On Plot
Introduction
Joan Didion’s fourth novel, “Play It As It Lays” has a cinematic plot made up of snippets of the main character’s life. Its plot is submerged, to say the least, as most parts of the novel are told from a close third perspective, not privy to the internal feelings of the characters. The novel, to me, has a minimalist style. Some snippets are fragmented while some others are stylistically left hanging as if the stories are hidden in the blank space of the pages. Its plot is subject to interpretation since there is no obvious indication of time in each of the 84 segments of the novel except a few. Therefore, there exists different version of plot as the readers choose to rearrange the chapters in different sequence although some chapters in the middle following the original arrangement do flow smoothly from one to another.
Despite Maria’s repeated claim in the novel that “none of it adds up”, all the different arrangements of the chapters point towards one core message: the disintegration of Maria’s life. The novel has an interesting start with an overview of the three main characters and their relationship in the form of first person monologues with the first being that of Maria Wyeth from a neuropsychiatric center in the present, followed by that of Helene’s and Carter Lang’s. The first section titled ‘MARIA’ begins with Maria’s statement “What makes Iago evil? Some people ask. I never ask.” which foreshadows her indifference towards whatever happens in life, even the extreme of evilness shown by Iago in Shakespeare’s Othello. While doing Rorschach inkblot test to detect her thought disorder, she details her past: her parents’ unfulfilled plans, her mother’s tragic demise, her failed marriage and her hospital-ridden daughter, Kate.
The second section titled ‘HELENE’ is a soliloquy of Helene, Maria’s close friend. Helene alleges Maria of her selfishness and carelessness that result in the death of BZ. Her statement is followed by Carter’s in the third section, ‘CARTER’. Carter, Maria’s estranged husband, regrets the improbability of reconciliation with Maria after countless reflections on their relationships. To him, Maria has never understood friendship, not even normal social exchanges.
After her separation with Carter, Maria was filled with compulsion to be on the freeway and to maneuver her audacious change of lanes and shift of gears. With such self-destructive actions, she is freed temporarily from the dread that haunts her every night, the thoughts about Les Goodwin, Carter, BZ and Helene. After a hiatus of one year since Kate’s incident, Maria is looking on making a comeback again. The estranged relationship between Carter and her has become more apparent as they have less and less in common in conversation. In contrast, her affair with BZ seems to build up at the same time.
Complication
The conflict among the characters become intensified as Maria breaks the news of her pregnancy to Carter after the gathering at the beach. Carter claims that it was Les Goodwin’s and Maria is unsure whose it is either. With uninflected voice, he coerces her to undergo illegal abortion by threatening to take Kate away from her. Hesitantly, she makes an appointment. In this time of desperation, she cries for her mother, regrets for not affording her a world tour when she had the money and speculates on whether her mother’s death in Tonopah was a self-orchestrated accident.
She then lives in self-denial, in her two versions of truths. On one hand, she wishes that she still bleeds and thus, be negative in Rabbit pregnancy test; on the other hand, she pretends that she can keep the baby and have miscarriage later. She is torn between the two. In fact, her life is collapsing. It seems to her that all men, those with whom she has slept, almost slept, or not slept, are no longer distinguishable. Her life, to her, has been a single sexual encounter and nothing beyond that. Facing the imminent collapse of her life, she can only seek composure and calmness in her dreams of the improbable best case scenario: continuing her life with Ivan Costello while having Carter’s daughter and Carter’s blessing. She struggles futilely for order and tranquility in her life.
In my opinion, constant dread and anxiety especially before the abortion has caused Maria to suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Straightening drawers, studying photographs to look for keys, arranging bills are just among a few symptoms of OCD Maria has shown.
Climax
The novel reaches its turning point in the shady bedroom in Encino where Maria has her illegal abortion. It is here where Maria is readily exposed to the thoughts of ‘nothing matters’ which is the overriding theme of the novel. The doctor’s insensitive language toward her pain such as likening the scrapping of uterus to the sound of music has completely shattered her. The moment she steps out of the room, she smiles radiantly at the driver who sends her there, as if nothing happens. All the painkillers fail to alleviate her agony. All Maria wants is to see her mother whose funeral she fails to attend. It is also in the climax where Maria starts to lose herself and her sense of purpose. She indulges herself in works despite her profuse bleeding as the aftermath of abortion. It is also on her way back from the studio that she discharges the last piece of the placenta. Then, for the first time in two weeks, she sleeps through the night.
