Rock Pickle Publishing|On Mothers and Daughters: More to Every Story

Rock Pickle Publishing

On Mothers and Daughters: More to Every Story

Dedicated to Mary Kay Kosur
For her encouragement and love

Characters

STEVIE Twenty-three. Daughter.

FAYE Fifty-two. Mother.

Setting

A back porch.

(Lights come up on Stevie sitting on a chair. Two small tables covered in papers surround her. She scribbles on different pieces of paper while occasionally sticking her pen in her mouth to think. As Stevie writes, Faye enters carrying a newspaper and a large book.)

STEVIE Mom, what do you think of this? Religion in children's literature.

FAYE What, honey? Supper's almost ready. Your father will be home soon.

STEVIE Or what about? Under the Sea: Anderson versus Disney.

FAYE What about it?

STEVIE Do you think either of those would make a good master's thesis? I'm trying to decide on a topic.
(Pause.) Mom, are you even listening to me?

FAYE They've probably been done before.
(Looks up from newspaper.) But here's something new. A typist for a law firm. Why don't you apply?
(Pause.) Or how about an editor for a newspaper? You like grammar and punctuation.

STEVIE Mom, please don't start this again.

FAYE Start what again?

STEVIE You know what. And I am not in the mood to play this game right now.
(Pause.) Could you please leave me alone? I need to write but my brain hurts.

FAYE I know you enjoy writing. But just hear me out. What about a job to support yourself with? Give yourself a little break and read this ad.

STEVIE Mom, I don't want to read the help wanted ads. I want to write.

FAYE But, Stephanie--

STEVIE Stevie--

FAYE Stephanie--

STEVIE Okay, Faye.

FAYE Fine. Stevie. Won't you even take a look at this one?

STEVIE Mom. Please stop with the newspaper.

FAYE I'm just trying to help.

STEVIE If you want to help me, read this and tell me what you think. (Hands Faye some papers.)
FAYE Mary Shelley wrote Dracula. But who's Mary Wollstonecraft? And what does she have to do with Shelley?

STEVIE Frankenstein, Mom. Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein. Bram Stoker wrote Dracula. And Mary Wollstonecraft is Mary Shelley's mother.

FAYE Frankenstein. Right. I knew that.
(Reads.) You forgot to cite your source.

STEVIE I did not.

FAYE Yes, you did. See.

STEVIE Why can't you believe I'm capable of thinking up my own ideas? I don't need to cite a source because I didn't use a source. That was my idea.

FAYE I'm sure you think so. And just think what your life would be like if you don't find a job to support yourself with. You'd have to work as a waitress at Denny's or sell bargain-priced shoes to snot-nosed brats.

STEVIE Mom, you don't have to worry--

FAYE --Or get married or live here forever. Will you please just look at this ad?

STEVIE What do you mean I'd have to get married? I don't have to wait for failure to get married.

FAYE What I mean is that I don't want you to be forced to depend on a husband for support. I want you to be able to take care of yourself.

STEVIE And I can take care of myself. I'm a big girl now, you know.

FAYE I know. A big girl living with her parents. I just don't want to see you stuck inside a house for the rest of your life. Cooking and cleaning with one hand and taking care of the baby with the other.

STEVIE I wonder if Jane Austen or Maya Angelou had to deal with their mothers when they were trying to write.

FAYE Don't get smart with me, young lady. I'm sure that you think you're going to become a big, famous writer someday.

STEVIE I am, Mom. Or at least I'm going to try--

FAYE I'm also sure that F. Scott Fitzgerald thought he was going to make it as a writer, too. Or maybe he planned to die believing himself a failure.

STEVIE Yes, but I'm not going to marry a schizophrenic and party myself to death.

FAYE What about Emily Dickinson? She locked herself up in her father's house her entire life. No one even knew she was a writer until she was dead.

STEVIE Emily Dickinson is a completely different story.

FAYE Well, since you like to stories, let me tell you one about a woman who grew up after World War II with an air force pilot turned auto worker father and a stay-at-home housewife mother.

STEVIE Mom, you've told me this before. You were the second youngest of six siblings. You thought your older sisters were prettier and smarter than you. But you still managed to graduate from high school. Then you got married and had me. End of story. I've heard it a thousand times.

FAYE No, not end of story. I haven't told you everything.

STEVIE You haven't?

FAYE There's always more to every story.

STEVIE What's the rest of your story?

FAYE After I got married, all I had was this lonely house to take care of. And your father, of course. But I wanted a baby so much. I tried eleven years to have you. I wanted something more, something of my own. I felt like such a failure each time I... (Straightens up the papers on the tables.) But my story doesn't matter anymore. What matters is you.

STEVIE You matter, too. To me. (Beat.) Could you please stop touching my stuff?

FAYE Let me just straighten things up a bit for you. What's this frayed little thing?

STEVIE That's the ribbon I won in second grade for the story I wrote.

