Stop it Martha! Stop this crazy talk!

            The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman fits into the structure of a well made play except for a few things. The play is three acts long and has a long exposition at the start. The plot revolves around a secret and each act ends with its own climax. Some of the things that The Children’s Hour does that do not necessarily fit into the confines of a well made play are the fact that at the end of the play everything is not wrapped up and there are no curtain lines. At the end of the play Martha has killed herself and yet the play goes on. There is a whole conversation between Karen and Mrs. Tilford after the death of Martha. It is somewhat unclear what Karen will do next. This goes against how a well made play should end. Also, the fact that there are not really any disguisable curtain lines is another way that this play does not quit fit into the genre of well made plays. Another argument could be made for the fact that this play does not really have an obligatory scene. What is there in the play that we know must happen? Is there anything? You could say that the obligatory scene is that Mary will eventually have to tell the truth. In my opinion there is not an obligatory scene in this play. There is nothing that necessarily has to be played out. You could even go to the extant of saying that the things we are set up to believe will happen do not. When reading it I came to the conclusion that Martha and Karen might actually get together and I did not think that Martha would kill herself.