Resolution
The novel has a rather lengthy falling action. The novel slowly resolves into a series of fragmented and sometimes scrambled events since the first dream Maria has about plumbing and abortion. From her dream, Maria’s agony, helplessness and regret over her abortion are clearly seen. She then moves from her house in Beverly Hills to an apartment on Fountain Avenue to run away from the past. Her relationship with Carter worsens and ends abruptly with a divorce at Santa Monica. Interestingly, the charge is mental cruelty and it goes uncontested. Helene who is the witness still gossips after the signing as though nothing happens.
After signing the papers at Santa Monica, her loss of purpose in life has become graver. She wanders aimless in town and deliberately confronts the gangsters gathering around her car. She also pretends that there is no divorce at all. She shops always for a household and never buys magazines. After realizing that there is no future between Les Goodwin and her, she tries hard to appear more concerned about Carter’s life but the feeling is no longer there. She has long past the point in Encino.
The agony still burns. Maria cries on the day the baby would have been born although she strives hard not to count the months. For the past nine months, she has been suffering very deep down her soul until where she can hide them. Maria quits her hypnosis session, the hypnotist has also said that Maria resists to know the truth and to understand what truly hurts her. She continues to indulge herself in one night stands and finally ends up in jail in Tonopah after she drives away Johnny Waters’s car. After Freddy Chaikin saves her out of the trouble, she still continues her self-destructive behaviors until the day BZ dies in her arms after swallowing twenty or thirty Seconal capsules. In the end, Maria chooses to live on. In the neuropsychiatric center, she details her future plans and explains on her interpretation of ‘nothing’.
On Main Characters
I. Maria Wyeth
Maria, pronounced as “Mar-eye-ah”, is the heroine of the story. In fact, the novel is mainly about how she still “plays it as it lays”. Aged 31, she is a model turned actress. She stars in two of Carter’s films namely Angle Beach and Maria. She was born in Reno, Nevada to opportunistic gambler and businessman, Harry Wyeth and Francine Wyeth from whom she inherited her look. Silver Wells is where she grows up. From her father, she picks up two important lessons: that life is a crap game and that overturning a rock reveals a rattlesnake. From her mother, she learns about first aids.
After graduating from Consolidated Union High School at 18, she went to New York for acting lessons, only never to see her parents again. Her mother dies in a tragic accident. She is the wife of a successful movie director, Carter Lang with whom she has four-year-old daughter, Kate. Her passionless marriage ends abruptly, not long after Carter coerces her to abort her out-of-wedlock pregnancy possibly caused by Les Goodwin. She leads an amoral life founded on her nihilistic thoughts that “nothing applies”. She spends her days and nights with faggots and rich spoilt kids. She also has affairs with many others including BZ, Les Goodwin, and Johnny Waters.
Her life is disorganized plausibly due to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). To break off from unhappiness, she relies on the thrill of audacious lane changes on the freeway. To her, nothing matters, except her daughter, Kate and her parents who already passed away. In the novel, she lives in self-denial hiding her interior pain behind her indifference and coldness. Her agent, Freddy Chaikin even describes her having a self-destructive personality structure. It is noteworthy that Paula Raymond, a real 1950s actress with unsuccessful acting career can be considered as Maria’s alter ego given their striking similarities. Paula is mentioned when the driver who sends Maria to the abortion house watches her movie.
II. Carter Lang
Carter Lang is Maria’s husband. He has been successful as a movie director. His film, Maria, wins an award in the Eastern Europe. One of his films even enters Cannes Film Festival. His agent even remarks that Carter is in an enviable position in which he can produce any movie he wants to. He has experienced the brink of bankruptcy before although his house in Beverly Hill always remains intact. As with other characters in the novel, there is not much direct description of him. His true characteristic is up to interpretation based on his interaction with other characters.
