NEB Grade 12 1st One Act Play A Matter of Husbands by Ferenc Molnar

1st One Act Play

A Matter of Husbands

             By Ferenc Molnar

"A Matter of Husbands" is a short play by Ferenc Molnár. It is about a young woman who thinks her husband loves a famous actress. She goes to the actress and asks her to stay away.The actress says maybe the husband is just pretending to love her to make his wife jealous. The young woman believes this and feels happy. But at the end, the actress laughs and secretly talks to the husband, showing that they really do have a relationship.

 About the Playwright

Ferenc Molnár (1878-1952) was a Hungarian writer who wrote plays and stories. He is famous for writing clever and funny plays, mostly about love, marriage (relationships), and human behavior.

Setting

The play takes place in a famous actress’s dressing room in a theater. It happens in modern times (around the early 1900s).

Main Characters

1. The Actress – A smart and famous woman who is very confident.
2. The Young Woman – A simple and emotional wife who is worried about her husband.
3. The Husband – He doesn’t appear on stage, but is the reason for the problem in the play.

Themes

• Jealousy – The wife is jealous of the actress.
• Deception – The actress uses clever lies to calm the wife.
• Love and Trust – The play shows how love can lead to doubt and how people can be tricked.
• Power of Acting – The actress uses her acting skills to control the situation.

 Summary

A Matter of Husbands is a one-act play that tells the story of a worried young woman who believes that a famous actress has stolen her husband’s love. She visits the actress to confront her. The young woman explains how her husband now talks about the actress, attends her shows, and seems distant. She is upset and accuses the actress of using her charm to attract her husband.

The actress listens calmly and tells the young woman that her husband might just be pretending to love the actress to make his wife jealous and win back her love. The young woman believes this and leaves feeling more secure. However, after she leaves, the actress laughs and secretly calls the husband, showing that they actually do have a romantic relationship. This twist reveals how the actress cleverly lied to protect herself, highlighting themes of jealousy, manipulation, and the power of acting.

Detail summary

The play opens with a young woman visiting the apartment of a famous actress. The young woman is upset and accuses the actress of stealing her husband’s love. She explains that her husband, who is a lawyer, has changed since he became interested in the actress. He now talks constantly about the actress and even goes to see her plays regularly. The young woman is hurt and worried because she thinks her husband is having an affair with the actress.

The actress listens to the young woman calmly and then responds in a clever way. She tells her that perhaps the husband is not really in love with her but only pretending to be. According to the actress, some men act this way to make their wives jealous and keep their attention. She advises the young woman not to worry and reassures her that her husband’s love is still with her. The young woman believes the actress and leaves the apartment feeling more confident and hopeful about her marriage.

But as soon as the young woman leaves, the actress’s behavior changes. She laughs and immediately calls the husband on the phone, speaking to him in a way that clearly shows they are indeed involved in a secret relationship. This reveals that the actress was lying to the young woman to protect her affair with the husband.

Through this twist ending, the play highlights the themes of jealousy, trust, and deception in relationships. It shows how people can be manipulated by charm and clever words and how the truth can be hidden behind appearances. The play also suggests that some people are willing to lie to protect their own interests, even at the cost of others’ feelings.

 a. What favor does Earnest Young Woman ask from The Famous Actress?

The Earnest Young Woman asks the Famous Actress to return her husband. She loves her husband very much but believes the Famous Actress has taken him away from her.

b. What, according to The Earnest Young Woman, are the indications that her husband has fallen in love with Famous Actress?

The Earnest Young Woman says her husband sends flowers to the Famous Actress. She learns this from a florist. Also, her husband once left a love letter on the table, which showed he could not call the actress but wanted to apologize and send many kisses.

c. Is Earnest Young Woman convinced by the argument of Famous Actress? How?
Yes, the Earnest Young Woman is convinced by the Famous Actress’s explanation. The actress says the husband only pretends to love her to make the wife jealous and bring back her love. She says many actresses accept such things to help families stay together.

d. Where is the Earnest Young Woman’s husband hiding himself as they are talking about him?

The husband hides inside the Famous Actress’s room during their conversation. At the end, the actress calls him to come out of her boudoir, showing he was there all the time.

e. When do you feel that Famous Actress is really good at acting?

