'Night, Mother by Marsha Norman

    While the MDQ question of "Will Jessie kill herself?" is acceptable, I feel that there is another one within the play. This question is, "Can Jessie convince her mother to accept that she is going to kill herself?" Much of the play consists of Jessie trying to show her mother how things are going to work while living alone, explaining to her what she has arranged and how to obtain what she needs. She asks a few final questions, and does her best to explain to Mama why she is going to off herself. Her mother pleas with her to stay, but in the end she still goes into her room, locks the door, and kills herself, answering the first MDQ. I believe this answers my proposed MDQ as well. Her mother screamed at her and tried her best to stop her, but after she heard the shot, she got on the phone and called Dawson, just as Jessie asked her to do. Her mother did not encourage her to kill herself (what mother in their right mind would), but she did take her last requests to heart, and I feel that this shows an acceptance of her death.