"I just want to keep moving" (5.100)
Our Young Woman, Helen Jones, is trapped inside New York City when she yearns for wide open spaces. Though she dreams of soft edges, curly hair, and the warm comfort of love, she is confronted with the constant noise, sharp edges, and harsh conditions of her reality. She marries her boss, hoping to find an escape within marriage, but instead finds an abusive, unloving, unlovable husband who drives her even deeper into insanity.
“But, I can’t go on like this, Ma—I don’t know why—but I can’t—it’s like I’m all tight inside—sometimes I feel like I’m stifling!—You don’t know—stifling. I can’t go on like this much longer—going to work—coming home—going to work—coming home—I can’t—Sometimes in the subway I think I’m going to die—sometimes even in the office if something don’t happen—I got to do something—I don’t know—it’s like I’m all tight inside” (2.180-6).
The Norton Anthology of Drama