The play, Wit, by Margaret Edson, tells the story of Professor Vivian Bearing. The play opens with a monologue by Vivian in which she shares with the audience that she has been diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer, and that she will be dead by the end of the play. The following scenes explore Vivian’s past as well as her present. She offers commentary throughout the play, as she becomes the narrator of her own life, and ultimately, her own death. Through this commentary, we as an audience are allowed to witness Vivian’s personality. We learn what she values and how she has lived her life. Through the character of Vivian, Margaret Edson shows us how the choices we make in life can impact our attitude about death.
Vivian’s identity as a successful academic (to the exclusion of all else) plays a huge part in her reaction to her own cancer diagnosis as well as her attitude throughout chemotherapy. She regards herself as tough and meticulous. She vows to read up on cancer, and looks up every medical term and procedure because she says, “it has always been my custom to treat words with respect” (Edson 41). Vivian’s entire life has been about overachievement. She relates a story from her past that illustrates this part of her nature. As an undergraduate, Vivan turned in an assignment after using the wrong edition of John Donne’s poem to complete it. Her professor corrects her, but also encourages her to go have fun with her friends, rather than rewrite the paper. Rather than socialize, Vivan goes to the library. It is this same demand for perfection and achievement that Vivan brings to her cancer treatment. She tells us, “Significant contribution to knowledge. Eight cycles of chemotherapy. Give me the full dose, the full dose every time” (Edson 16). Vivian even wants to win at chemotherapy.
For most of the play, Vivian maintains a strong, impersonal exterior, despite the cancer treatment. Towards the end of the play, however, Vivian’s attitude begins to change. She begins to seek out personal contact. She reaches out to her young doctor (and former student), who responds to her as an academic, rather than as a person. Vivian then reaches out to Suzie, her nurse, who Vivian has previously dismissed as unimportant. Susie gives Vivian the personal connection she desires. She even relents from her constant analysis, and finally admits that, “Now is the time for simplicity. Now is a time for, dare I say it, kindness” (Edson 69). It is just after this personal connection that Vivian is finally able to let go of her identity as a scholar, and embrace her identity as a human being. Even though it means a loss of potential research, Vivan decides to instate a “Do Not Resuscitate” code. For perhaps the first time in her life, Vivian places more value on her own humanity than on knowledge.
The most obvious example of Vivian’s changing attitudes comes in one of the final scenes of the play. After weeks of chemotherapy and declining health, Vivian finally has a visitor. Her former professor comes to see her in the hospital. Professor Evelyn Ashwood is a great contrast to Vivian. Ashwood is also a professor, specializing in John Donne and poetry, but she has balanced her personal and professional life. She mentions being in town to visit her grandson, and that the other professors working in Vivian’s building directed her here. It is worthwhile to note that despite knowing exactly where she was, none of Vivian’s colleagues came to visit. Evelyn Ashwood comforts Vivian, who by this point is delirious with pain. She offers to recite a poem by Donne, and Vivian’s response is to moan, “Noooooo” (Edson 79). This is quite a dramatic change from earlier in the play, when Vivian recited Donne while waiting for a pelvic exam. Evelyn then suggests a children’s book, The Runaway Bunny, which she had just bought for her grandson. This seems to soothe Vivian, because as she stated earlier, now is the time for simplicity and kindness.
The change in Vivian’s attitudes is clear, and the reasons for her changes in thinking are also clear. It is the matter of life and death. Vivian realizes over the course of the play that while her tough, analytical persona was helpful during the battle with cancer, it is completely useless when facing certain death. She realizes that analyzing the theoretical ideas of life and death through the poems of John Donne is completely different that enduring the actual, physical nature of dying. Although her life choices as a scholar and professional certainly influence her attitudes regarding her diagnosis and treatment, Vivian ultimately embraces her humanity as a part of accepting her own mortality.
Works Cited
Edson, Margaret. Wit: A Play. New York: Faber and Faber, 1999. Print
