home, ask her for
something and go back again. She also threatens them by saying that her work of
eight hours is done and that she might go for an outing during the weekend.

The husband, George, arrives home and is treated in the same way as Cyril and
Doris. Mrs Pearson also goes ahead to tell him how people at the club called him
‘Pompy-ompy George’. Mrs Fitzgerald enters the house now and is worried about
how Mrs Pearson is treating the family members. She begs Mrs Pearson to stop,
but the latter seems furious at her family’s behaviour and scolds them to learn
some manners. Mrs Fitzgerald asks Mrs Pearson to exchange their personalities
back while Mrs Pearson is intent on doing some more reforms in the family
members’ behaviours. But Mrs Fitzgerald is no longer able to bear it, and Mrs
Pearson exchanges their personalities back.

The original Mrs Pearson starts talking in a pleasant manner while Mrs Fitzgerald
reminds her to be strict. Mrs Pearson thus uses a strict tone with her family
finally, and all seem to be aware of her problems and needs now. Cyril, Doris and
George become polite and understanding in their behaviour towards Mrs
Pearson. She proposes a nice game of rummy and asks them to help her with
supper. Mrs Fitzgerald wishes the family goodnight and leaves the house. The
play ends.

Question 7. What plan did Mrs Fitzgerald make to give Mrs Pearson’s family a good lesson?

Answer 7: Mrs Fitzgerald knew witchcraft. She stated that they should exchange their bodies. Thus,
Mrs Fitzgerald would be confined in Mrs Pearson’s body and vice versa. In this way, she would live
with Mrs Pearson’s family and give her husband and children a good lesson.

Question 8. Write down what you know about Mrs Fitzgerald.

Answer 8: Mrs Fitzgerald is the neighbour of Mrs Pearson. She is older than Mrs Pearson and has a
confident personality. She has a deep voice and speaks in an Irish tone. She reveals that her
husband was in the army, and she learned about witchcraft while residing in the East. She is also
very much into smoking and drinking.

Question 9. How did Mrs Fitzgerald deal with Doris?

Answer 9: Doris was the first person Mrs Fitzgerald dealt with after exchanging bodies with Mrs
Pearson. Doris was a very spoiled child, and she asked her mother to iron her dress. In reply, Mrs
Fitzgerald, confined in Mrs Pearson’s body, denied it. That surprised Doris. Then, Mrs Fitzgerald
rudely behaved with Doris and made fun of the guy she was going out with. It made Doris cry, and
her confidence was broken.

Question 10. What was Mr Pearson called behind his back in the club? Why was he called so?

Answer 10: Mr Pearson was called Pompy-ompy Pearson in the club. People called him so because
of his pompous attitude. The people in the club also made jokes about him because he used to stay
in the club up late, leaving his wife alone at home.

Question 11. How did Mrs Fitzgerald and Mrs Pearson exchange bodies?

Answer 11: Mrs Fitzgerald said that she knew how to exchange bodies. She asked Mrs Pearson to
hold her hands and stare at her. Holding hands, they chanted a spell. After muttering the spell, their
muscles relaxed as if they were dead. Then within a few minutes, they came back to life with the
other’s personality.

Question 12. How did the family spend the night?

Answer 12: At the end of the play, one finds that Mrs Pearson returned to her body but decided to
act firm with her family. She smiled at her husband and children. They were finally relieved seeing
her smile. She said they would play a good family game of Rummy, and then her children would
prepare for the supper while she would spend some time with her husband. None of them
complained and decided to obey what she said.

Question 13. Describe the contrast between the characters of Mrs Pearson and Mrs Fitzgerald.

Answer 13: Mrs Pearson is a pleasant lady in her mid-forties. Though she is beautiful, she is always
worried because of the behaviour of her family members. She is caring, calm and at the same time,
nervous and apologetic. She works day and night without rest and is submissive. On the other
hand, Mrs Fitzgerald is a very confident older woman. She’s bold and aggressive. She has a deep
voice and cool nature and loves smoking and drinking. She also knows fortune-telling and lives life
on her own terms.
Question 13. What were Doris and Cyril’s reactions after seeing her mother acting differently?

