Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 2001. [Vol. 7.] Eger Journal of American Studies.(Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 27)

Studies - András Tarnóc: Entropy and Ecstasy: The Dynamics of Human Relationship in Bernard Slade's Same Time Next Year

connected with her homeinaking function, and the rhetorical question reveals stifled desires for romance. At the beginning of the play Doris also admits that she never finished high school, a situation clearly in contrast with her later development as a successful businesswoman. Doris also confesses her desire to contact George during the year in between their clandestine meetings, thus in fact she would break the rules of the game: George, during the past year I picked up the phone and started to call you five times. I couldn't seem to stop thinking about you. You kept slopping over into my real life and it scared the hell out of me. More to the point I felt guilty. So I decided to stop seeing you. (266) In addition to an admission of feeling guilty Doris informs on the crisis the relationship exerted on her marriage. This confession is motivated by a desire to force an obligation onto George. Doris makes a similar confession at the end of the play when she reveals her secret wish of being proposed by George. This is her final confession and by thanking George for the duration of the affair and its ability to help her cope with various crises she reasserts a retrospective commitment between the two lovers. Also, her view of marriage: "We share the same memories. It's

—comfortable. Maybe, that's what marriage is all abut in the end

—. I don't know" (310) makes the play come full circle. While at the outset of the romance George emphasized sexuality and compared marriage to a book, here she highlights the mutual experiences, viewing marriage as a community of memories, a virtual space. Doris' greatest concern is to obtain proof about being truly loved, either by George or Harry. One can, however, never overlook another question, namely how can the duration of the illicit affair be justified? One could eagerly conclude that something is lacking from the characters' marriage. While George's manhood is affirmed by Helen, he needs further reinforcement by Doris, and in return Doris seeks self-fulfillment. Thus, two people suffering a series of personal crises search for certain types of positive reinforcements. The uniqueness of the situation is that they seek the equivalent of their spouses in the other person, and to a certain extent find it. 71