FAYE And you still have it? It's just a cheap little piece of ribbon.

STEVIE Not to me, it's not. And I kept it because it represents the first time anyone ever recognized me as being intelligent and creative.

FAYE How can you say that? I always encouraged to you do your best. I was the one who bought you all those books when you were little.

STEVIE I'm sure you think you encouraged me. But you were always putting me down.

FAYE I would never--

STEVIE Yes, you did. You always told me how silly I was to sit around and write stories all day. But then you would ask me which book I had just read when I told you something interesting because obviously I could never think of something clever on my own.

FAYE Well, I'm sorry if that's what you thought I was doing. It was never my intention to put you down. (Pause.) I was only trying to help.

STEVIE I know, Mom. And I promise. If and when I need help, I'll ask for it.

FAYE I'm sure you will. I just wish I had this kind of help from my mother when I was your age.

STEVIE Why do we do this every time?

FAYE Do what?

STEVIE Start to argue. Why can't we just talk to each other? Mother to daughter. (Beat.) Did you even finish your story?

FAYE (Pause.) I just want you to have more, baby.

STEVIE More what?

FAYE More choices.

STEVIE I do, Mom. And I choose to be a writer. Or if I wanted to, I could choose to be a waitress or a salesperson or get married.

FAYE No! You are not choosing any of those. Those are what you will be forced to do if you fail.

STEVIE I can choose any of those if I want.

FAYE I think you need to find a good, steady job so you can always take care of yourself.

STEVIE Well, I think that I can take care of myself as a writer. So, for now I'm going to be a writer. But if I want to be a mother and a wife or even a mother and a wife and a writer, I can be that, too.

FAYE Yes, I'm sure you think you have that choice. (Pause.) I didn't.

STEVIE But you chose to be a full-time housewife and mother. What's wrong with that?

FAYE Nothing. Only I never chose to become a full-time housewife and mother.

STEVIE But you just told me you waited eleven years to have me because you wanted to be a mother.

FAYE No. I tried eleven years because I didn't have anyone telling me that I could do something else. No one encouraged me to go to college. No one circled ads in the newspaper for me. I was expected to get married and make babies. (Pause.) Not that I don't love you. I just wish I'd had more options.

STEVIE (Pause.) What did you want to be when you were younger?

FAYE Promise you won't laugh.

STEVIE Of course I won't laugh.

FAYE A writer. After I first read the Little House books.

STEVIE I didn't know you liked the Little House books. I used to read them all the time when I was little.

FAYE Where you do think you got the books?

STEVIE I didn't realize they were yours.

FAYE I used to dream about escaping to the west just like Laura.

STEVIE I used to pretend I was sitting in the back of a covered wagon writing my own story.

FAYE You wanted to be a writer even then?

STEVIE Yes. And I still do. You still can be, too.

FAYE Don't be silly. I'm too old. I just like to read books now. Like this one that I found sitting on the kitchen counter. (Thumps down book.) The Big Book of Stuff to Do with an English Major.

STEVIE Mom, where'd you get that?

FAYE I bought it. I just thought it might be helpful for you to look at. Maybe get a few ideas of the kinds of jobs available for you.

STEVIE I know what kinds of jobs are available and I know what job I want.

FAYE But what if the job you want isn't available? (Pause.) Stevie, I'm just trying to help you in case your opportunity never comes knocking.

STEVIE If I fail, I fail. At least I can say I tried.

FAYE Stephanie, listen to me. I just don't want you to get stuck like I did. Forced into believing that the only choice for a woman was to become a housewife and stay-at-home mom. Maybe I wanted to be a mother. Or maybe I wanted to be a writer. I don't know. I didn't have the luxury of choice. (Pause.) Are you listening to me? Do you understand what I'm saying? (Pause.) I don't want you to be a failure!

STEVIE Mom, you're not a...

FAYE No! (Pause.) You'll at least consider some other options?

STEVIE I promise to at least look through the book.

FAYE I'll just leave this with you then.

STEVIE (Pause.) Mary Wollstonecraft died giving birth to Mary Shelley. Some critics claim that she didn't influence her daughter at all. I don't think that's true. I think a mother influences a daughter no matter what.

FAYE Is that good or bad?

STEVIE I think that's perfectly okay. (Pause.) You know, you could go out and make your own opportunities. I really am not a little girl any more. You don't have to stay at home all the time. You can still go to college. I could help you. After all you've done for me--

FAYE No, no. I'm too old for that. Anyway, what I really want is to see you happy and successful. And maybe you'll see something you like in this book. Only you have to look at it first.

STEVIE You never give up, do you?

FAYE I could never give up on you. (Beat.) I'd better go finish up supper.

STEVIE Thanks, Mom. I'll be right in.

(Faye exits.)

STEVIE In honor of my mother. (Pause.) The positive influence of Mary Wollstonecraft on Mary Shelley.

(Stevie writes as lights fade.)

THE END