Confessions of a Wife

Examiner of Plays' Summary:

A melodrama of the familiar old sort, compounded of sentiment and silly comic relief and unpleasant brutality. It is an average specimen, fairly effective in its stagy manner. The villain, Garwood, has fascinated and married the heroine, Nora, who is loyally and innocently loved by Jem, the hero and her childhood's playmate. Garwood bullies Nora, sneers at Jem and introduces his ex-mistress and the villainess of the piece, Leda, to his wife. Ten years elapse and Garwood and Nora have a child whom Garwood of course ill-treats. He is jealous of Jem and while Jem is away at the ear culminates him. Jem, returning, has an interview with Garwood. Then Garwood, in order to 'wring the heart' of his wife cruelly beats their boy and is about to blind her when Nora, maddened with grief and rage, shoots him. Jem, to shield her, tries to take this slaying on his own shoulders, but after a scene which a detective exercises all the powers of a judge Nora confesses and the detective, deeply moved by her wrongs, pronounces it a case of suicide. While the couple who supply the comic relief are rehearsing their parts in a play the man refers to the imaginary child of the woman as 'a dirty trick that the villain did on you in the first act' (p.9) this is coarse and might be cut. Otherwise there is nothing offensive in that way, but I have marked p.p.48, 50, &51 - instances of brutality which are in my opinion much more harmful to decent taste. I am aware, however, that this sort of thing can hardly be stopped. Recommended for license, G. S. Street.