Tradition and the Family

The opening setting of WASP is described by Martin as "A kitchen in a fifties' house." On the one hand, the words "fifties' house" suggest a play designed to be a period piece, depicting a U.S. household of the 1950s. In this case, the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant family of the play is no longer necessarily representative of a contemporary W.A.S.P. family. Yet, in declining to state specifically that his play is a period piece, Martin allows his ambiguous words to be taken symbolically. The "fifties house" of the play would then refer to the contemporary "house" of U.S. culture, as yet thoroughly permeated by traditional, but outmoded, W.A.S.P. values. In either case, of concern to Martin is W.A.S.P. cultural tradition, the way in which traditions are maintained, and the way in which they must...