The Heidi Chronicles by Wendy Wasserstein

The Heidi Chronicles by Wendy Wasserstein Are modern-day, American women happy? Are their lives more fulfilling than those of women who lived before the Equal Rights Amendment? Have the expectations of stereotypical gender roles faded away? Is society still dominated by a patriarchal boys club? Wendy Wasserstein considers these questions in her Pulitzer Prize-winning play, The Heidi Chronicles. Although it was written over twenty years ago, this drama still mirrors the emotional trials many of us (women and men) experience as we try to figure out the big question: What should we do with our lives? A Male-centric Disclaimer First of all, before this review continues, it should be disclosed that it was written by a guy. A forty-year-old male. If the subject of analysis in a womens studies class, your reviewer might be labeled as part of the ruling class in a male-biased society. Hopefully, as the critique continues, it wont present as obnoxiously do the self-confident, self-loving male characters in The Heidi Chronicles. The Good The strongest, most appealing aspect of the play is its heroine, a complex character who is emotionally fragile yet resilient. As an audience we watch her make choices that we know will lead to heartache (such as falling in love with the wrong guy), but we also witness Heidi learning from her mistakes; ultimately she proves that she can have both a successful career and a family life. Some of the themes are worthy of literary analysis (for any of you English majors looking for an essay topic). In particular, the play defines feminists of the 70s as hard-working activists who are willing to forgo gender expectations to improve womens status in society. In contrast, the younger generation of women (the ones who are in their twenties during the 1980s) is portrayed as more consumer-minded. This perception is demonstrated when Heidis friends want to develop a sitcom in which women Heidis age are very unhappy. Unfulfilled, frightened of growing old alone. In contrast, the younger generation want to get married in their twenties, have their first baby by thirty, and make a pot of money. This perception of a disparity between the generations leads to a powerful monologue delivered by Heidi in Scene Four, Act Two. She laments: Were all concerned, intelligent, good women. Its just that I feel stranded. And I thought the whole point was that we wouldnt feel stranded. I thought the point was that we were all in this together. Its a heartfelt plea for a sense of community that for Wasserstein (and many other feminist authors) failed to come to fruition after the dawn of the ERA. The Bad As you will discover in more detail if you read the plot outline below, Heidi falls in love with a man named Scoop Rosenbaum. The man is a jerk, plain and simple. And the fact that Heidi spends decades carrying a torch for this loser drains away some of my sympathy for her character. Fortunately, one of her friends, Peter, snaps her out of it when he asks her to contrast her misery with the more devastating problems going on around them. (Peter has recently lost many friends due to AIDS). Its a much-needed wake-up call. Plot Summary The play begins in 1989 with a lecture presented by Heidi Holland, a brilliant, often lonely art historian whose work focuses on developing a stronger awareness of female painters, getting their work exhibited in otherwise male-centric museums. Then the play transitions to the past, and the audience meets the 1965 version of Heidi, an awkward wallflower at a high school dance. She meets Peter, a larger than life young man who will become her best friend. Flash forward to college, 1968, Heidi meets Scoop Rosenbaum, an attractive, arrogant editor of a left-wing newspaper who wins her heart (and her virginity) after a ten-minute conversation. The years go by. Heidi bonds with her girlfriends in womens groups. She crafts a thriving career as an art historian and professor. Her love life, however, is in shambles. Her romantic feelings for her gay friend Peter are unrequited for obvious reasons. And, for reasons hard to fathom, Heidi cant give up on that philandering Scoop, even though he never commits to her and marries a woman whom he does not love passionately. Heidi wants the men she cannot have, and anyone else she dates seems to bore her. Heidi also desires the experience of motherhood. This yearning becomes all the more painful when she attends the baby shower of Mrs. Scoop Rosenbaum. Yet, Heidi is ultimately empowered to find her own path without a husband. Although a bit dated, The Heidi Chronicles still remains an important reminder of the tough choices we all make when we try to chase not just one but a whole handful of dreams. Suggested Reading Wasserstein explores some of the same themes (womens rights, political activism, women who love gay men) in her comical family drama: The Sisters Rosenweig. She also wrote a book called Sloth, a parody of those over-enthusiastic self-help books.