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Annotated by:
- Duffin, Jacalyn
- Date of entry: Mar-24-2014
- Last revised: Mar-19-2021
Summary
This short play has three characters: a woman, a man in camouflage, and a second man who turns out to be a doctor. The camouflage man talks on the phone with his unseen wife; he is angry and suspicious of what she has been doing during his absence. The doctor overhears – and thinks about confronting him, but lets it go. The
woman is a victim of coercive sex in marriage. She has two places where
she can take refuge, if only in her mind: her garden and an imaginary
elephant. The woman’s description of the elephant tells us that she is
seeing the elephant as a reflection of herself, and it also reflects her
traumatized awareness of the physical changes in her husband’s body as
he helps himself to hers.
Miscellaneous
With Kathy Tomanec whose short story influenced this play.
Primary Source
From Calcedonies to Orchids: Plays Promoting Humanity in Health Policy
Publisher
Iguana
Publisher
Iguana
Place Published
Toronto
Place Published
Toronto
Edition
2012
Edition
2012
Editor
Nisker, Jeffrey A.
Editor
Nisker, Jeffrey A.
Page Count
20
Page Count
82
Commentary