Crimes of the Heart | Historical Context

Crimes of the Heart Historical Context

Crimes of the Heart, according to Henley's stage directions, takes place "[i]n the fall, five years after Hurricane Camille." This would set the play in 1974, m the midst of significant upheavals in American society. Henley's characters, however, seem largely unmoved by the events of the outside world, caught up as they are in the pain and disappointment of their personal lives.

Vietnam

The war continued in 1974, setting off a civil war in Cambodia as well. U.S. combat troops had been removed from Vietnam in 1973, although American support of anti-Communist forces in the South of the country continued. Perhaps more important to the American social fabric, the many rifts caused by our involvement in the war in Vietnam were slow to heal. Students and others who had protested against the war remained largely disillusioned about the foreign interests of the U.S. government, and society as a whole remained...
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