Blithe Spirit

Despite their fight the night before, Charles attempts to return to the social conventions and pleasantries of married life, but soon the facade cracks, and Ruth’s anger and hurt become apparent. While Charles interprets her responses as “very glacial” and lacking “understanding” (32), her belief that he was drunk is more likely and logical than actual supernatural events. To Ruth, it seems that Charles “refused to come to bed” and instead collapsed “in an alcoholic coma on the sofa” (33). If Elvira was not visible to the audience, the truth of Charles’s claims may not be as apparent.

While the audience is aware Charles is telling the truth, Ruth’s disbelief is sympathetic and rational. Despite this sympathy and rationality, Ruth also does appear to be jealous that it is “all mixed up with Elvira” (34). This interpretation is further supported when Ruth responds sharply to Charles’s admission that Elvira was on his mind” (34). Yet Charles’s dependence on sexist beliefs about women further complicates the argument. Even though the play is a farce, Coward creates unlikeable characters to keep the play’s dark subject matter light, as the audience is less concerned with what happens to them. Neither Ruth nor Charles are completely right in their argument.

Charles’s claim that Ruth attempts to “dominate” him are not clearly supported by what appears in the play (35). The social conventions surrounding upper class marriage and domesticity seem to be what he struggles with. For example, Ruth runs the household and the staff as expected of her and chastises Charles for interfering. When her husband starts acting worryingly, she tries to calm him. Charles frames her concern as attempts to “boss,” “bully,” and “order” him around (35). He refuses to acknowledge how she could feel upset and calls it a “stolid, obtuse lack of comprehension” (36). Despite his earlier skepticism about the supernatural, he insults Ruth for not taking him at his word. In addition to his casual sexism, his reaction reflects the misogyny of the age.

Edith’s entrance into the living room not only reminds the audience of this character but also reflects the Condomines’ need to revert to socially expected behaviors. Ruth does so successfully, calling Charles “dear” and planning a lunch together (36). She deals with Edith politely and manages the day’s household tasks. Charles, on the other hand, snaps and sulks. Only when the couple are left alone again does Ruth allow the fight to resume.

Ruth’s concession that Charles believed he could have seen Elvira allows them to practically consider causes. Like Madame Arcati with her diet, Ruth suggests a connection between his day’s meals and the hallucination. Ruth continues to focus on medical causes, further connecting the spiritual and the physical. Once the physical possibilities are exhausted by the Condomines, Elvira re-enters the stage. Her entrance emphasizes the possibility for supernatural causes.

Elvira’s concern over the garden embodies the women’s conflict over controlling the household. Elvira declares that the garden’s border is “absolutely ruined [...] by the sundial” such that it “looks like a mixed salad” (39). Ruth, as his new wife, has adjusted the garden. The change reflects the shift in who is influencing Charles. Elvira’s dislike reflects her desire to regain Charles’s affection.

The miscommunication resulting from the entrance of Elvira brings levity to the play after the tension of the preceding actions. Yet after some initial humor, Ruth becomes increasingly distressed by Charles’s perceived insults. The seriousness of this fight is reflected in Charles's shift in attention. He tries to enlist Elvira’s help to appease and reassure Ruth, even though Elvira is reluctant and protests. Ruth takes this dialogue as confirmation of his madness and reacts to him as if he needs medical intervention. Her reaction to the invisible movements of Elvira is disbelief, not acceptance. Mutual madness or cruel trickery are more likely than spiritual interventions.

Madame Arcati re-enters the play not as a joke or fraud but rather as an expert. Despite her idiosyncrasies, like with her dress and tea, Madame Arcati possesses the knowledge needed to solve the Condomines’ problem.

Elvira’s death reflects her nature. At this point, the audience is not aware of how Elvira caught pneumonia, but her amusement at the absurdity of a B.B.C. musical reflects the joy she takes in the strangeness of her situation. For the audience, this death also seems amusing, only for it to later become dark humor.

Madame Arcati’s delight in the revelation that a spirit appeared reveals the sincerity of her belief. She rejoices that it is a “triumph” and proof “[a]t last” of a “genuine materialization” (45). Her last success, she says, is “the Sudbury case” (45). Later, when she makes the connection between this past case and the current case, the audience realizes that both cases had another person who had actually been responsible for the materialization. This reveal suggests that Madame Arcati does not have psychic powers and has merely stumbled upon two others who did have powers, so while her powers are not necessarily real, psychic abilities are real.

The afterlife is particularly bureaucratic according to Madame Arcati. Spirits who want to return must join “the waiting list” (46). There is a deadline to stay in “the materialization stage” (40). This ordered afterlife contrasts with the romanticized, religious understanding of the afterlife. Madame Arcati confirms this shift when she dismisses a method of exorcism from the “old days of genuine religious belief” due to a “decline in faith” (47). A reimagined afterlife removes the romanticism of Elvira returning to her husband.

Underneath her anger, Ruth reveals that the experience is “too humiliating” for her (48). Her embarrassment seems to stem from her husband’s first wife living with them. Ultimately, Ruth seems more concerned with the public appearance of her marriage than with whether her husband loves her.

Madame Arcati’s indignation at Ruth’s revelation of their ulterior motives in arranging the first visit further suggests that Madame Arcati takes pride in her career and believes in her abilities. As an outside character, her description of Ruth’s character carries extra weight. Her assessment that Ruth’s attitude “has been most unpleasant” and her “remarks have been discourteous in the extreme” contradict the image that Ruth seeks to create (48). While carefully working to maintain the image of a conventional household, it seems Ruth was unable to appear as the gracious hostess.

