English · Chapter 23
Study notes aligned to the official NEB syllabus.
Ferenc Molnar (1878-1952) was a Hungarian playwright, novelist and journalist and one of the most successful dramatists of early twentieth-century Europe. Born in Budapest, he studied law before turning to journalism and the theatre. His plays, including Liliom and The Guardsman, were staged across Europe and on Broadway, and he eventually settled in the United States. Molnar is admired for witty dialogue, for his elegant handling of love and marriage as comic material, and for endings that overturn a whole situation in their final moments.
"A Matter of Husbands" is a short one-act comedy for two characters. It takes place in a single room during a single conversation, yet it manages a complete reversal of meaning. On the surface it is a light sketch about a jealous wife and a glamorous actress; underneath, it is a sly comment on marriage, vanity, and how easily we believe whatever comforts us.
The Famous Actress is a celebrated star of the stage. She is poised, gracious and quick-witted. She receives an uninvited and hostile visitor with perfect courtesy, listens patiently, and takes control of the conversation without ever raising her voice. Her charm is professional as well as personal: she knows exactly how to perform sincerity, and the play turns on that skill.
The Earnest Young Woman is a young married woman, sincere, anxious and inexperienced. She has come with a grievance and an emotional plea. She knows little of the theatre world and less of the deceptions of husbands, and she is desperate to be told that her marriage is safe.
The husband never speaks in the main action but is its whole subject: a lawyer who has handled legal business for the actress.