Answer 13: Doris and Cyril started to talk about their mother’s sudden change in behaviour. Doris
feared their mother could hit her head and suffer a concussion, but Cyril denied it. Doris noticed
differences in how she looked and talked, but Cyril didn’t understand that. They started giggling after
thinking about what would be their father’s reaction after seeing their mother behaving differently.

Question 14. This play, written in the 1950s, is a humorous and satirical depiction of the status of the
mother in the family. What are the issues it raises?

Answer 14: The play, written by J.B. Priestley, highlights several serious issues prevalent in the
society. One of the major problems it highlights is how homemakers are treated poorly by their own
family members. . Even though they give their every hour for the sake of their families, they do not
get the respect they deserve. . Even their children take them for granted. So, the homemaker
running the household turns into a machine fulfilling demands of all the family members. The
second major issue is family members do not have enough time for each other. They want to
socialise outside rather than giving their time and company to their own family members. In the play,
we can see how Mrs Pearson wants her family to stay late at night and play Rummy together. It
portrays how distant the people are mentally from each other. Another big issue it highlights is how
people can’t appreciate confident women. Mrs Fitzgerald is a very independent and strong woman.
But Mrs Pearson’s family don’t like her. Even her son calls the elderly neighbour a silly old bag.
Thus, the play highlights several issues which are prevalent in contemporary society.

Question 15. Do you think it caricatures these issues, or do you think the problems it raises are
genuine?

Answer 15: The play raises problems that are genuine. Though the play was written in the context of
the 1950s, it is equally important and relevant today. Women were never given respect for doing
household chores. . Even nowadays, we take our mothers for granted. The amount of effort and
energy they invest for us goes completely unnoticed. We rarely acknowledge them for what they do.
But they are the most hardworking people in the world. Every working person gets a holiday in a
week. But housewives never get holidays. They do not get paid, do not get any help and even
sometimes do not get the dignity and respect they deserve. It is a serious issue. We should thank
and appreciate them for their exemplary work and give them love and support. They long for our
company and time. We must remember it. We should ensure they do not feel lonely after doing their
best for us. But in most cases, we forget this and completely ignore what they want. So, we must
behave well and support them in doing their household chores and errands.
Question 16. How does the play resolve the issues? Do you agree with the resolution?

Answer 16: The play suggests that housewives should stand for their rights. We see that Mrs
Fitzgerald advises Mrs Pearson to behave firmly with her family members. Only this way can they
understand her value and respect her. When Mrs Pearson was unable to do so, Mrs Fitzgerald
shared her plan to change each other’s personalities. Thus, she enters Mrs Pearson’s body and
starts behaving boldly and coldly with the family. The members get a good lesson, and they begin to
obey Mrs Pearson.

I completely agree with the resolution presented by the drama. Indeed, a homemaker rarely protests.
She tries to act according to the demands of the family members. It sends the wrong message in
return. . They take the housewife for granted. They don’t realise that she has opinions, longing and,
most importantly, independence and freedom. They ignore the fact that she wants to rest awhile too.
Hence, it is important to make them realise her value. In doing so, the members of the family
become aware of the fact how a mother sacrifices her entire life to keep them happy and
comfortable and she should be treated with utmost regard and recognition.

Question 17. How did Mrs Fitzgerald help Mrs Pearson to realise her value in the family?

Answer 17: Mrs Fitzgerald was an older woman who was strong, bold, aggressive and independent.
She knew fortune telling and witchcraft too. One day she was called by her neighbour Mrs Pearson
to see her fortune. She told Mrs Pearson that her fortune was neither good nor bad but would
depend on her. Mrs Pearson was a beautiful woman in her mid-forties who was constantly worried
about her family. She knew her husband and children did not care for her much but couldn’t say
anything. Mrs Fitzgerald understood this and stated that she could help by switching bodies with her.
After doing so, Mrs Fitzgerald, confined in the body of Mrs Pearson, started to behave rudely with
the family members. She refused to obey them but made them realise how dependent they were on
her. . Her sudden change in behaviour surprised her family, and slowly they got used to her
aggressive behaviour.. Then she again switched her body with Mrs Pearson and entered her own
body. She advised Mrs Pearson to behave firmly with her family; otherwise, they would disrespect
her again. Mrs Pearson obeyed this, and her family members also realised this and gave her the
respect and dignity she deserved.