The Famous Actress is good at acting when she tells the Earnest Young Woman that her husband is playing a game to make her jealous. She even asks for a lock of the young woman’s hair to support her story, showing her skill in tricking her.

f. How do we come to know that Famous Actress and the husband of Earnest Young Woman are in love?

We find out they are in love when the Famous Actress calls the husband, Alfred, to come out of her room after the young woman leaves. This shows that the actress and Alfred are secretly together.

g. Write down the plot of the play in a paragraph.

A Matter of Husbands is a one-act play by Ferenc Molnár. The Earnest Young Woman visits the Famous Actress, asking her to return her husband. The actress denies stealing him and says the husband is only pretending to love her to make his wife jealous. The young woman believes her and leaves. But after she leaves, the actress calls the husband out of her room, showing they are really together. The play shows how acting and deception can create illusions.

a. Sketch the character of Famous Actress.

The Famous Actress is young, well-known, and beautiful, and other women envy her. She looks innocent and harmless, but inside she is clever and dishonest. She tricks the Earnest Young Woman by making up a story to stop her from believing that her husband loves the actress. She lives an immoral life, shown at the end when it is clear that Alfred, the husband, is secretly with her.

b. Shed light on the difference between an ordinary woman and an actress.
In the play, the ordinary woman is simple and shy. She trusts easily and is upset thinking her husband is cheating. The actress is smart and tricky. She tells the ordinary woman a false story to hide the truth. The ordinary woman believes the actress without asking questions. At last, it is shown that the husband is really with the actress. This shows the actress is clever, but the ordinary woman is weak and trusting.

c. According to Famous Actress, men associated with theatre use the theatre actresses to make their estranged wives jealous so as to woo them back. Do you agree with her argument? Why? Why not?

Yes, I agree with her. Men who work in theatre often have wives who are simple and easily fooled. These men use actresses to make their wives jealous so they can get their love again. In the play, Alfred hides in the actress’s room to make his wife jealous. So, men use actresses for their own advantage to bring their wives back.

d. How does Famous Actress make a fool of Earnest Young Woman?
The Famous Actress fools the Earnest Young Woman by saying there is a misunderstanding. She tells her husband is just pretending to love the actress to make his wife jealous and get her love back. The young woman believes this and feels sorry for accusing her. This tricks the Earnest Young Woman and hides the truth.

e. The conversation between the two women takes place on the stage of the theatre. What role does the theatre house as a part of setting play in A Matter for Husband?
The scene is a rich, beautiful drawing room in the famous actress’s home. When the play starts, the Earnest Young Woman sits nervously and looks at the room many times. The curtains and decorations show the actress’s style and life. The actress enters through the curtained door to her private room. The setting shows the difference between acting on stage and real life, and how appearances can be false.

f. What do you think about the ending of the play?

The ending of this play ‘A Matter of Husbands’ is totally perfect. And it is quiet justify the ending of the play .The writer does the ending of this play is very pertness. He finishes all the nonplus of the character of the play. All the characters are satisfied to one another. The film actress and advocate are very satisfied in the end of the play. They clear the hurdle between them. They ensure to her that they have no affair it is only drama for you. In the end of the play the young woman is very happy about her husband. The film actress and the husband of young woman live together without any obstacle. The ending of the play is too good but full of irony. The film actress narrates to young woman that her husband really loves her but in reality he has no love for his wife. He only cheats his wife.

So, end of the play ‘A Matter of Husbands’, we can assume that “All is well the end is well.” Innocent people always suffer by shrewd people because they are often sincere by hearts but the cunning people always take advantage by their innocence.

Reference beyond the text

a. Write a paragraph describing your favourite actor/actress.

My Favorite Actress

My favorite Bollywood actress is Deepika Padukone. She is very talented and beautiful. She became famous with her first movie, Om Shanti Om. Since then, she has shown she can act in many different roles. For example, she was funny and lively in Chennai Express and strong and brave in Padmaavat. She also acted as Laxmi Agarwal, a real acid attack survivor, in Chhapaak. Deepika acted very well in this difficult role.

Besides acting, Deepika cares a lot about mental health. She has talked openly about her own problems with depression. She started the Live Love Laugh Foundation to help people with mental health issues in India. Because of her great acting and her work to help others, Deepika is not only a famous actress but also a good role model.