The Sisters Rosensweig (Style)

Style

Point of View

The events of the play are told from the third person, independent of any one character's perspective. At no time does a character address the audience or offer any special insight into his or her motivations or actions. Instead, the audience is able to draw conclusions about the characters by observing them in dialogue with various other characters. The dynamic nature of such interactions gives breadth and depth to these individuals and helps the audience to better understand their motivations. In Sara's case, she chooses to share with Merv that her husband "is on his fifth wife," adding, "My first I've lost track of and personally I doubt there will be a third," giving him a glimpse of the bitterness she feels for men, and for love. As Merv presses her to open up, Sara responds, "You know what really irritates me in life, Merv? When men like you tell women to take it easy because somewhere they believe that all women are innately hysterics." The audience can infer, without Sara actually stating such, that her issues with men run deep, thus explaining her desire to push Merv away.

Structure

The play closely follows the traditional unities, the principles of dramatic structure based on rules regarding action, time, and place. The play does stick to a single plot, that of the reunion of the Rosensweig women and the transformative power of their reunion to change the course of their own lives. The play has a succinct beginning, middle, and end, documenting the journey they take together to come to some significant realizations as women. The main action is limited to the day of Sara's birthday celebration; the setting, to Sara's flat in Queen Anne's Gate.

Stereotypes

All of the characters created by the author are representations of understood "types" of individuals. In the play, for example, all of the sisters in the Rosensweig family are succinct stereotypes. Pfeni is described as a shopping-bag-toting, eccentric forty-year-old world traveler and journalist. Gorgeous, on the other hand, is the somewhat bubble-headed, upper-middle-class, self-appointed new age guru and modern housewife, the sister who "did everything right," whereas Sara is the intelligent, thick-skinned, "hot-shot Jewish lady banker" who has made the cover of Forbes magazine twice. The use of stereotypes is effective for several reasons. First, the variety of characters illuminates the struggles of women from various perspectives. This is an effective approach — the women represent not one voice, but many. Second, by using such stereotypes, Wasserstein is able to break through the social veneer separating one from the next, by adding surprising personal dimension to any one character, as expressed in dialogue. For example, Sara may seem to be the hardened business professional, but in a conversation with Merv, she shares that her seemingly impenetrable heart is a defense mechanism developed out of fear, in reaction to the loss and disappointment she feels after two failed marriages.

Zeitgeist

The play represents "the spirit of the time," the moral and intellectual trends of the late 1980s. Characters engage in deeply thoughtful, intellectual discussions about contemporary issues of the time — the fall of the Soviet Union, the Lithuanian resistance, the efficacy of the top educational institutions in the United States, and the like. For example, when prompted to share what Sara has heard about the United States, she tells Merv that it is a "society in transition." She expounds even further, stating that the evolving transactional U.S. economy is "exacerbated by a growing disenfranchised class, decaying inner cities, and a bankrupt education system." Her comments mirror the effects of Reaganomics on the social and economic life of many Americans.