A Matter of Husbands Summary
The play ‘A Matter of Husbands’ by Ferenc Molnar revolves around the conversation between two characters: Earnest Young Woman and Famous Actress. The earnest young woman is suspicious of her husband – Albert dating the famous actress. The earnest young woman approaches the young actress and requests the young actress to give back her husband to her.
The young actress remains calms and persuades the earnest young woman that she isn’t dating her husband. In fact, she even doesn’t recognize her husband well. When the earnest young woman presents some proof regarding her husband writing letters, buying and offering flowers as well as finding the lock of hair belonging to the famous actress, the famous actress cunningly persuades the earnest young woman. The famous actress states that the husband of the earnest young woman has done so in order to make his wife jealous and to arouse the love interest of the wife towards the husband. She further states that such types of incidents often happen to theatre artists, and it is a normal thing. The famous actress eventually makes the earnest young woman believe that her husband really loves her and suggests her not to have any doubt towards him thereafter. Being convinced and happy that her husband loves her very much, the earnest young woman departs.for her home. And soon after her departure, the famous actress invites Albert to make love with her and assures him that his wife has departed now.
A Matter of Husbands Exercises Solution
Understanding the Text
Answer the following questions.
a.What favour does Earnest Young Woman ask from The Famous Actress?
Ans.: The favour that Earnest Young Woman asks from the Famous Actress is to give her her husband back.
b.What, according to The Earnest Young Woman, are the indications that her husband has fallen in love with Famous Actress ?
Ans.: According to The Earnest Young Woman, her husband sends flowers all the time and writes a letter to Famous Actress. These activities of her husband are the indications that her husband has fallen in love with Famous Actress.
c.Is Earnest Young Woman convinced by the argument of Famous Actress? How ?
Ans.: Yes, Earnest Young Woman seems to be convinced by the argument of Famous Actress because the Famous Actress cunningly persuades and makes Earnest Young Woman believe that her husband – Albert doesn’t love anyone else except her and the signs that Albert has shown regarding of loving Famous Actress are just the things to arouse the love of Earnest Young Woman towards him.
d.Where is the Earnest Young Woman’s husband hiding himself as they are talking about him?
Ans.: The husband of Earnest Young Woman.is hiding in the boudoir, i.e. in the private room of a Famous Actress as they are talking about him.
e.When do you feel that Famous Actress is really good at acting?
Ans.: I feel that Famous Actress is really good at acting at the end of the play. Through the play, I was convinced that Famous Actress was speaking the truth. But, at last, the play discloses that she was just acting, not speaking the truth.
f.How do we come to know that the Famous Actress and the husband of Earnest Young Woman are in love ?
Ans.: As soon as the Famous Actress sends away the Earnest Young Woman convincing that her husband Albert is not in an affair with her, she calls out Albert from her private room stating that his wife has gone away. Thus, we come to know that the Famous Actress and the husband of Earnest Young Woman are in love.
Reference to the context
a. Sketch the character of a Famous Actress.
Ans.: Famous Actress is one of the major characters of this play. She is a theatre artist and a celebrity. She is dressed beautifully. She acts brilliantly not only in theatres but also in the real life. She has an illicit relationship with Albert – the husband of Earnest Young Woman. When Earnest Young Woman knows about her love affair with her husband and comes to make her aware, she cunningly makes Earnest Young Woman believe that she doesn’t have any illicit relationship with her husband. In short, we can say that Famous Actress is the central character on which the play revolves around.
b.Shed light on the difference between an ordinary woman and an actress.
Ans.: On the basis of the play, we can abstract some of the differences between an ordinary woman and an actress. The play depicts an ordinary woman as an honest, simple and straightforward character. She is simply dressed and she loves her husband and is often disturbed with her husband’s affair with another woman. An ordinary woman according to the play is usually gullible and is easily deceived by others.
On the other hand, the play presents an actress as a celebrity character. She is dressed beautifully and acts brilliantly not only in the theatres but also in the real life. An actress in the play is portrayed as a character who is cunning, possesses illicit relationships with others and can deceive others easily. An actress according to the play is a character who can act brilliantly not only in the play but in real life too.
c.According to Famous Actress, men associated with theatre use the theatre actresses to make their estranged wives jealous so as to woo them back. Do you agree with her argument? Why? Why not ?
Ans.: Every woman by nature tends to get jealous when she knows her husbands’ relation with another woman. And knowing this fact, men too use the woman’s aforementioned tendency in their own favour. In addition to this, when men have their relations with famous actresses and celebrities, they boast this relationship and use it in order to maintain their supremacy over their wives. In this play too, Albert uses this tendency to make his wife jealous and get the love of this wife as told by a Famous Actress. In reality too, many rumours and news regarding such statements are noticeable in media from time to time. Thus, I fully agree with the argument made by Famous Actress that men associated with theatre use the theatre actresses to make their estranged wives jealous so as to woo them back.
d.How does Famous Actress make a fool of Earnest Young Woman?