His marital relationship with Maria has been problematic. His marriage is void of passion. Conversation between them always ends up with guilt, fury and disappointment. It is him who coerces Maria to have an illegal abortion. After the divorce, he then dates Susannah Wood and even has sex with Helene. Although there is no clear indicator of his emotion and tone in his lines, I think he still cares about Maria even after their divorce. He quarrels with Maria just to bring Maria out of her morbidity. Worried about Maria’s seemingly suicidal behaviors, he repeatedly invites Maria to be with him on shootings. His influence is important in getting Maria out of detention and getting her a job. Carter is an auteur who believes in portraying director’s personal creative vision in movies. Following this line of thought, his movie, Maria portrays his perception of Maria. His version, sadly, is one that Maria does not agree upon.
III. BZ
BZ’s name has an accidental poetic truth. BZ is the abbreviation for benzodiazepines, a type of sedative drug. Coincidentally, he is the ‘sedative drug’ for Maria’s life. There is no mention of his full name in the novel. He is married to Helene and is the son of Carlotta. He is also a producer and a friend of Carter’s. He is believably a bisexual based on several indirect references in the novel. His marriage with Helene is sustained by the money from Carlotta. His house is often packed with sulky young men and middle-aged women. He is allegedly involved in an extramarital affair with Maria. Although it is not explicitly stated, he has sex with Maria in front of Helene. In the end, he ends his own life with twenty Seconal capsules. In contrast with Maria, he lacks the resolve and will to keep on ‘playing’. His interpretation of ‘nothing’ is exactly opposite of Maria’s. It is this difference which causes their starkly different fates.
IV. Helene
Helene, married to BZ, is a close friend of Maria’s and Carter’s. In her mid-thirties, she befriends middle-aged women with whom she exchanges tag line of jokes. As how Maria describes, Helene is not immune to age. Her skin has lost its resilience. She has divorced twice with BZ but still stays on for Carlotta’s money. Despite all these, she has been helpful to Maria even after BZ’s death. She has been on Maria’s side when Maria is down after the abortion and divorce. Even after BZ’s death and that they can no longer be friends; she still visits Maria in the neuropsychiatric center. She also seems to like gossips. On the day of Maria’s divorce, she is more concerned about the homosexual relationship between Allen Walsh and Sharon Carroll instead of what Maria feels. Helene also has a relationship with Leonard, her hairdresser outside marriage. She is also believed to suffer from depression as what BZ tells Maria by the pool.
V. Ivan Costello
Ivan Costello is Maria’s ex-boyfriend before she gets married. Maria once lends him the money that she has saved for her mother’s world trip. This shows his importance in Maria’s heart, at least up to the point of her marriage. In Maria’s dream of the perfect scenario, Ivan Costello is the one she chooses to stay together with. This implies, again, his status in Maria’s life. However, he does not return her love as he should be. He has been blackmailing Maria for money. He even threatens to break up with her and spend her money. He does not even plan to have a child with Maria. Deep inside her heart, even Maria cannot bring herself to believe that Ivan would love her as how she does. It is already clear from Ivan’s spit into the phone when he describes how he thinks of Maria’s life. He only becomes friendly when he needs money from Maria. In his desperation for money, he would pester her non-stop.
On Themes
Multiple Facets of ‘Nothingness’ in Life
The word ‘nothing’ is one of the most frequent word found in the novel. In fact, different interpretation of ‘nothingness’, be it passive or active, is where this novel revolves around. This is most pronounced in the different fates of Maria’s and BZ’s. The ‘nothing’ which is always on Maria’s mind after her abortion and divorce is the exact ‘nothing’ in the phrase ‘It is nothing’ which one says while enduring pain.
Driven by many collapses in her life, Maria resorts to amoral impassivity founded on her thought that ‘nothing applies’. In my opinion, Maria first gets acquainted with the idea of ‘nothing applies’ in the shady abortion house in Encino where the ‘surgeon’ speaks with insensitivity. I would reckon that the surgeon’s quote “Nothing to have any emotional difficulties about, better not to think about it at all, quite often the pain is worse when we think about it.” (Didion, 1970, p.82)
This line of thinking seems to be the foundation of Maria’s seemingly nihilistic thoughts. In fact, Maria’s statement “In that way I resemble the only man in Los Angeles County who does clean work” (Didion, 1970, p.203) at the neuropsychiatric center is coherent with this claim. Maria once asked “What’s nothing?” when her mother was down with depression. Now, she does not ask anymore because she has reached to her seemingly illogical conclusion that “nothing applies.” Another line from Freddy Chaikin seems to be another component of Maria’s state of mind after the abortion. Freddy Chaikin advises her that “work is the best medicine for things wrong in the private-life department.” (Didion, 1970, p.91) Ever since then, she indulges herself in work despite her profuse bleeding, an aftereffect of abortion.
