I may come to cringe at this analogy but here we are the night before we go into some serious workshops leading up to rehearsal and since I have spent a portion of each evening with the script now, I find I am thinking about this world more and more and realized that I needed a modern parallel.
And I just found it...and like I said, I may cringe at this in hindsight but that is what this blog is for - to chart the progress from beginning to whatever conclusions we come to at some point in the future...
Maybe it's because I have been watching too much tv thanks to the damn Instant button on my wii (Netflix) but I found a modern parallel that only just clicked into place. I just finished the third season of 'Weeds.' Think what you want about the show - the central character, Nancy Botwin, is living a 21st century version of the Duchess's life. A widow, on her own, forced into a man's world and doing whatever she can to survive. This means lying, it means cheating, it means dealing and weaving and ducking and getting dirty in the process. She will do what she needs to do...and yet, you love her. You love watching her and root for her - yes, the drug dealer, to survive.
I have read some commentary about the Duchess being a martyr. She isn't. She's trying to survive. And she will lie to do get and do what she wants and she will deceive. Would she rather not? Sure. Would Nancy Botwin rather not deal with gangsters and shady cops? Of course...but that is not the world they are living in and it forces them to get creative. And do they have another choice? Perhaps. Nancy could get a job. The Duchess could remain single and bow to the wishes of her brothers. But they would be killing something inside themselves to do that and it is that touchstone of life and passion that drives them to make the choices they do....
Ok. Big breath. Let's do this.
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