The Little Foxes
By: Lillian Hellman
General Synopsis
Regina and her brothers, Oscar and Benjamin, are trying
to work out a business deal with Marshall, a businessman from Chicago. They
want to profit off of a cotton mill by combining their money. However, Regina
needs the money of her husband, Horace, who is in Baltimore because he is
extremely ill, in order to complete the deal. She uses her daughter, Alexandra,
to bring Horace back to get the bonds he has in his safety deposit box. She and
Ben also agree to give a part of Oscar’s original share to Horace’s share to
entice Horace into the deal. When Horace returns, he refuses to hand over his
money, so Leo, Oscar and Birdie’s son, is pressured, by Oscar and Ben, into
stealing the bonds.
When Horace finds out about the stolen bonds, he tells
Regina that he is going to change his will so most of his money goes to
Alexandra and that he gave the bonds to Leo as a loan, which cuts Regina out of
the deal. However, before he can change his will, he suffers a heart attack.
Regina makes no move to help and watches him die.
Afterwards, Regina threatens to blackmail her brothers
about the stolen bonds, saying that she wants 75% of the profits or she’ll
report the theft. This drives her brothers away from her, as well as Alexandra,
who abandons her (Hellman).
Playwright Background
Information
- Lillian Hellman (1905-1984)
- One of the major playwrights
in America in 20th century
- Social justice themes,
controversial
- Often compared with Ibsen and
Chekhov
- Education as a child split
into different cultures because of her often moving
- “I cannot and will not cut my
conscience to fit this year’s fashions.”
- Extremely outspoken,
adventurous, rebellious, and reckless; fit into the life of the 20’s
(Brody)
Characters
- Main Characters
- Regina Hubbard Giddens - Wife
of Horace, and sister of Ben and Oscar
- Benjamin (Ben) Hubbard -
Brother of Regina and Oscar
- Oscar Hubbard - Brother of
Regina and Ben, husband of Birdie
- Alexandra (Zan) Giddens -
Daughter of Horace and Regina
- Horace Giddens - Husband of
Regina
(Hellman)
- Side Characters
- Birdie Hubbard - Wife of Oscar
- Leo Hubbard - Son of Oscar and
Birdie
- Addie- Slave of Horace and
Regina
- Cal- Slave of Horace and
Regina
- Marshall - Chicago businessman
(Hellman)
Setting: A small town in the deep South, 1900; Regina
and Horace’s house (Hellman).
Key Plot Moments
- Near the end of Act I, Regina
demands for more of the cotton mill contract’s share because the brothers
are now dependent on her husband’s money. Ben; therefore, offers up a part
of Oscar’s ⅓ of the share as appeasement, and Oscar gets bad end of the
deal. Greed is prevalent in the Hubbard family.
- In the beginning of Act II, Zan
brings Horace home from Baltimore where he was treated for a heart
condition. He is very weak from the travel and Zan is shown to be more
independent and mature, strengthening her role as an individual.
- At the end of Act II, Horace’s
bonds are stolen by Leo to invest in the rest of the contract shares,
heightening his role as the henchman and proving the Hubbard brothers will
stop at no end to get what they want, with or without their sister.
- In the beginning of Act III,
Horace directs Cal to inform Mr. Manders about receiving his safety
deposit box and is asking for his attorney-of-law in front of
everyone--referring to Leo--so he will find out by what Cal tell him of
Leo’s reaction if he truly did still his bonds Horace’s manipulative side
and his reaction to betrayal is revealed.
- At the end of Act III and the play, Regina indirectly kills Horace by not helping him when his medicine bottle is broken and gets up out of his wheelchair to collapse at the top of the stairs because he will not use the fact that her brothers and Leo stole Horace’s bonds to gain more money out of the investment. Her greed manifests into murder and the “renewal” in her and her daughter’s life.
Key Quotes
- Aunt Birdie: “Don’t love me.
Because in twenty years you’ll be just like me...And you’ll trail after
them hoping they won’t be so mean that day or say something to make you
feel so bad…” (Act III).
- Regina: “I told you I married
you for something...But I couldn’t have known you’d get heart trouble so
early and so bad. I’m lucky, Horace. I’ve always been lucky” (Act III).
- Horace: “You wreck the town,
you and your brothers, you wreck the town and live on it. Not me.
Maybe it’s easy for the dying to be honest. And I’ll do it without making
the world any worse. I’ll leave that to you” (Act II).
- Alexandra: “Addie said there
were people who ate the earth and other people who stood around and
watched them do it. Well, tell him for me, Mama, that I’m not going to
stand around and watch you do it” (Act III).
- Birdie: “I saw Mama angry for
the first time in her life. She said she was old-fashioned enough not to
like people [the Hubbards] who killed animals they couldn’t use, and who
made their money charging awful interest to ignorant niggers and cheating
them on what they bought” (Act III).
- Horace: “It’s a great day when you and Ben cross swords. I’ve been waiting for it for years.” (Act II).
