Mrs Dane's Defence
Encyclopedia
Mrs. Dane's Defence is a society play (though it has some characteristics of a melodrama
) in four acts by the British playwright Henry Arthur Jones
.
on October 9, 1900 and ran for 209 performances. The original cast included Charles Wyndham as Sir Daniel Carteret, Mary Moore
as Lady Eastney and Lena Ashwell
as Mrs. Dane (her performance in this role launched Lena Ashwell's career). A touring cast played in the US from December 31, 1900 to April 1901.
s.
All the action takes place in the imaginary village of Sunningwater, about twenty-five miles from London
.
The first and second acts are set in the blue drawing room at Lady Eastney's, two or three weeks apart. The third and fourth acts are set in the library at Sir Daniel Carteret's on the following Wednesday afternoon and Saturday evening.
.
Rumors have been spread in Sunningwater that young widow
Mrs. Dane is actually Felicia Hindermarsh, involved in a tragic scandal following an affair with a married man in Vienna
. Before Sir Daniel consents to the marriage, he attempts to put down the rumors and clear Mrs. Dane's reputation. With others, such as Lady Eastney, he starts looking into Mrs. Dane's past, guided by his experience as a judge.
Mrs. Dane produces plausible evidence of her identity and everyone involved is quite convinced of her innocence. Yet in the end Sir Daniel's professional approach exposes Mrs. Dane's real identity in a famous cross-examination
scene.
Sir Daniel begins his examination convinced of her story, only wanting to get some final detail. A slip of the tongue by Mrs. Dane (when she says “We had governesses”) reveals the presence of a cousin she has tried to conceal. This sets Sir Daniel on the right track and he follows up skillfully and mercilessly, finally drawing the confession out of her that she is indeed Felicia Hindermarsh and has taken her late cousin's identity.
The truth is kept secret, though (mostly due to Lady Eastney's intervention), and Mrs. Dane's reputation in Sunningwater can be reinstated. Nevertheless, they all decide she should leave the village after her marriage with Lionel has become impossible and she complies.
/Edwardian tradition of plays by playwrights such as Arthur Wing Pinero
, which feature a “fallen woman,” or “woman with a past,” who must be punished for past actions. Instead of dying or committing suicide, like many of the women in these plays (as in Pinero's famous play The Second Mrs. Tanqueray), Mrs. Dane is merely exiled to her hometown and the marriage called off.
or William Archer
.
There are a number of cinema versions of Mrs. Dane's Defence. The first, a silent movie in black and white, was released in 1918, directed by Hugh Ford
, starring Pauline Frederick
as Mrs. Dane, Frank Losee as Sir Daniel and Maude Turner Gordon
as Lady Eastney.
Another black and white film Mrs. Dane's Defence (1933 film)
was produced by A. V. Bramble and released in 1933, starring Joan Barry
as Mrs. Dane, Basil Gill
as Sir Daniel, and Evelyn Walsh Hall as Lady Eastney.
Melodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
) in four acts by the British playwright Henry Arthur Jones
Henry Arthur Jones
Henry Arthur Jones was an English dramatist.-Biography:Jones was born at Granborough, Buckinghamshire to Silvanus Jones, a farmer. He began to earn his living early, his spare time being given to literary pursuits...
.
First Performance
The play was first performed at London's Wyndham's TheatreWyndham's Theatre
Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by the actor/manager Charles Wyndham . Located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, it was designed by W.G.R. Sprague about 1898, the architect of six other London theatres between then and 1916...
on October 9, 1900 and ran for 209 performances. The original cast included Charles Wyndham as Sir Daniel Carteret, Mary Moore
Mary Moore
Mary Moore may refer to:* Mary Carr Moore , American composer* Mary Elsie Moore , American heiress* Mary Tyler Moore , American actress* Mary Moore , American voice actor, first voice of talking clock...
as Lady Eastney and Lena Ashwell
Lena Ashwell
Lena Ashwell, OBE was a British actress and manager, known as the first to organize large-scale entertainment for troops at the front, which she did during World War I....
as Mrs. Dane (her performance in this role launched Lena Ashwell's career). A touring cast played in the US from December 31, 1900 to April 1901.
Structure and Setting
The play has four actAct (theater)
An act is a division or unit of a drama. The number of acts in a production can range from one to five or more, depending on how a writer structures the outline of the story...
s.
All the action takes place in the imaginary village of Sunningwater, about twenty-five miles from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
The first and second acts are set in the blue drawing room at Lady Eastney's, two or three weeks apart. The third and fourth acts are set in the library at Sir Daniel Carteret's on the following Wednesday afternoon and Saturday evening.
