Overview

Donald, a young author, is becoming restless under the weighty love of his overbearing and manipulative mother, Mrs. Fenway. When a letter from Donald's father announces that economic necessity will require selling the family's sumer home and cancelling Donald's summer plans, Mrs. Fenway takes to the chaise longue and succumbs to the inertia of St. Louis heat. According to his mother's growing worries, Donald lacks friends, daydreams too much, and is not living up to his potential to be a strong, socially prominent young man, but Mrs. Fenway herself suffers headaches, crying, and fainting with any mention of her own circumstances. When Donald finally goes out for a swim, he becomes the hero of his own life with a decision of whether or not he ever wants to go back inside.

Part of the collection Mister Paradise and Other One Act Plays

Keywords

• Parenting/Family
• Adolescence/Childhood