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Wit or W;t is a play by Margaret Edson.
It portrays the final moments of Prof. Vivian Bearing, who is dying of ovarian cancer.
Winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1999, it was inspired by Edson’s own work as a nurse in a cancer ward.
Summary of Wit
The play begins with Bearing, dressed in hospital gowns and a baseball cap addressing the audience directly. Her first line: ‘Hi, how are you feeling today?’ is both a meaningful and meaningless question.
She then outlines her condition; ovarian cancer which is about to kill her.
She then meets with Dr Kelekian, an insensitive doctor who speaks heavily with medical terminology.
He invites her to be part of a trial for a new treatment method. Used to study the poetry of John Donne, she sees the irony in being the one studied.
The play goes through her treatment and her failing strength, yet she will learn more about her disease and uncompromising wit. Two characters become key: Jason, an aloof doctor she once taught in a literature class; and Suzie, a nurse who introduces Bearing to a type of kindness unfamiliar to her.
The story continues to be told through flashbacks to her childhood and teaching days and through the treatment, she continues to undergo. Though she feels initially she knows death through Donne, she eventually realises that she does not truly know it, and finds more comfort with compassion.
She also signs a DNR, after reflecting with Suzie that she would like to die on her own terms, like DBNP. A passing visit from her old Professor, Ashford, reveals this insight. Instead of reading Donne, Ashford lies next to her and reads a story bought for her great-grandson.
In her final moments, doctors begin resuscitating her only for Suzie to protest her DNR order. The doctor’s stop and she passes. She undresses, and steps towards a light at the end of the stage.
Context of Wit
Wit is based on Edson’s time as a cancer nurse. She was inspired to write the play based on the bravery of the patients she treated. The representative of the modern age where cancer is a major community topic. Also reflects the modern, working woman, her relationships and ambitions.
Vivian Bearing and Characters
The characters are highly intellectual and often impersonal, reflecting aloof academic society.
The protagonist is arguably a modern archetype - a loner, unmarried woman, obsessed with knowledge. Other characters reflect similar values; doctors view patients as ‘subjects’.
Modern Theatre
Wit uses many conventions that are typical of modern theatre. Vivian’s character frequently breaks the fourth wall’, or speaking to the audience directly. There is no intermission or acts, the play goes from beginning to end without stopping.