Marriage and Career Aspirations

The major conflict of the play stems from Ben Stark's desire to leave his general dental practice and to specialize as an orthodontist. Stark's wife, Belle, persuades him to forego his dream and to be content with his mediocre but dependable general practice. While Stark agrees to Belle's demands at the very beginning of the play, the ramifications of this decision are felt throughout it. Although Stark capitulates to Belle's wishes, he feels confined and stifled by his present position. As a way to escape this feeling, Stark carries out a brief affair with his secretary, Cleo. Stark's attempt to deal with his professional disappointments through an extramarital affair highlights one of the central themes of the play—the effects of marriage on a man's career aspirations. In a conversation about the effects of marriage, Stark's father-in-law, Prince, tells him that Belle's mother had "a...