The Affair Between Charlotte And Rodney

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The affair between Charlotte and Rodney was a dull one until they began killing each other. Within the play 7 Stories by Morris Panych, the character Charlotte outlines in a particularly insightful monologue how the energy of her affair with Rodney had deteriorated to a state where the couple got so tired of one another, they began to hate each other. Thus, to rid themselves of the uniformity of their days, they began to play at murdering one another. This may seem to be a strange practice, but in fact the role playing that these two do infuses the relationship with new energy – by this escape from reality, the couple found a way to enjoy being together again. Characters trying to escape reality is something that is seen multiple times in…show more content…
The two felt this way because they were bored with each other, but found themselves still together because being with their respective legitimate spouses felt like a worse option. “It had all the trappings of marriage. Which is precisely what both of us were trying to escape” (P# 37). After a botched murder attempt by Rodney, Charlotte had an “awakening” of sorts, and found she could feel truly alive again. “It’s hard to explain, but as I lay on the curb, half-conscious, I felt – revitalized. We both did. And we’ve been trying to kill each other since” (P# 37). This role playing instilled a renewed vigor into the relationship, allowing them to continue to escape dull reality and have fun together again. “It gives him a tremendous sense of power to hear me gasping helplessly for air” (P# 35). However, as the actor Marshall speculates, “One day soon, quite by accident, there [may] be casualties” (P# 38), something that he himself might keep in mind as be peruses his own altered reality. Marshall (whose original name is actually Michael Merchant (P# 39)) has abandoned his previous life and reality of being a second-rate actor and resolved to put on a lifelong performance involving holy matrimony and living in the lap of luxury. His fiancé is reportedly heir to a massive fortune, which is the entire reason he pursued her. “And I thought – well, a Mercedes… there’s got to be a little money here somewhere” (P# 42). In doing so, he concocted the
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