The Little Foxes – Lillian Hellman
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課程筆記
The play and its context
- ×The Little Foxes×(1939) is a three-act play by American dramatist Lillian Hellman (1905–1984), first staged on Broadway with Tallulah Bankhead as Regina.
- It is set in 1900 in a small town in Alabama, in the American South, as the old plantation economy gives way to industrial capitalism.
- The title comes from the Song of Solomon:×"Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes."×— small, greedy creatures destroying what is fragile.
- Hellman drew on her own mother's wealthy, quarrelsome Alabama family.
- Set for 2027 only (not 2026).
The Hubbards and their deal
- Brothers Ben and Oscar Hubbard inherited their father's wealth; their sister Regina did not — the law and custom favoured sons — so her fortune depends on her husband, Horace Giddens.
- A Chicago businessman, William Marshall, agrees to build a cotton mill with the Hubbards, near the cotton fields and cheap labour.
- Each partner must find a third of the money; Regina needs $75,000 from Horace, who is in a Baltimore hospital with a serious heart condition.
- Oscar married Birdie for her family's plantation, Lionnet; he now suggests marrying his son Leo to Regina's daughter Alexandra (cousins) to keep the money in the family.
- Regina sends Alexandra to bring Horace home.
Act 2: the theft
- Horace returns, weak and exhausted, and refuses to invest — he sees the Hubbards' greed and wants no part of grinding down poor workers.
- Leo, a bank clerk, has seen railroad bonds (Union Pacific, worth $88,000) in Horace's safe-deposit box. Ben and Oscar have Leo "borrow" them to fund the mill — cutting Regina out.
- When Regina learns she has been squeezed out, her quarrel with Horace turns vicious: she tells him she hopes he dies.
- Oscar slaps Birdie when she warns Alexandra not to marry Leo.
Act 3: Horace's death and Regina's victory
- Horace discovers the theft. He tells Regina he will call it a loan to Leo — so she cannot use it — and will change his will, leaving her only the value of the bonds.
- During their argument Horace has a heart attack; his medicine bottle breaks. He asks Regina to fetch the other bottle upstairs. She does not move. He struggles to the stairs and collapses.
- With Horace dying and his plan unknown, Regina blackmails her brothers: she will reveal the theft unless they give her 75% of the mill.
- Ben concedes, but warns he will keep watching for his chance.
- Alexandra, who suspects what happened, rejects her mother and leaves. Regina has won — and is alone.
Key characters
- Regina Giddens — intelligent, charming, ruthless; trapped by a society that denied daughters inheritance, she frees herself by becoming as cold as her brothers.
- Ben Hubbard — the eldest; smooth, clever, patient; he sees the new century as "open" for people like them.
- Oscar Hubbard — cruder and bullying; abuses Birdie. Leo — his lazy, dishonest son.
- Horace Giddens — dying, decent, clear-sighted about the family's greed.
- Birdie — gentle, cultured, broken; drinks to escape an unhappy marriage.
- Alexandra — Regina's daughter; grows from innocence to moral courage. Addie and Cal — the Black servants; Addie loves Alexandra and sees the truth.
Themes
- Greed and capitalism: the Hubbards will exploit anyone — workers, family, the dying — for profit.
- Women, money and power: Regina's ruthlessness is shaped by a system that gave her nothing in her own right; Birdie shows the victim's side.
- Complicity: Addie's image of people who "eat the earth" and those who stand around and watch them — Alexandra finally refuses to watch.
- The old South and the new: aristocratic plantation families (Birdie's) are replaced by predatory businessmen.
- Race and exploitation: the mill depends on cheap labour; the Black servants see everything but hold no power.
Dramatic methods
- Well-made play structure: exposition, rising tension, a secret (the bonds), a reversal, and a climax — Regina's inaction on the stairs.
- The staircase is the key stage image: Horace's struggle up it while Regina stays still is one of modern drama's most chilling moments.
- Dramatic irony: the audience knows about the bonds before Regina does, and knows Horace's plan dies with him.
- Dialogue: polite Southern manners over savage bargaining; Ben's wit; Regina's icy control.
- The ending — Alexandra asks her mother, "Are you afraid, Mama?" — leaves Regina's victory hollow.
投影片
練習題
免費預覽——42 題中的 8 題。註冊即可查看全部。
1.Who wrote The Little Foxes?
Easy- ALillian Hellman
- BTennessee Williams
- CArthur Miller
- DLorraine Hansberry
2.Where and when is the play set?
Easy- ANew York, 1939
- BChicago, 1920
- CGeorgia, 1865
- DAlabama, 1900
3.What business do the Hubbards want to start?
Easy- AA bank
- BA shipping company
- CA cotton mill
- DA railroad
4.Why doesn't Regina have her own fortune like her brothers?
Medium- AShe gave it to Alexandra
- BTheir father left his wealth to his sons
- CShe spent it in Chicago
- DHorace lost it
5.How much must Regina's share of the investment be?
Medium- A$75,000
- B$88,000
- C$10,000
- D$1,000,000
6.Why is Horace away at the start of the play?
Medium- AHe is on business in Chicago
- BHe has left Regina
- CHe is fighting in a war
- DHe is in a Baltimore hospital with a heart condition
7.Why did Oscar marry Birdie?
Medium- ABecause Ben ordered it
- BTo escape Alabama
- CFor her family's plantation, Lionnet
- DFor love
8.What does Leo steal?
Medium- ACash from the mill
- BHorace's railroad bonds from his safe-deposit box
- CRegina's jewels
- DBirdie's plantation deeds
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