Symbols/Motifs
- The bricks are physically the
cotton mill that represent the stability and wealth brought to the
“homeowners” (Act III).
- Lionnet, the plantation that
Birdie’s family used to own, which Oscar married her for, shows old wealth
as her family is aristocratic. The Hubbard Brothers are after this wealth,
to attain it quickly and to keep it “in the family” (Act III).
- The piano and music are outlets
for the suppressed family members: Birdie, Horace, Alexandra, and Addie. A
way to express themselves when no one else listens to them. Horace and
Birdie played together when she first came into the family to make her
more comfortable--a sanctuary away from the abusive husband, and
good-for-nothing son (Act III).
- Chicago, a city in the North,
is where the Hubbards and Regina, who are from the South, would like to go
to and make profits. They are well off in the South, but Chicago is a
status they want to achieve, to rise in social stature (Act I).
- Stairs show the level of domination. The higher the person is on them, the more dominance and power they have over the person lower on the stairs and on the floor. Mostly Regina is up on the landing talking down to her brothers, and when Horace crawls up the steps when he has a heart attack, he collapses and dies, never reaching that power (Act III).
Themes
- Lust for power - The Hubbard
brothers and Regina will do anything, stealing to killing, to gain wealth
and power.
- Death brings renewal - Regina
wants to start a new life with Alexandra by using Horace’s death.
- Betrayal - the fading family bonds
are shown when Leo steals Horace’s safety deposit box to invest in the
cotton mill contract, and especially when Regina lets Horace die in front
of her.
- Family - destruction of family
is self-evident from the greed and betrayal.
- Escape from family pressures
and social constraints is revealed by Hellman when Horace wants Alexandra
to get away from this family in the South by understanding what they are
capable of.
- Hopelessness for Alexandra is
prominent after the tragedy of her father, but she is set on not moving
with her mother to Chicago to live with her.
- Loss of innocence in Alexandra
is seen from her giddiness to drive the buggy to her taking care of Horace
and fighting with Regina to live her life the way she wants to after
learning the knowledge of her mother’s and uncles’ nature.
(Hellman)
Stylistic Devices
- Characterization is developed
through their actions instead of the use of descriptive paragraphs to do
so
- Writing Topics: legal distress,
social justice, controversial themes
- Truthful and eye-opening
- Simplistic
- Blunt and plainspoken
(Kornstein)
Prompt
2007, Form B. Works of
literature often depict acts of betrayal. Friends and even family may betray a
protagonist; main characters may likewise be guilty of treachery or may betray
their own values. Select a novel or play that includes such acts of betrayal.
Then, in a well-written essay, analyze the nature of the betrayal and show how
it contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
Thesis
Set against the tense backdrop
of the 1900 deep South, The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman expresses the power of greed through the Hubbard's betrayal of each other to achieve selfish fulfillment; this is juxtaposed to the ideal thematic values of family which typically hold against all hardships.
Cast
Regina Giddens - Regina
Zbarskaya
Benjamin (Ben) Hubbard
and Birdie Hubbard - Sunny Chen
Oscar Hubbard and Agent
Shi - Chelsea Shi
Horace Giddens and Agent
Lee - Angela Lee
Alexandra Giddens and
Hallway Agent - Rukmini Cheeti
Introduction
- Thesis voiceover
- Cues to opening death scene of Horace then cuts out
- Criminal Minds title and introduction of the actors as characters
- With Criminal Minds opening theme music
- Quote voiceover - From which the title was based off: "Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil our vines, for our vines have tender grapes" (Song of Solomon 2:15).
Transition #1
Agents walking along hallway, talking about the
case, go into an interrogation room to talk to Regina, who recounts the
happenings before Horace’s death in a flashback; talks about the bonds they
were planning to borrow from Horace.
- Topic Sentence: In the beginning, the Hubbards attempt to preserve family bonds by insisting that the money will always stay in the family, providing an excuse for them to take a part of Oscar’s share.
Transition #2
Cuts back to the interrogation room, agents ask
Regina if that’s all; she says yes and they leave her. Agents head to a coffee shop/cafe where they
plan to meet Alexandra and get a little more information on what happened
between her mother’s story and her father’s death. Alexandra recounts in a flashback what she
learned from Birdie.
- Topic Sentence: Despite the outer appearance of a well-functioning family, a look at the more oppressed members of the household reveals that the family is crumbling from the inside.
Transition #3
Agents thank Alexandra and head back to interrogation room, where they confront Regina once more. This time, Regina confesses the truth in a flashback after some pressure by the agents; also mentions the stolen bonds.
- Topic Sentence: The family finally breaks down completely when Regina kills Horace by refusing to give him his medicine; this act of betrayal shows the overwhelming power of greed over blood.
Conclusion
Regina convicted as guilty for killing her
husband. Cut to a few days later, where the agents reflect upon the message
of the case as they walk along a sidewalk.
View original document (with the full script, storyboards, and works cited) here.
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