The Significance of Washing

            After living a life dedicated to becoming successful, George H. Jones has the desire to “wash up” in order to signify a turning point in his life in which he will begin to live for pleasure. At this moment, George invites his wife Helen to join him, but she refuses because she knows she will inevitably continue to live a dissatisfying life until she fulfills her personal quest for freedom.

            Arriving to the hotel bedroom as newlyweds, George explains to Helen that he is ready to start living for pleasure and invites her to join him. George dominates the conversation with his enthusiasm, which starkly contrasts Helen’s reluctance to join:

            HUSBAND: I’m going to enjoy life from now on—I haven’t had such an easy time of it. I got where I am by hard work and self denial—now I’m going to enjoy life—I’m going to make up for all I missed—aren’t you about ready?
YOUNG WOMAN: Not yet (376).

In the context, when George asks if Helen is ready, he is referring to her being dressed. However, this can also be read that he is asking her if she is ready to live for pleasure alongside him. Helen’s straightforward answer reflects her certainty that she is not ready to live for pleasure yet because she has not fulfilled her own requirement, which is being “free.”

            Helen truly defines being “free” when she first meets her lover, Richard Roe, and he tells the story of killing two men in Mexico; when she asks him why he did it, he replies with, “...I had to get free, didn’t I? Sure I had to get free, didn’t I?” (384). She follows up with again, asking him why again and he responds both audibly and physically staying, “You know why” while he puts his hand on hers (384). The touch of Richard’s hand causes Helen to positively react; she even states, “When you put your hand over mine! When you just touch me!” (384). This suggests that Helen feels what she presumes love feels like, as she previously describes it to her mother in Episode Two. After experiencing this feeling, Helen realizes that Richard’s freedom from the men in Mexico was necessary for finding what she believes to be true love. At this moment, Helen establishes real love as her definition of freedom and prerequisite for living a life of pleasure.

            George’s qualification for being ready to live for pleasure is that he put in the hard work necessary to be a successful businessman. George’s decision to “wash up” signifies the point in his life where he begins to live for pleasure; the act of washing himself symbolizes his new outlook on life as he will now be clean from his previous lifestyle. George is clearly satisfied with his decision, and the stage directions reflect this as they describe his actions while he announces his decision:

            HUSBAND: ...(Goes toward bathroom) I’m going to wash up. (Stops at door) Don’t you want to wash up? (Young Woman shakes head “No”) I do! It was a long trip! I want to wash up! (Goes off—closes door. Sings in bathroom. Young Woman goes to window—raises shade—sees the dancers going round and round in couples...) (375).

George’s series of exclamations reflect his enthusiasm in his decision to cleanse himself of his former lifestyle. Similarly, the description of George’s singing while he washes up highlights his excitement. Helen’s actions at this moment greatly contrast from George’s. While George is washing up and symbolically investing in his new life of pleasure, Helen is looking out the window suggesting that she is not content within the confines of the bedroom; she is looking at something outside of the room, highlighting her desire for something other than George’s love.

            It is not until Helen kills her husband that she is free and ready to begin a life of pleasure. During the trial, in Episode Eight, the Lawyer for Prosecution reveals Helen’s secret: that she washed her husband’s blood out of her nightgown before calling the police (396). This suggests that after killing her husband, Helen fulfills her prerequisite of being free and is ready to “wash” herself and begin living a fulfilling life of pleasure. Until this moment, Helen was unable to completely be free, preventing herself from fully enjoying her life, despite her attempts. Helen’s moment of freedom is confirmed when she is awaiting her execution and speaks to the Priest about the man in the airplane. Helen notes, “He has wings—but he isn’t free! I’ve been free Father! For one moment—down here on earth—I have been free! When I did what I did I was free! Free and not afraid!” (401). Helen’s excitement at this moment, which is captured by the excessive exclamations, reflects George’s enthusiasm when he became free of his duties to work and began to live for pleasure. At this moment, she has fulfilled her prerequisite for freedom and is able to experience a moment of living for pleasure.

            Helen is initially unable to accept her husband’s request for living a life of pleasure with him because she knows she will continue to live a dissatisfying life until she finds a sense of freedom. Without her, George Jones commits to a life of pleasure and symbolically washes away his past lifestyle. It is not until Helen kills her husband that she is able to participate in a similar washing away of the past, and at this moment, she is able to experience a moment of freedom and consequently living for pleasure.