When Charles finds out that Ruth plans to exorcize Elvira, Charles tells her that she “had no right to do such a thing without consulting” him (49). This expectation reflects the culture of the day. A wife was expected to defer to her husband on all topics. Ruth’s initiative in this situation is bold and unconventional and suggests that Ruth may be the overbearing wife that Charles describes. Elvira compounds this conflict by pointing out the ways she meets the standards, like how she “was never bad tempered” (50). Elvira is trying to be just as perfect a wife as Ruth wants to be seen as.

Ruth’s attempt to honestly communicate with Elvira is undermined by Charles’s dishonest and nonliteral translation of Elvira’s speech. When Elvira insults Ruth’s scheme, Charles instead reports she said “[n]othing” and “just nodded and smiled” (50). He removes the sexuality from Elvira’s description of how his love “tugged and tugged and tugged at“ her and simply reports that Elvira “came because she wanted to see me again” (50). Consciously or subconsciously, this set up also frames each conversation as Elvira and Charles against Ruth. This compounds the fact that Elvira has the “advantage of being able to say whatever she pleases without [Ruth] being able to hear her” (51). She accuses Elvira of attempting to “make mischief between [Charles and Ruth] and have private jokes with [Charles] against me” (52). Charles’s “modified interpreting” and Ruth’s lack of direct communication shows the difficulty in accurate communication between partners (51).

Charles’s discussion with Elvira contrasts sharply with the first time they speak alone together. In their first interaction, Charles definitively sides with Elvira when he stays downstairs with her. This time, Charles chastises Elvira for talking about Ruth as if “she were a horse” (54). He calls her “incorrigibly selfish” (55). He then goes upstairs because it is his “duty” (53). While not a declaration of love, it does reveal how Charles can adhere to the expectations for a husband.

The Bradmans’ visit at the beginning of Scene 3 emphasizes the domestic setting of this unconventional ghost story. Mrs. Bradman wants to continue her mundane gossip. Dr. Bradman is carrying out his job by making a house visit. The supernatural again has effects on the physical world, as Elvira is able to hurt both Edith and Charles. The injury of Edith also serves to remind the audience of her character. Dr. Bradman is then able to observe the effects: a concussion and a sprained arm. But while he does not note madness, he does notice that Charles is in a “nervous condition” that could benefit from a “change of atmosphere” (55). As a character that exists within the ordinary world, Dr. Bradman identifies normal problems with mundane cures.

Elvira’s desire to see a movie continues the play’s interest in performance and acting. Elvira herself is playing demure in her scheme to kill Charles just like an actress performs in a movie. The exaggerated stakes of the play and the ludicrous unfolding of events have more in common with a movie than real life. The “dreary” weather and “slippery” roads contribute to the heightened tension and absurdity of the events (56, 57). Driving on this night to see a movie that plays multiple times a week is particularly odd. Ruth suspects Elvira is playing and scheming, likely to steal her husband for a romantic night out, but does not guess the ultimate goal of her performance.

Ruth’s attempt to speak to Elvira by herself on stage reflects their shifting relationship. While not ultimately successful, it foreshadows how they will interact with each other when Ruth is a ghost. Ruth’s dialogue also suggests the types of comments she will be saying when the audience is unable to hear her later. She calls Elvira “infuriating” and tells her to “stop behaving like a schoolgirl,” as she is “old enough to know better” (57). Elvira’s insults typically have to do with sexuality and attraction while Ruth focuses on propriety and decorum.

Charles condescends to Ruth, hypocritically criticizing her interaction with the invisible Elvira as “making scenes” (57). When compared to Charles’s first interactions with Elvira, Ruth is much more level headed. Charles’s sexist accusation of being overly emotional reflects the gender roles of the time period. He also appeals to the stereotypical mothering and nurturing nature expected of women when defending Elvira. She is a “poor little thing” facing “[n]othing but brawling and hostility” (57). Ruth responds not according to these expectations but rather out of frustration. Ruth’s nonconformity contributes to Charles’s frustration with Ruth’s domination. Such nontraditional behavior is one element that contributes to Charles describing her behavior as “melodramatic hysteria” (58). This now-disproven diagnosis was often a catch-all for undesirable female behavior.

While Elvira’s plan is “absurd” (58), it is perfectly logical within the heightened world of a farce. This murder plot would allow Elvira to “get [Charles] to herself for ever” (59). The greasing of the stairs and the sawing of the ladder are examples of the broad physical comedy expected. Elvira is now the dangerous temptress and Ruth the besieged wife. Charles’s inability to see her as “capable of low coming” is amusing to an audience who has listened to Elvira’s declarations to get him back at all cost (59). The secret plan to counter Elvira’s scheme again ups the stakes, making the climactic crash the peak of the play’s dark humor.

Elvira again tries to assert her control of the household as Charles’s wife. She insults the “hideous table centre,” “curtains,” and “awful shawl on the piano” (60). She has moved from the exterior of the house to the interior. The claiming of a domestic space reflects the escalation of her scheme to claim Charles for herself.

Elvira’s attempts to stop Ruth from taking the car reflects the limits of her misbehavior. While she does plan to kill Charles, she claims to do it out of love, though it might be possessiveness. She does not indiscriminately hurt others, which suggests that Edith’s fall was also unintentional. Elvira does continue to perform through the end of the scene, likely because she wants to save her reputation in front of Charles.

Ruth’s invisible appearance as a ghost leads to an example of darkly humorous farce. The actress playing Elvira would be onstage, flailing and screaming as if being attacked. The compounding problem of ghostly wives contributes to an exaggerated moment of dramatic action.