idk if people read plays but for the last couple days in my theatre class were reading The Curious Savage by John Patrick (which is a really good play, I think you guys should read it or watch a production) and i was thinking about the dynamic between Jeff and Miss Willie and got reminded of aarmau
there’s a little spoilers if you don’t wanna know them but basically. The Curious Savage is about a woman who gets placed in an institution because (to oversimplify) her children want her money and use a sort of “we’ll get you out if you give us the money” trade off. but the woman is there with some other people, all of whom have their own issues but the ones that stick out specifically are Jeff and Miss Willie
just for some background on their characters, Miss Willie is a sort of caretaker for the residents at the Cloisters. Jeff is a patient who fought in a war (i can’t remember which, i think ww2) and keeps a hand constantly covering his cheek to hide a scar.
so their dynamic is initially a red flag. Miss Willie is shown to be more affectionate with Jeff, even going as far as kissing his cheek. Jeff expresses his dislike for this with an exchange similar to the following (this is entirely from my memory so it’s not exact):
JEFF: I do wish you’d stop kissing me, Miss Willie.
MISS WILLIE: Well, you are the handsomest.
JEFF: I can’t imagine what my wife would say if she heard you.
MISS WILLIE: If I knew her, I’m sure she’d be fine with it.
JEFF: Do try and remember not to, please.
and Miss Willie drops it after that. this behavior kind of continues in the background throughout the show. in dialogue Miss Willie continues to be affectionate with Jeff, and in productions Miss Willie is always shown to hover closer to him more often than not. it’s not until the end of the play, when the Cloisters residents are living in a fantasy world, that it’s revealed why.
Jeff has (i’m pretty sure) a variation of wartime PTSD that gives him some sort of amnesia. In reality, Jeff and Miss Willie are married, and the reason she’s so affectionate with him is because he’s her husband. from their interaction, Jeff is aware that he’s married he just doesn’t know who he’s married to. the other small detail between them is that Miss Willie constantly calls Jeff handsome, which is important because he covers part of his face to hide a scare he doesn’t actually have. the audience learns that Miss Willie isn’t exactly a caretaker for all the residents, she’s there because her husband is
now, onto the aarmau pipeline. i don’t remember a lot from later seasons of mystreet, i’m fairly certain it’s been blocked from my memory for the most part, however i do remember that aaron has amnesia at the end. he doesn’t remember Aphmau, but he does remember Shu—similar to how Jeff can’t remember Miss Willie but he knows that he’s married.
another thing that just kind of reminded me of aaron is the fact that Jeff covers his face because he believes it’s disfigured, making him “unattractive.” he’s embarrassed by the scar, similar to how Aaron eventually became embarrassed of his werewolf ancestry. I’m not sure how that would translate exactly, but those two things and the ways Miss Willie and Aphmau deal with them respectively are good parallels of each other
i had more. but it’s late. i’m tired and tbh i have to be up early tomorrow soooo. i wanted to draw a little something between them but alas. anyway goodnight my lovelies