I think Maria dreamt about “plumbing” (Didion, 1970, p. 96) and “fetuses in the East River” (Didion, 1970, p.116) because she represses all her sufferings and agony which then manifest in dreams. The thought that ‘nothing applies’ is merely a self-deception which only deepens the sufferings. For instance, the “notion of general devastation” (Didion, 1970, p.104) she gets from the news somehow soothes because deep in her mind, she yearns for an instant of destruction when all the troubles would evaporate. She can no longer withstand it. In the face of divorce, despite her trying to sound unemotional over the phone, her appearance betrays her. She continues to live in self-denial. She carefully pretends that she has never divorced. When she finds out that she might suffer from depression which “may date from when you were a baby in your mother’s womb” (Didion, 1970, p.119), she resists the hypnosis in denial of the imminent truth. However, just as what her hypnotist says, “It does not prove anything.”
Maria’s ‘nothing’ also exists to conceal Maria’s internal sufferings. BZ’s ‘exact nothing’ is on the opposite end. To BZ, ‘nothing’ means that everything in his life including his fame, riches, marriage and so on adds up to zero, the absence of anything. In short, BZ thinks that his life is pointless and thus reaches at his choice to commit suicide. His marriage has been an arid desert for him. He seeks pleasure from his unconventional sexuality. However, he has seen through all of these and reaches to an insight deceivingly similar to that of Maria. He claims to Maria that he has woken from the dream and “does not feel like playing [any more].” (Didion, 1970, p.119) To him, death is exact nothingness. He thinks that his answer to ‘nothingness’ is right until his last breath. Sadly, Maria’s ‘nothingness’ is the opposite of his and she keeps on playing.
If these views on nothingness is expanded to a slightly more global perspective, nothingness or rather emptiness is also the permissive theme of the 1960s American society. I will leave that discussion to later.
Disintegration and Distortion of Relationship between Sexes in the 1960s America
Speaking about relationship between sexes is inseparable from discussion about love, marriage and sexuality. The sense of disintegration and distortion permeates much of the novel as seen from the author’s sentence structure, prose structure, word choice and description of what Maria sees and feels. The understanding of the background of American society in the 1960s is crucial in understanding this theme. Set in an era of profound societal change such as sexual revolution, the rise of feminism and so on, ‘Play It As It Lays’ cannot have portrayed this theme more aptly.
From the novel, disintegration and distortion of marriage seems to be a social norm. Most of the characters in the novel are involved in certain extent of extramarital affairs, separation and even divorce. To name but a few, Carlotta, BZ’s mother, is constantly engaged in litigation with her estranged second husband. It is also on top of her mind that her husband always yearns to “expressively thwart” (Didion, 1970, p.49) her. Even the mad lady whom Maria meets at the Ralph’s Market might just be left by her husband. The four main characters, BZ, Helene, Carter and Maria are also involved in a love quadruple which is first sparked by BZ’s betrayal.
The marriage between Carter and Maria is no longer fueled by passion but it is supported by “rote” (Didion, 1970, p.178) and rituals. As what Carter says, “It used to be there but it’s gone.” (Didion, 1970, p.178) Their conversations would always end before the other can speak. Their attempts to rekindle their passion, if there was any in the first place, fail just as how these lines go: “It isn’t any better”, “I mean we didn’t even try”, “You don’t want it”, “I do too” and then “No, you don’t” (Didion, 1970, p.184) As the time of signing the divorce papers, dialogue has “worn itself down to legal details.” (Didion, 1970, p.106)
Family is the basic unit for a society and a country. If family institutions become increasingly disintegrated and end up in emptiness, it is only natural for the stability of a country or a whole generation to be shaken. Maria’s remark in Chapter 53 that “On film they might have seemed a family” alarms us that what may seem to be a perfect family might just be an illusion. An example would be Les Goodwin’s family which might become the next Carter’s family. Distorted marriages can also be found in the novel. Marriages like that between BZ and Helene no longer founds on traditional values. Carlotta uses her money to sustain their marriage-in-name not knowing that this is just another bubble waiting to burst. Distorted marriages can also be based purely on sex. BZ and Helene’s is one of those. Thus, I would say that Joan Didion is trying to alarm the contemporary society about the importance of preserving the coherence of family and marriage.
