Did Marilyn Stasio and Charles Isherwood see the same play, the play that in 1945 won the Pulitzer over Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie? Neither reviewer praises Harvey as a great work; however, Isherwood likes the production and Stasio, not so much. Perhaps their differing views are a consequence of differences in their critical interpretation of Elwood's/Parson’s delusions. Isherwood sees in Elwood's/Parsons’ literal-mindedness "a commentary on the little hypocrisies that lubricate social intercourse but also impede true connection”. For Isherwood, "the soft-spoken Mr. Parsons makes an ideal Elwood, the drinker and dreamer who passes his days in the company of Harvey/Hope ... Mr. Parsons possesses in abundance the crucial ability to project an ageless innocence without any visible effort."
Stasio is not impressed. She writes that "the vacancy behind his [Parson’s] bland facial expressions has a chilling effect. According to Stasio, "in the final scene, … scribe Chase quits being facetious and makes her serious point that 'perfectly normal human beings' are, in fact, nasty people -- and that however eccentric Elwood may seem to the 'normal' people in the world, he's a lot happier than they are." I had to look up facetious: To make an attempt at being funny, while being sarcastic at the same time [Urban Dictionary]. Might that explain Elwood's drinking?
Stasio is not impressed. She writes that "the vacancy behind his [Parson’s] bland facial expressions has a chilling effect. According to Stasio, "in the final scene, … scribe Chase quits being facetious and makes her serious point that 'perfectly normal human beings' are, in fact, nasty people -- and that however eccentric Elwood may seem to the 'normal' people in the world, he's a lot happier than they are." I had to look up facetious: To make an attempt at being funny, while being sarcastic at the same time [Urban Dictionary]. Might that explain Elwood's drinking?
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