Plot
The story focuses on Mrs. Dane's betrothal to Lionel, adopted son of Sir Daniel who is a famous judgeJudge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
.
Rumors have been spread in Sunningwater that young widow
Widow
A widow is a woman whose spouse has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or occasionally viduity. The adjective form is widowed...
Mrs. Dane is actually Felicia Hindermarsh, involved in a tragic scandal following an affair with a married man in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. Before Sir Daniel consents to the marriage, he attempts to put down the rumors and clear Mrs. Dane's reputation. With others, such as Lady Eastney, he starts looking into Mrs. Dane's past, guided by his experience as a judge.
Mrs. Dane produces plausible evidence of her identity and everyone involved is quite convinced of her innocence. Yet in the end Sir Daniel's professional approach exposes Mrs. Dane's real identity in a famous cross-examination
Cross-examination
In law, cross-examination is the interrogation of a witness called by one's opponent. It is preceded by direct examination and may be followed by a redirect .- Variations by Jurisdiction :In...
scene.
Sir Daniel begins his examination convinced of her story, only wanting to get some final detail. A slip of the tongue by Mrs. Dane (when she says “We had governesses”) reveals the presence of a cousin she has tried to conceal. This sets Sir Daniel on the right track and he follows up skillfully and mercilessly, finally drawing the confession out of her that she is indeed Felicia Hindermarsh and has taken her late cousin's identity.
The truth is kept secret, though (mostly due to Lady Eastney's intervention), and Mrs. Dane's reputation in Sunningwater can be reinstated. Nevertheless, they all decide she should leave the village after her marriage with Lionel has become impossible and she complies.
In Perspective
The play follows under the late VictorianVictorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
/Edwardian tradition of plays by playwrights such as Arthur Wing Pinero
Arthur Wing Pinero
Sir Arthur Wing Pinero was an English actor and later an important dramatist and stage director.-Biography:...
, which feature a “fallen woman,” or “woman with a past,” who must be punished for past actions. Instead of dying or committing suicide, like many of the women in these plays (as in Pinero's famous play The Second Mrs. Tanqueray), Mrs. Dane is merely exiled to her hometown and the marriage called off.
Reception
Mrs. Dane's Defence was generally well received, though the morals promoted may have seemed old-fashioned by young, more liberal audiences who had seen the plays of George Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
or William Archer
William Archer
William Archer may refer to:* William S. Archer , U.S. Senator and Representative from Virginia* William Archer Irish naturalist and microscopist especially interested in Protozoa and Desmids...
.
There are a number of cinema versions of Mrs. Dane's Defence. The first, a silent movie in black and white, was released in 1918, directed by Hugh Ford
Hugh Ford
Hugh Ford was an American film director and screenwriter. He directed 31 films between 1913 and 1921. He also wrote for 19 films between 1913 and 1920.He was born in Washington, D.C..-Selected filmography:...
, starring Pauline Frederick
Pauline Frederick
Pauline Frederick was a leading Broadway actress who later became known for her motion picture work.-Early years:...
as Mrs. Dane, Frank Losee as Sir Daniel and Maude Turner Gordon
Maude Turner Gordon
Maude Turner Gordon .She was born in Franklin, Indiana, USA and died in Los Angeles, California. She was an American actress...
as Lady Eastney.
Another black and white film Mrs. Dane's Defence (1933 film)
Mrs. Dane's Defence (1933 film)
Mrs. Dane's Defence is a 1933 British drama film directed by A.V. Bramble and starring Joan Barry, Basil Gill and Francis James. It was an adaptation of the 1900 play Mrs Dane's Defence by Henry Arthur Jones.-Cast:* Joan Barry - Mrs Dane...
was produced by A. V. Bramble and released in 1933, starring Joan Barry
Joan Barry (actress)
Joan Barry , born Ina Florence Marshman Bell, was an English film actress, whose career straddled the development of talkies....
as Mrs. Dane, Basil Gill
Basil Gill
Basil Gill was a British film actor whose film career started with Henry VIII , a short silent film. In 1926, Gill appeared in two short films made in the DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process, Santa Claus as the title character, and Julius Caesar as Brutus.-Selected filmography:* The Admirable...
as Sir Daniel, and Evelyn Walsh Hall as Lady Eastney.
External links
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0009402/ (on the movie "Mrs. Dane's Defense", 1918)
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0247542/ (on the movie "Mrs. Dane's Defence", 1932)