Overall Summary - Admirable Crichton

 Overall Summary - Admirable Crichton

[alert-success] Admirable Crichton - J.M. Barrie

[/alert-success]

[alert-error][btn href="https://www.speedynotes.in/2022/06/overall-summary-admirable-crichton.html" target="_blank" class="bt sm bt-red" btn]Overall Summary[/btn][btn href="https://www.speedynotes.in/2022/06/biography-jm-barrie.html" target="_blank" class="bt sm bt-red" btn]Biography [/btn][btn href="https://www.speedynotes.in/2022/06/critical-summary-admirable-crichton.html" target="_blank" class="bt sm bt-red" btn]Critical Summary [/btn][/alert-error]

[alert-primary] Overall Summary [/alert-primary]

         The Admirable Crichton, written by J. M. Barrie in 1902, is a satirical comedy about class and social structure about a butler who grows up to become the leader of his aristocratic employers after they are all stuck on a deserted island. Barrie was a Scottish author and playwright who is best known for his book Peter Pan. Because of his work in writing, he was made a baronet and a member of the Order of Merit. In 1937, he died of pneumonia. 

        Act I starts at Loam Hall, where Lord Loam lives with his family and butler, Crichton. Lord Loam is a progressive who thinks that the difference between classes is unnatural and bad. Even though he has all the perks of being an aristocrat, he thinks that everyone in society is equal. Once a month, he invites his servants to tea, crossing class lines to treat them as equals. Crichton, on the other hand, is sure that there are differences between classes. He thinks that social class is a natural result of civilization. Everyone who goes to the monthly teas feels awkward, except for Lord Loam. 

        Lord Loam decides to take his family on a yachting cruise. He tells his daughters that they can each bring one maid with them. His oldest daughter, Lady Mary, thinks that her maid, Fisher, will come along, but Fisher quits because she doesn't want to go on a cruise for several months. Loam's valet also quits, so neither of the servants who were supposed to go with the family can. Crichton agrees to go on the cruise and be Loam's valet for the whole time. He also gets another maid, Tweeny, to come with him. 

        In Act II, the yacht has been destroyed by a storm somewhere in the Pacific, and the party is stuck on a deserted island. 

        Loam, who is full of himself, tries to take charge of the group because he is the most important member. But he doesn't have many useful skills. Crichton, on the other hand, is smart and able to get things done. Because he knows how to stay alive, he quickly takes charge of the group. 

        At first, Crichton makes the other aristocrats angry. Since he doesn't believe in equal rights for everyone, he's happy to use his newfound power. The Hon. Ernest Woolley, who is Loam's nephew, gets into a fight with the butler because he is always writing clever epigrams. When Crichton takes over as leader, he puts Ernest's head in a bucket of water every time he says an epigram. He does this to break Ernest of what he thinks is a bad habit. Loam tries to take charge of a new group, but they quickly figure out that they need Crichton's common sense. When they get back, they eat the food he has gathered and cooked to show that they accept his leadership. 

        Act III takes place after a few years. Still stuck on the island, the group has set up a small community there. The other castaways no longer call Loam by his name or title. Instead, they call him "Daddy," and he does simple odd jobs around the camp. Crichton is known as "Guv," and he has made a lot of changes to the way people live on the island. For example, he set up a system for farming and built homes for people to live in. 

        Ernest has become a more practical person who works hard. Mary has shown that she is a good hunter who knows how to kill animals for food. Agatha and Catherine, who are younger than her, have learned to be independent. They no longer need their maids to take care of all of their needs. Tweeny, the maid, also does a good job on the island. 

        Their social roles have been switched, and now the others serve Crichton as if he were the lord and they were his servants. Lady Mary loves Crichton because she knows that his skills make him better than anyone else in the group, no matter what the situation. Even though she is engaged to Lord Brocklehurst back in England, she agrees to marry Crichton because the Islanders have no chance of being saved. 

        A ship's gun goes off just as Mary and Crichton are about to get married. Crichton is tempted for a moment to do nothing and avoid getting help. But he gives in and sends out a signal so the ship can find them. As soon as the ship finds them, he goes back to being a butler. 

        In Act IV, "The Other Island," the group is back in England, where everyone is living and working as they did before. Ernest has written a book about his time on the island. In it, he and Loam are shown as the leaders, and Crichton is barely mentioned. Crichton is still the family's butler, but his presence makes everyone uncomfortable because they all know the truth. As planned, Mary is about to marry Lord Brocklehurst. Lady Brocklehurst, who is worried that Mary might have been unfaithful to Lord Brocklehurst while she was away, asks Mary a lot of questions about her life on the island. The Loams don't tell her the truth, but when Lady Brocklehurst says Crichton could be Mary's butler after she gets married, she is horrified and says it's impossible. 

        Crichton keeps Mary from being embarrassed by saying that it is "impossible" because he is leaving the company. He says goodbye to Mary, and she says that there might be something wrong with English society. Crichton doesn't agree and says he won't listen to any criticism of England. She asks him if he's lost his nerve, but he says no. 

        The way the play deals with class issues would have been shocking to the people who saw it when Barrie wrote it. Barrie said that he thought about having Mary and Crichton get married back in England, but decided against it because "the stalls wouldn't stand it." Several movies, TV shows, and radio shows have been made from The Admirable Crichton, including a popular 1957 British version with Kenneth More and Diane Cilento.

[btn href="http://www.speedynotes.in/2022/06/admirable-crichton-jm-barrie.html" class="bt" btn]Back >[/btn]

[alert-error][btn href="https://www.speedynotes.in/2022/06/overall-summary-admirable-crichton.html" target="_blank" class="bt sm bt-red" btn]Overall Summary[/btn][btn href="https://www.speedynotes.in/2022/06/biography-jm-barrie.html" target="_blank" class="bt sm bt-red" btn]Biography [/btn][btn href="https://www.speedynotes.in/2022/06/critical-summary-admirable-crichton.html" target="_blank" class="bt sm bt-red" btn]Critical Summary [/btn][/alert-error]