Marriage is inseparable from sex. In the 1960s America shown in the novel, the readers can get a sense of distortion of sexuality among the people. The most notable portrayal is the wider acceptance of homosexuality and even bisexuality as shown by BZ, at least among those in the Hollywood. Maria has spent days and nights with faggots. In Larry Kulik’s party, there are also “two English Lesbians.” (Didion, 1970, p.37) During their lunch before the divorce papers, Maria and Helene witness how two dykes, Allen Walsh and Sharon Carroll “feeding each other soufflé in the Bistro.” (Didion, 1970, p.108)
The fact that these characters expose their sexual orientation in public implies that they have already been accepted by the mainstream. This level of acceptance can also be seen from the occurrence of homosexuality on films. One example in the novel would be Carter’s ‘Angel Beach’ in which “the twelve cocks…doing it not to her but to each other.” (Didion, 1970, p.111) The rise of casual sex and one night stands in the society is also exposed under Maria’s eyes. Maria herself has been involved in several one night stands with people she knows such as Les Goodwin.
The most casual one is the one with Johnny Waters who barely knows her and who says “Wake me up in three hours with your tongue.” (Didion, 1970, p.153) Upon knowing this, Helene even asks “What kind of fuck is Johnny Waters?” (Didion, 1970, p.159) This is a testimony of open sexual discussions in the Hollywood. However, the countless one night stands have also caused Maria to think as if her life has been “one dreamed fuck” (Didion, 1970, p.69) and that all men are the same in front of sex. In the novel, the emergence of unconventional sexual acts is also seen among the young people. Helene and BZ have been doing S-M while Maria writes that she would never “do S-M unless she wanted to.” (Didion, 1970, p.136) Group sex can also be seen in BZ’s life.
The love relationship is also distorted in the novel. The one between Maria and Ivan Costello has been reduced to an extortion tool and an unforgettable past. Ivan Costello, despite how much Maria has done for him, never loves her and even likens Maria’s life to a spit. He even breaks into Maria’s house and blackmails her repeatedly. Pure love has become superficial among the main characters. Since Carter is an auteur film maker, what he portrays in films is a projection of his mind. The fact that Maria does not feel like the ‘Maria’ in Carter’s film implies that Carter only knows Maria on the surface. Carter does not see beyond fashion sitting, marijuana and crying. In fact, he does not really understand Maria. When he says “I know it upset you…don’t cry” (Didion, 1970, p.42) and Maria says that “I’m not crying”, she really does not. In BZ’s appreciation of Maria is also based on his first impression of Maria in the film ‘Angel Beach’ and nothing beyond that.
Question 4: Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist
Maria Wyeth, the heroine, is the protagonist of the novel. Although all the characters suffer the ennui in their life to certain extents, she draws the most sympathy from me. In her early thirties, she suffers too much in the arid Hollywood and the passionless marriage. She sees through the pointlessness of life yet she holds on. At the same time, she still retains her motherly love despite all the unpardonable sins of hers.
Maria is the most troubled soul in the novel. As an actress, her progress is unparticular, to say the least. Her career reaches a serious halt after what happened to her mother and daughter. The only two films she can boast of are Maria and Angel Beach. She is appreciated not as Maria Wyeth but as the “Carter Lang’s wife” (Didion, 1970, p. 23) There are also instances when she is mistaken as “New talent” (Didion, 1970, p. 151) and even as an unknown “Myra” (Didion, 1970, p.152).
She is also trapped in a passionless marriage with Carter. Their conversations often end up with silence which then spikes guilt, misery and fury. Their relationship becomes even more strained when Maria is “having a baby” (Didion, 1970, p. 48) whom Carter claims “It’s not mine” (Didion, 1970, p.49). Carter forces her to go for abortion by using Kate as a threat.
