Chapter 5: Mother’s Day

Ans: The play, written in the 1950s highlights the treatment of mothers, especially the fact that at that time, women were deemed inferior to men, even by their own kids. It throws light on how motherhood is a work of love and a mother should be treated equally in the family to the other members. The play is a protest against the inferior treatment of women in the family and demands that mothers should be seen as equal to their male counterparts while depicting the importance of the role they play in our lives. It forces the women to think and come out of the self-denial of their situation. 

Ans: The difficulties raised in the tale are real, and we must pay attention to them. Mrs Pearson's main complaint throughout the novel is that her family does not spend enough time with her. The author has attempted to emphasize how lonely a lady can feel when her entire family leaves early in the morning to work, returns in the evening only to get supper, and then leaves again to socialize outside the home. They are uninterested in her. She creates the home without expecting anything in return. We don't realize that they, too, crave companionship and want to spend time with their loved ones. Mrs Fitzgerald, a determined lady from the neighbourhood who is also a fortune teller, assists Mrs Pearson by shifting bodies with her and dealing with Mrs Pearson's family in the play. She explains to the Pearsons that Mrs Pearson is a human after all and that she receives no credit or appreciation from her family members even after working. She doesn't cook dinner or iron the clothing, which makes George, Doris, and Cyril realize how reliant they are on Mrs Pearson. She is the only pillar in their lives who keeps everything in order and prepares everything for them before they even ask for it. Finally, the three feel powerless and find it impossible to cope on their own after such severe treatment and seeing Annie sitting back and not completing domestic tasks. They realize that without Mrs Pearson, their lives are incomplete. The decision was flawless and well-considered. The Pearsons required the hard treatment; else, they would not have grasped the error they were doing. After everything that happened, and after Mrs Fitzgerald and Mrs Pearson exchanged the bodies back to their original positions, Annie tells George, Doris, and Cyril to stay back and play cards with her, and she proposes that the kids do the cooking while she sits back and relaxes while talking to her husband, which the three happily agreed to.

Ans: Yes, theatre is an effective vehicle for communicating social messages. It's a fantastic platform for showing practically any problem and its solution in a matter of minutes. People have a close affinity with dramas and have been watching them for a long time. That is why television commercials are so well-known around the clock. The majority of them are emotionally invested in the protagonists. The theme's development usually leaves a message—sometimes evident and explicit, but most of the time indirect and implicit. The societal message of these plays appears to be derived from the characters' interactions and personality features. The triumph of evil over virtue is frequently depicted in an oblique manner. Dramas unquestionably have a vital role in bringing about social transformation. J.B. Priestly effectively uses drama to highlight the protest of a mother against her kids and husband. The drama “Mother” helps in expressing the familial issues and problems which are quite prevalent in our society but are barely spoken about. While doing so, Priestly also highlights the unconditional love of a mother and how it is unknowingly taken for granted.