One Glass of H2O to Rule Them All

For the most part, Eugene Scribe’s The Glass of Water perfectly embodies the form of the well-made play structure. There is a long exposition in which a secret that will drive the plot is revealed, a climax occurring right before the end of each act, and many obligatory scenes happening where the audience expects and sees certain things happenings. The many revelations the audience discovers throughout the play add for a high level of comedic effect. The point in the play, however, where the play strays from the well-made stricture, is in the final act. This act does not end with a completely beautifully tied ribbon. This is when the Duchess and Queen finally find out that the girl Masham loves dearly is actually Abigail. The Duchess and Bolingbrake have charmingly bitter, yet friendly banter with each other, and the Queen instructs Abigail to marry Masham. The Duchess has a husband to go to, Masham and Abigail can live happily ever after, and Bolingbrake achieved the peaceful state he always wanted, but the Queen is left, once again, with “…boring days…boring nights….a lifetime of boredom!” Following this self pity, the Queen notices a new guardsmen she finds particularly handsome and the audience can see a change in her disposition, due to the discovery of possibilities within this guardsmen. That is where the play ends. This leaves the audience with uncertainty of what will happen in the Queen’s future, thus the story does not wrap up perfectly with the audience’s awareness of the future of every character. This is where the play drifts from the well-made play structure.