The aftermath of the abortion has ever been in Maria no matter how hard she tries to conceal. Her dream of “plumbing” (Didion, 1970, p.96) and “hacked pieces of human flesh” (Didion, 1970, p.97) in the pipes is just one of the signs of her damage. As she witnesses that the life around her is collapsing, she struggles for orderliness in things around her. All the while, she has been seeing the signs of “disorganization” such as “disconnected telephone or some clandestine business to conduct, some extramarital error.” (Didion, 1970, p.101) It is plausible that she has developed obsessive-compulsive disorder as she compulsively “got out her checkbook and a stack of bills and spread them on the kitchen table.” (Didion, 1970, p.75)
However, none of the actions bring real orderliness to her life. It only reminds her of “her life’s disorder, its waste and diffusion.” (Didion, 1970, p.75) The condition of her daughter, Kate, who “has soft down on her spine and an aberrant chemical in her brain” (Didion, 1970, p.49) also constantly wearies her. Her worry can be seen from her obsessive query on “What new medication”. Despite all her so-called unpardonable sins, she deserves our sympathy. Moreover, her sins as she claims are not really sins at all in the age of Sexual Revolution where casual sex has been increasing accepted by the society.
In spite of all these troubles she has, she pulls through. More importantly, her attempt to be cool about it deserves encouragement, regardless of its outcome. Unlike some of the troubled souls in other literary pieces, Maria’s reaction is much calmer on the surface. At the shady room where she loses her baby, she realizes the importance of being indifferent in keeping herself sane. She hopes herself to “resemble the only man in Los Angeles County who does clean work.” (Didion, 1970, p.203) By appearing normal and orderly on the surface, she hopes that her inner soul would be deceived and transformed into a calmer one. In self-denial, she pretends that her abortion never happens by announcing “I’m having a baby” (Didion, 1970, p.63) to people such as parking-lot attendant. However, when she could not lie to herself anymore, she cries.
Her attempt has shifted more and more to impassivity towards the end. She starts to wander aimlessly in Vegas craving for “the physical flash of walking in and out of places, the temperature shock…” (Didion, 1970, p.170) Although her attempts fail miserably in the end, she has tried her best. Her concealment of sufferings has hurt her even more. Her interaction with her hypnotist could not have illustrated this most clearly. Maria’s failure to “open enough doors to get back” (Didion, 1970, p.143) does not prove the non-existence of past miseries. Her version of “nothing applies”, however, is more positive than that of BZ’s. At the very least, she chooses to live on with an excuse “Why not” (Didion, 1970, p.214) with a plan in mind. She wants to get Kate and lives with her alone. She even plans to carry canning business for “India relish and pickled peaches”, “apple chutney” and “Summer squash succotash.” (Didion, 1970, p. 219) From here, readers can see that she finally regains and preserves the optimism she once inherited from Harry and Francine Wyeth.
Although she describes her sins as unpardonable, I respect her for the fact that she still retains her motherly nature. When she loses touch of purpose in everything she has, she still clings on to her daughter, Kate. Her concern towards Kate still goes on even when she is confined in Neuropsychiatric. Her first-person note in Chapter 78 reads “The only problem is Kate. I want Kate.” (Didion, 1970, p.206) Out of her extreme concern, she even visit Kate many times that her “unscheduled parental appearances…disturb the child’s adjustment.” (Didion, 1970, p.42)
In fact, her nihilistic thoughts were only aggravated with her abortion, a cruel surgery to terminate her motherhood. In my opinion, it is of motherly nature that she is psychologically disturbed by the coerced abortion. Maria truly draws my sympathy seeing Maria grieving over her “children alive when last scolded, dead when next seen.” (Didion, 1970, p.100) For the whole nine months, Maria has subconsciously count down to the day when her baby would have been born although she tries hard not to. On that day, she cries for her mother. In dream, she still dreads over the loss of her baby who has yet to see sunlight.
