The audience at this time could remain entirely unsuspicious of what is actually happening to Alfred, if it weren't from the casual commentaries Mrs. Rowland drops as to his appearance and gestures. Also, the event is intentionally trivialized; the title deceives the audience to think that the play is about the domestic life of a family "before breakfast." The suicide is done again at a trivial moment, when Alfred is shaving in his bedroom. The drama that erupts in the middle of domestic life is thus much more shocking. The rising action can only be noticed by the able reader who grasps the signals of the husband's real state of mind. The structure is so built nevertheless that everything is seen from Mrs. Rowling's perspective, emphasizing the fact that she is completely unaware of what is going on to her husband. To her, the haggard look on his face and...
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