By Patrick Hamilton
HIGH ARCH – ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spoiler Alert
Gaslight (noun) – a light that is fuelled by gas.
Gaslight (verb) – to trick or control somebody by making them think their beliefs are wrong.
Whilst I have done my best to avoid giving too much away, it is well-nigh impossible to discuss Gaslight without alerting the more attentive readers to both the identity of the villain and the wickedness of their conduct.
This review, however, will give no hint about what motivates the reprehensible conduct.
The Dramatic Premise
Bella Manningham (Geraldine Hakewill) is in a state of high agitation. She’s fidgety. Her voice is strained. She speaks in a staccato rhythm.
The painting is missing from the wall again. A portrait of the former owner of the house in which she lives with her husband, Jack (Toby Schmitz).
Jack is sympathetic. But he’s struggling to maintain his patience. This is not the first time Bella has “misplaced” an item. He asks her whether she has any memory of either removing the painting or where she hid it. Bella shakes her head nervously.
On a whim, she checks in the cupboard under the stairs. Sure enough, that’s where she finds the missing portrait.
Jack declares that this development demonstrates, beyond all doubt, that Bella knew all along where she had hidden the painting. But Bella remains perplexed and tormented. The painting had been found there before, she explains, so it was a sensible place to look.
But Jack remains convinced. He subtly questions his wife’s sanity.
For Bella, it’s a reasonable line of questioning. Other items have gone missing. Yet she had no memory of handling them. The only reasonable conclusion open to her is that she is losing her mind. Just like her mother had lost hers.
Now, it’s nighttime. Jack is out. He said he was going to the Club to conduct some business. But Bella is frightened. She thinks she can hear strange sounds emanating from the attic. The gaslights in the living room seemed to dim when the sounds begin and become brighter again when the mysterious sounds end.
How can that be?
Is Bella descending into madness? Or is she being gaslighted? And, if so, for what purpose?
An Old Term with Modern Meaning
We live in a world where fundamental beliefs are attacked by ridiculing the very facts upon which those beliefs are based.
By gaslighting your adversary.
Admittedly, I think I first heard that expression in the last five to ten years. If you disagree with me, feel free to gaslight my belief.
What I’ve discovered, however, is that this play spawned the expression.
Written in 1938 – with a story set in the 1880’s – Patrick Hamilton’s play gave us a term which could not be more relevant to today’s world.
Who knew?
What My Eyebrows Told Me
Right from the opening scene, my eyebrows crested into a high arch.
Tension was high. One of the most despicable characters to ever disgrace a stage was already at his diabolical and manipulative worst.
With each long period of wordless action, the tension grew. With each new inexplicable occurrence, Bella’s grip on reality loosened.
Until she began to glimpse the truth. The motive behind the manipulation.
And my eyebrows remained in their high arch throughout.
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