In her recurring “plumbing” dreams, she has no say over “part of that operation” (Didion, 1970, p.96). She can only provide information about “the condition of plumbing, the precise width of the pipes, the location and size of all the clean-outs.” (Didion, 1970, p.96) The worst thing is that “There would be plumbing anywhere she went.” (Didion, 1970, p.104) In her other dreams, she would be “checking off names as the children filed past her…to whisper a few comforting words to those children who cried or held back.” (Didion, 1970, p.126) A closer look would tell the readers that Maria’s sin is not unforgiveable, if there is any at all; her reactions are acceptable for a mother who cannot mother her unborn baby and her disorder-ridden daughter.
Antagonist
The character with whom I sympathize the least is BZ, Helene’s husband. To me, he is the least likable among all characters for his distorted sexuality and disloyalty in marriage. Besides, he lacks the courage and will to live on and chooses suicide. The extent of his sufferings is unmentionable as compared to that of Maria’s pain. These are the reasons which prompt me to classify BZ as the antagonist of the novel.
While one might argue that being a bisexual has nothing against the nature, BZ’s distorted sexuality has caused harms to some especially Helene and Maria. His obsession with Helene is based not on Maria as a person but based on Maria’s illusions in Carter’s film ‘Angel Beach’. He becomes interested in Maria after seeing the film. Despite his obvious knowledge that it is a commercial production, he muses over questions such as “how did Maria feel about the gangbang, the twelve cocks…does that interest her…” (Didion, 1970, p.111) Ever since then, he has been eyeing Maria outside of Helene’s knowledge. For instance, he runs “the tips of his fingers very lightly across Maria’s bare back.” (Didion, 1970, p.27) The most serious of it all comes when BZ sends Maria home together with Helene. It is him who has “undressed and bathed and creamed her body” (Didion, 1970, p.162) right in front of Helene’s eyes. When Helene feels upset the next morning, BZ replies coldly “You’ve been around a long time, you know what it is, it’s play-or-pay.” (Didion, 1970, p.164) I suspect that this is root cause that leads to Helene’s one night stand with Carter and the eventual estrangement between Helene and BZ.
In sharp contrast with Maria, BZ chooses to end his own life with Seconal capsules instead of holding on like Maria. All his musculature seems gone. He has already given up. To him, ‘nothing’ means the absence of anything and that everything in his life adds up to zero. Slightly before he swallowed the pills, he even invites Maria to join him. To him, he has already woken up from the empty dream and does “not feel like playing [anymore].” (Didion, 1970, p.212) Despite Maria’s advice and even plea, he is still adamant in leaving the world.
One more reason why I select BZ as the antagonist of the novel is that his sufferings do not justify his giving up of hope in life. He might be struggling to sustain a passionless marriage. His pathetic marriage owes it continuation to Carlotta who “gives them money to stay married” (Didion, 1970, p.48). However, other than that, he has no lack of anything in his life. He has been a quite successful movie producer. His family is rich enough to afford a sea-side house which can accommodate the “sulky young men he met in places like Acapulco and Kitzbühel and Tangier.” (Didion, 1970, p.43) Although his mother is “engaged in constant litigation with her estranged second husband” (Didion, 1970, p.26), Carlotta has an asset of $35 million. His private life outside of marriage has also been satisfactory just as what he says after one of the parties, “Everybody got what he came for.” (Didion, 1970, p.39) It is understandable to be suicidal in Maria’s situation but not in BZ’s case. Logically, BZ is supposed to have more reasons to live on than does Maria. The fact that he gives up his life so lightly has prompted me to label his choice as cowardly and thus, grant little or no respect for him.
On Final Thoughts
‘Play It As It Lays’ has been a revealing read. It is unpleasant but that is exactly the point of the book. As much as the author tries to hide the tragedies in the black space in between the 84 chapters, the truth is still brutal. I must admit that there are still many things about Maria that I still could not decipher, for I am still too young to be as seasoned as Maria. The pain Maria tolerates is also beyond my grasp. However, even that little bit of bitterness that I can relate to is still too harsh. As one ages, ‘Play It As It Lays’ is definitely worth a revisit.
