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Crimes of the Heart is a three-act play by Beth Henley. It opens five years after Hurricane Camille, in a Mississippi town called Hazlehurst. The entirety of the play takes place in the kitchen of the house belonging to the Magrath sisters: Lenny, Babe, and Meg. The play begins on Lenny’s thirtieth birthday.
- Background of The Play
- Crimes of The Heart Summary
- Themes in Crimes of The Heart
- Crimes of The Heart Characters
- Crimes of The Heart Analysis
Beth Henley was born in Jackson, Mississippi, on May 8, 1952. She completed Crimes of the Heart in 1978. It is the story of three sisters who face tragedy after tragedy. They live in a small town in Mississippi.
Act One
Act 1 starts with Lenny MaGrath putting a birthday candle into a cookie. Chick, her cousin, arrives with depressing news in the paper that Babe, Lenny’s younger sister, has shot her husband. Chick is worried that how will she keep a high head in the town. Chick and Lenny decide to pick up Babe. Chick expresses displeasure with some aspects of MaGrath’s family. She then gives Lenny her birthday present, a box full of candies. After this, Doc Porter arrives. He is an old boyfriend of Meg, Lenny...
Act Two
On the same day in the evening, Barnette interviews Babe. Babe tells him that after she shot her husband, she was frightened and her mouth was dry. She recalls that time and says that she then went to the kitchen to make lemonade. Meanwhile, Zackery calls and says that he has evidence against Babe to destroy her. Babe asks Barnette why he has a personal feud against Zackery. He reveals that Zackery has ruined his father’s life. After this, he leaves to meet Zackery at the hospital. Next, Lenn...
Act Three
The next morning, Babe lies down in Lenny’s sleeping chamber. Lenny enters, looking tired. After this, Chick’s voice is heard. It reveals that the grandfather is in a coma and does not look like he is alive anymore. Lenny and Chick make a list of those people who they must inform about the grandfather’s situation. Chick possesses a certain dislike regarding MaGrath’s sisters. When Meg comes home, Lenny and Babe tell her about the grandfather’s health. Meg and Babe try to convince Lenny to con...
Everyday Crimes and Guilt
Crimes of the Heartis about all those crimes that people commit every day. These crimes usually go unnoticed, but they develop a sense of guilt in people. These are the crimes of jealousy, dislike, betrayal, lying, insensitivity, unkindness, carelessness, forgetfulness, and thoughtlessness. The whole play revolves around the crime of Babe shooting her husband. However, everyone in the play is involved in crimes in one or another way. Chick criticizes her cousins continuously. She is worried a...
Sisterhood
The relationship between the three sisters holds significance. Sisterhood gives them the power to rule their life. They become one another’s strength. They deal with the dominance of the male who is typical of the South. Sisterhood overcomes their identity crises. In the first act, Henley depicts the troubled relationship among sisters. In the second act, the conflict increases. In the final act, the three sisters unite. They laugh and celebrate Lenny’s birthday.
Sufferings vs. Celebrations
This drama has an ending in laughter and celebration. The sisters celebrate Lenny’s birthday. They enjoy their new relationship among themselves. They come out from the influence of Old Granddaddy. Lenny reconnects with her boyfriend. Babe comes out of her unstable marriage. Also, Meg decides to stop lying about her singing career. Such acts give freedom of decision to the MaGrath sisters.
Lenora (Lenny) MaGrath
Lenny is around thirty-years-old. The play starts with her thirtieth birthday. She is the oldest MaGrath sister. She is a thoughtful and responsible, yet frustrated and lonely lady. She takes care of her old and sick grandfather, Old Granddaddy. She sleeps on a cot in a kitchen to be close to her grandfather. The relationship of Lenny is not stable with her sisters. She is jealous of Meg for receiving extra care from her grandfather. Meg is always around men but Lenny is lonely. It develops a...
Margaret (Meg) MaGrath
Meg is the middle sister. She is twenty-seven years old. At the age of eleven, Meg has discovered the dead body of her mother who committed suicide. This traumatic experience changes Meg’s personality. She wants to test her strength by looking at offensive and unhealthy incidences. Looking at the photographs of sick people and crippled children become her center of attention to block her feelings and suffering. She smokes, drinks, and flirts with danger. At the start of the play, Meg comes ba...
Rebecca (Babe) Botrelle
Babe is the youngest among the MaGrath sisters. She is twenty-four years old. She is married to a wealthy lawyer, naming Zackery. At the opening act of the play, the news of Babe shooting her husband comes. To explain this incident, she says that she doesn’t like her husband. As the play proceeds, it is revealed that she shoots her husband when he threatens her boyfriend, Willie. Her affair with a fifteen-year-old boy forces her to shoot her husband when he discovers their relationship. Zacke...
Crimes of the Heartreflects the life of three sisters – Lenny, Meg, and Babe – who are the victims of the patriarch of their family. Each one of them goes through a crisis. All three sisters have different personalities. All the acts in the play open in the MaGrath sisters’ home. The house is old but its condition is not described in the play. The ...
Complete summary of Beth Henley's Crimes of the Heart. eNotes plot summaries cover all the significant action of Crimes of the Heart.
Synopsis. Summary. Production history. Historical casting. Film adaptation. Critical response. Awards and nominations. References. External links. Crimes of the Heart is a play by American playwright Beth Henley. It is set in Hazlehurst, Mississippi in the mid-20th century.
- Beth Henley
- 1982
Synopsis. The three MaGrath sisters are back together in their hometown of Hazelhurst, Mississippi for the first time in a decade. Lenny, the eldest, never left Hazelhurst -- she is the caretaker of the sisters’ cantankerous Old Granddaddy.
Crimes of the Heart, Beth Henley’s Pulitzer Prize-winning first play, is about attempted murder, suicide, attempted suicide, failure, insanity, seduction,...
Beth Henley This Study Guide consists of approximately 48 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Crimes of the Heart.
