Analysis of Scene in the Middle of the Night

In our scene from Middle of the Night, There are two characters; Betty and Marilyn. My character Betty is in her room getting ready for a date when Marilyn walks in. Marilyn is a very close friend of Betty’s and has been for six years. Betty and Marilyn seem like the kind of friends who are close because they are in similar circumstances. They are both married woman in their mid twenties who go shopping for their family’s together and talk about marital gossip. Their friendship is almost effortless because it is so natural and apart of their daily routine. Betty and Marilyn probably see each other every day however, because Betty is now considering a divorce and dating a new man, her daily routine has been thrown out of balance. In our scene, It feel’s like Marilyn has not seen Betty in two or three days. She also already knows about Betty’s situation and has talked to her about it before. This is why in our scene when Marilyn comes to see Betty, the first too things she says to her are, “well, how do you feel”, and “What’s new”. Betty knew that Marilyn was not going to approve of her decision and that there was a very slim chance of convincing her. Betty has been avoiding this conversation.

This inevitable conversation that is our scene take’s place in Betty’s Bedroom in her mother’s apartment. Betty has moved back home because of her marital strife. Betty’s family seems to be of an upper middle socioeconomic status however; this is still a bedroom in a city apartment so the space is probably limited. Betty and Marilyn are completely alone in a closed off environment. Betty even asks Marilyn to close the door when she comes in so we know that they have complete privacy. Although this is Betty’s bedroom and it is obvious that Mar...

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... make since why she would tell Betty’s mother one thing and then Betty another until the Crisis of our scene when Marilyn reveals that she is not happy with her own marriage. Marilyn empathizes with Betty because she knows what it feels like to be stuck in a loveless marriage. At the same time, she can’t just let her best friend get a divorce because then how could she justify herself staying in a loveless marriage. Marilyn tries to convince Betty to not get a divorce because that’s the path that she chose. Betty sees that Marilyn is unhappy and yet is still trying to convince her to stay with an unhappy marriage. It’s apparent to both of them that they are unhappy in their marriages; the question is what to do about it. Because everyone including her best friend is telling Betty that divorce is not the answer, Betty fears that her choice might not be the right one.