A man before his time
Somerset Maugham penned feminist literature in an era dominated by men
Jared Story

I’ll name a topic, you name the decade it’s associated with:

Feminism.

Did you say the 1920s?

No, you probably didn’t.

Written in 1926 by W. Somerset Maugham, well ahead of the second wave of feminist thought and action in the ’60s, The Constant Wife concerns Constance Middleton, whose husband is cheating on her with her best friend. She’s well aware of her hubby’s infidelity and figures he can do whatever he wants as long as he’s providing for her — so she sets out on the road to becoming a self-made woman.

Dealing with female empowerment in the ’20s, Maugham was obviously a progressive thinker.

“I read (the play) about two years ago and was really surprised by how fresh it feels being written in 1926, not only the language and the relationships but the points of view,” says Bob Baker, the play’s director and artistic director of the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton. “The feminist point of view, the moral stance on fidelity and marriage and monogamy, it must have been quite controversial in its day, and it’s still a little bit shocking to audiences today to see the attitudes that come out of some of the people in the play.”

Maugham’s enlightened attitude toward women might be explained by the fact that he himself was a member of a minority group due to his sexual tastes.

“I think, like Tennessee Williams, Somerset Maugham was a closet homosexual, so for some reason he could get behind the female point of view more effectively,” Baker says.

Maugham’s fresh ideas are certainly backed up by his timeless writing style, and Baker says he didn’t have to change a word of the 1926 text.

“Some people on opening night said, ‘Oh you wrote that’ or ‘You added that.’ No way. We didn’t touch a word. His use of language not only feels modern, it’s also brilliantly constructed.

“Just sitting back and listening to these really professional actors handle sentences with seven conjunctive clauses within them, it’s quite thrilling to hear language spoken that well.”

The Constant Wife may deal with some heavy issues, but it’s still a comedy. Baker says that in its Edmonton run the play got big laughs, which is funny, because he actually forgot it was funny.

“We had no idea it would be as funny as it is,” Baker says. “We thought it was going to be interesting and that people would respond to the content. When you rehearse a comedy you forget really quickly that it’s funny.”

You and your special someone will no doubt share lots of laughs at The Constant Wife, but flaky husbands, wives, boyfriends and girlfriends should beware — the play just might get your significant other thinking.

“We invited some media to a showing, and an executive from CBC said, ‘OK, now I’ve got to do some work on my own relationship,’” Baker says. “I think people are getting a little emboldened by the play.”