Ans.: Famous actress makes Earnest Young Woman believe in her words. She calmly wins the arguments against Earnest Young Woman. She easily modifies the plot and evidence presented by Earnest Young Woman. Despite certain proofs, Earnest Young Woman gets easily pursued and backs off herself from the charge that her husband Albert is in an illicit relationship with Famous Actress. In conclusion, we can state that Famous Actress very cunningly and playfully makes a fool of Earnest Yo oung Woman.
e.The conversation between the two women takes place on the stage of the theatre. What role does the theatre house as a part of setting play in A Matter for Husband?
Ans.: The setting refers to the time and place where the scene of the play occurs. The setting of the play sets the mood, influences the way characters behave, affect the dialogue, invoke an emotional response, reflect the society in which characters live and sometimes even plays a part in the play itself. This play too presents the scene of a drawing-room that is luxurious and exotic and belongs to a famous actress. This scene tactfully shows the luxurious and exotic life that famous actress lives in. In addition to this, the extravagant scenario of the drawing-room of the Famous Actress shows the cunningness and fraud character of the young woman who possesses the illicit relationship with Albert.
On the other hand, the young woman is presented as a lady that is dressed in a very modest frock and wears a hat and furs. She finds herself nervous to be in the room of the Famous Actress. This scene expresses that Earnest Young Woman is a simple and innocent character.
f.What do you think about the ending of the play ?
Ans.: Throughout the play, the readers suppose the Famous Actress as an honest and sincere character full of high human virtues. She throughout the play appears to convince Earnest Young Woman that her husband lovers her very much and she too should do so. Even Albert is presented as a sincere and lovable husband. However, at the end of the play, the Famous Actress is abruptly presented as a fraud and sly character who deceives the Earnest Young Woman with her acting skills even in the real life. And, Albert too is presented as a fraud who deceives his own wife and posses an illegal relationship with Famous Actress. Hence, in my opinion, the ending of the play is very abrupt, powerful and unimaginable which in fact manifests the marvellous and extraordinary writing ability of the playwright.
Reference beyond the text
a.Write a paragraph describing your favourite actor/actress.
Ans.: My favourite actor is Rajesh Hamal. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the history of Nepalese cinema. One of the highest-paid Nepali actors throughout the 1990s and 2000s, he is the first Nepalese actor to receive popularity across South Asia. He holds several box office records in Nepali cinema including most commercially successful film as lead actor, most consecutive hits and most awards as an
actor. Hamal debuted as an actor in his uncle’s film ‘Yug Dekhi Yug Samma’ in 1991 which was a huge hit and made him a nationwide star. But the 1993 Blockbuster ‘Deuta’ marked a turning point in his career and launched Hamal to superstar status. Since then, he has appeared in over 200 films in a career spanning nearly three decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential personalities in Nepali cinema. Some of the biggest blockbuster featuring Hamal includes starred in Yug Dekhi Yug Samma (1991), Kasaam, Sadak and Prithvi (1994), Simana(1996), Shankar (1997), Chandani and Ek Number Ko Pakhe (1999), Basanti (2000), Hami Teen Bhai (2004), Ajambari Naata (2005) and Mukhauta (2014)). He also hosted the first season of the Nepali version of “Who wants to be a Millionaire?’ entitled ‘Ko Banchha Crorepati?” (2019).
b.John Cassavetes says, “I’m very worried about the depiction of women on the screen. It’s gotten worse than ever and it’s related to their being either high-or low-class concubines…. There’s nothing to do with the dreams of women, or of woman as the dream, nothing to do with the quirky part of her, the wonder of her.” How do you assess Famous Actress in the light of Cassavetes’ argument about the portrayal of women?
Ans.: Famous Actress is a central and key character of this play. And in the play, she has been presented as an actress having a sophisticated and extravagant lifestyle and to maintain this, she possesses an illicit relationship with a lawyer named Albert who has already been married to an earnest young woman. In addition to this, the play also portrays that how such types of women delude and deceive other innocent and simple persons to maintain and continue their illicit relationship. Though the bad and ill characters of Famous Actress are presented to the audience, however, the dark side of her life and her compulsions and struggles to get love and richness even from other’s husbands are not presented in the play. Hence, this seems to agree and this also fully appears to be true with John Cassavetes sayings that he has been very worried about the depiction of women on the screen as it’s gotten worse than ever and the woman are related to their being either high-or low-class concubines and there’s nothing to do with the dreams of women, or of woman as the dream, nothing to do with the quirky part of her, the wonder of her.