The Bridges Of Madison County Sparknotes

Many people wish that their life will have purpose and meaning. In The Bridges of Madison County, the Italian farmer’s wife Francesca faces the daunting fact that she may have spent her life doing something she hates- living as a farm wife instead of traveling the world. When her husband and kids go to the state fair, Francesca is left home alone. A national geographic photographer, Robert, asks her for directions and the two end up falling in love. Francesca is faced with the moral dilemma of leaving her family to enjoy a more exciting life, or to stay with her family and support them. This inner conflict haunts her, until she makes the ultimate decision to stay with her family despite her love for Robert. In the play The Bridges of Madison County, dramatic lighting and the prop of the telephone develop Francesca’s inner conflict of deciding whether to

stay with her family or to go with her true love.
Throughout the play, one prop reoccurs to cause drama and follow Francesca in her affair with Robert and her internal conflict- the telephone.

The telephone is first introduced as a way for Francesca to keep in contact with her husband Bud while he is at the state fair. Periodically, Bud will call the house to check on Francesca. However, as her affair with Robert progresses, she begins to lie to Bud more often and to have shorter conversations with him. This displays Francesca’s inner conflict as while her phone conversations are short, she still answers to talk to Bud, revealing that she still cares for her family but is beginning to love Richard more. The prop of the telephone is present in almost every scene, a constant reminder to the audience that Francesca has a family of her own as they are won over by her charming affair with Robert. Francesca’s increasingly fragmented telephone conversations and the constant presence of the phone develop her inner conflict and remind the audience that she does have a family that she is loyal to, further immersing the audience in the tough decision Francesca needs to

make.
Dark lighting and spotlights help to develop Francesca’s inner conflict. The dramatic lighting cumulates into one crucial scene, the moment where Francesca must decide between her family and Robert. When the family goes into town to get ice cream, a spotlight highlights Richard as he sees them and looks at Francesca. She then runs and jumps into his arms as dramatic purple lighting creates a bittersweet tone. However, this all turns out to be a trick to the audience as the moment was only in Francesca’s imagination, revealing her true want- to be with Richard. However, as bright lighting fills the scene and the audience is brought back to reality, Francesca actually ignores Richard and makes the tough decision to stay with her family. The use of lighting in this scene immerses the audience, and forces them to ask themselves what they would do if they were in Francesca’s place. Overall, purple lighting and spotlights illuminate Francesca’s internal conflict.
In The Bridges of Madison County, Francesca faces the impossible decision of choosing between her beloved family and living a more exciting life with the National Geographic Photographer she had an affair with. The prop of the telephone serves as a constant reminder of the presence of Francesca’s family and her conversations on it chronicle the development of her inner conflict. Dramatic lighting highlights the deciding scene where Francesca must choose between Richard and her family, and keys the audience in on her true desires. In the end, Francesca chooses to stay with her family, as she admits that she will be too guilty if she leaves them and isn’t there to be their mother. Even though she doesn’t end up living the adventurous life she dreamed of as a young girl, Francesca still lives a purposeful life as a caring mother to her two children, proving that the simple things in life give it purpose. In the play The Bridges of Madison County, the prop of the telephone ande dramatic lighting develop Francesca’s inner conflict of deciding whether to stay with her family or go with her true love.