The book has allowed readers a glimpse into the American society in the 1960s, an era of profound societal change. The author skillfully portrays the ennui and emptiness in the Sixties through the eyes of Maria. Joan Didion’s portrayal of the impact of the Sexual Revolution in the Sixties through the abundance of faggots and dykes and the rise of casual sex is commendable. Her depiction is objective because she inserts only details but not opinions. The novel is also a window into the Hollywood scene back in the 1960s. I am truly surprised with the aridity and amorality of Hollywood life. The fact that most characters in the novel are involved in extramarital affairs and recreational drugs has shown the emptiness of the Hollywood peoples’ souls. The scene which leaves the greatest impact to me is when Maria enters the shady house in Encino to undergo abortion. Lines such as “Hear that scraping, Maria?” and “That should be some kind of music to you” strike to me as scary. These lines were scary not because of the pain itself but because of how much the psychological and physical pain in abortion is understated. The description of the abortion house’s interiors also allows me to get a sense of how the abortion scene was like at least three to four years before its legalization in 1973.
The novel is not only forthrightly revealing but also skillfully structured. I am absorbed by the author’s flair in prose structure and symbolism. Joan Didion has made prose structure itself a metaphor. The fragmented plot is highly analogous of the disintegration of Maria’s life. Some of the chapters are left hanging so as to conceal the damage just as how Maria masks her bruises as indifference. The rhythm of the novel also closely follows Maria’s state of mind. After the part where Maria had abortion, the chapters become increasingly disjointed and even jumbled up.
The author’s seemingly accidental shift from first person at the beginning three sections to close third in the middle and then back to first person in the end is, in my opinion, deliberate. The use of close third in the middle is to dilute the sense of sufferings. Writing in first person requires emotional engagement and rejects objective interpretation. Therefore, writing in close third accentuates Maria’s I-do-not-feel-a-thing attitude as it conceals the inner voice of Maria. Understanding her through what she says and does on the outside seems to me a more realistic choice. The last few italicized chapters have to be in first person because what these chapters convey is of Maria’s intricate soul.
Minimalism, in Joan Didion’s hands, has been given another dimension. The plot of ‘Play It As It Lays’ is much more flexible than that of other minimalist pieces I have encountered such as ‘The Foreign Legation’ by E.L. Doctorow. This is because there is no obvious time indicator in most of the chapters in the novel. Different versions of plot and even different perception of the characters can be made possible with different arrangement of the chapters. For instance, if what happens in Chapter 38 is interpreted to happen before the divorce, instead of after the divorce as how the original arrangement suggests, Maria would be perceived as awfully disobedient and disloyal. Other than prose structure, the author’s manipulation of symbolism to complement the plot is close to flawless. To me, the numerous mentions of hummingbird in the novel serve to symbolize Maria’s ability to get into the heart of ‘nothing’ and her role as a peaceful warrior who watches over Kate. In traditional Native Americans’ belief, hummingbird is a symbol of getting to the heart of a matter, of clarifying, as the tiny hummingbirds get quickly to the nectar. Hummingbird also forms a part of the word ‘warriors’ among Taino Indian. In other ways, hummingbird also signifies Maria’s rebirth in the neuropsychiatric institute since Aztecs view hummingbird as a symbol of life.
All in all, I find the novel particularly intriguing. The way the author puts the details together allure readers to contemplate on what damages Maria has gone through. The empty space cannot seem to conceal Maria’s pain. More often than not, as a reader reads on, he or she would have related Maria to his or her own sufferings. Although the novel is short and comes in snippets, the true story lies in black space around the text. The process of guessing what happens has made the reading particularly enjoyable. The flexible plot, open for interpretation, is definitely another add. ‘Play It As It Lays’ is a novel that is not only worth reading but also re-reading because every round of reading reveals a new truth.
On a Side Note
This is the book I used when I wrote this. I would recommend you to have a copy. Clicking on the following image will lead you to the Amazon page of the book and you can support my financials, too.
This novel has also been made into a film of the same name in 1972. It can be viewed on YouTube. I have linked the videos below, for your enjoyment.
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Comments are welcomed and encouraged on ZewSays.com, but there are some instances where comments will be edited or deleted as follows:
1) Comments deemed to be spam or questionable spam will be deleted. Including a link to relevant content is permitted, but comments should be relevant to the post topic.
2) Comments including profanity will be deleted.
3) Comments containing language or concepts that could be deemed offensive will be deleted.
4) Comments that attack a person individually will be deleted.
The owner of this blog reserves the right to edit or delete any comments submitted to this blog without notice. This comment policy is subject to change at anytime.
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