Analytical Study of Lillian Hellman’s The Children’s Hour: Counterintuitive Conspiracy

Abstract

Despite writing only twelve plays, Lillian Hellman is a principal voice in the American theatre. She is a famous American playwright who has outlined her position in the male dominated society. In her plays, Hellman employs a profound and rational view that binds husband and wife, brother and sister, mother and child, teacher and pupil. Having a sharp insight, enables her to create strong female characters during a time when the American theatre tended to concentrate only on males. Hellman has formulated her dramas cautiously, tackling social matters that reflect her aptitude to present characters who are able to improve themselves through the development of the action. Probing the actual motivations of the counterintuitive conspiracy plotted by school pupil against her teacher, is the aim of this study.