71 pages • 2 hours read
Joseph KesselringArsenic and Old Lace
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1941A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Essay Topics
How are the themes in Arsenic and Old Lace supported by the play’s single setting in the Brewster family home?
Abby and Martha are nearly identical in their characterization. Why do you think Kesselring chose to write two aunts instead of one? Could this impact how audiences receive the play?
Compare and contrast Jonathan and his aunts. How do their relationships to violence differ? How does this affect their respective roles in the play?
Despite repeated mentions of the bodies buried in the cellar and stored throughout the Brewster home, the stage directions never suggest that the audience should explicitly see them. What are the implications of this choice?
How does Arsenic and Old Lace perpetuate harmful stereotypes about psychiatric conditions? What does this suggest about the relevance of the comedy in modern times?
Explore the use of contradictions in Arsenic and Old Lace. Which are played for laughs, and which reveal deeper character revelations?
Why is Mortimer is so intent on protecting his aunts despite his fear of the Brewster legacy?
At the beginning of Arsenic and Old Lace, Abby and Reverend Harper discuss World War II. How does this time period contextualize the details and plot points mentioned in the play?
What does Elaine represent to Mortimer? Is Mortimer justified in hiding the truth from her? Support your answer with evidence from the text.
Analyze Kesselring’s choice to end the play as it began: with an attempted murder by Martha and Abby. Does this change how the audience sees Abby and Martha? Why or why not?
