THE LESSON
I know, I know–everything these days brings to mind the clash between Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill. That’s why I’m reluctant even to make the comparison. But I can’t help it–I saw their conflict symbolically reenacted in The Lesson.
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As they start to talk, the balance of power gradually shifts. He is pleased to discover that she knows the capital of France, the four seasons of the year, and the sum of seven plus one. When she has trouble with subtraction, however, he grows annoyed. She has disappointed him by failing to respond correctly, and he inexplicably launches into a totally incomprehensible lecture on philology, the study of words and languages. As he lectures, the old professor becomes more overtly lecherous and aggressive while the young woman recedes into passive lethargy, rousing herself occasionally to whine, “I’ve got a toothache.” Finally, in a frenzy, the professor begins to discourse on the word “knife.” To emphasize his point, he holds up an imaginary knife and stabs the young woman. The knife exists only in words, but it kills her nevertheless.
The Thomas-Hill clash also resembled Ionesco’s play in the sheer absurdity of the proceedings–the disregard of logic and reason, the use of words to obfuscate and deceive. The Thomas hearings also displayed those incongruous oppositions that Ionesco uses so well to challenge our notions of reality. The professor’s age and dignified position contrast with his homicidal intentions, just as Thomas’s smooth, respectable style as a witness belied his ruthlessness. The professor’s subservient maid turns out to have enormous control over him, just as Thomas–subservient to the senators questioning him–turned out to have enormous power over them. And just as the professor uses language to bully his pupil, so Thomas’s rebuttal, full of bloated, self-righteous indignation, enabled him to prevail over the Senate.
Usually, a review like this would conclude by saying how great it is to have an alternative to Saturday-morning cartoons. But at the Improv kids can watch cartoons for 30 minutes before the show. And bring some quarters–the TV is located right next to a wall of video games.
