War Brides: A Play in One Act

Name: War Brides: A Play in One Act
Author: Marion Craig Wentworth

by Marion Craig Wentworth

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Language: en580 downloads on Project Gutenberg

Subjects

World War, 1914-1918 -- Drama

In: World War I·One Act Plays·Plays/Films/Dramas

Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #14602.

About this book

War Brides is a one‑act drama set against the backdrop of World War I, written by Marion Craig Wentworth. The play opens in a modest peasant cottage, its interior rendered in meticulous stage directions that establish a war‑scarred village scene, fireplace, stacked firearms, and a window framing cheering crowds. Within this cramped domestic space, the dialogue quickly introduces Amelia, a nineteen‑year‑old yearning to serve as a nurse, and her stoic mother, who is torn between duty to the home front and the pressure to produce a “war bride.” The arrival of Lieutenant Hans Hoffman and the exuberant newly married Minna escalates the tension, exposing competing expectations of patriotism, marriage, and survival as the characters grapple with the looming presence of battle and the promise of a widow’s pension.

The language is brisk and stage‑craft oriented, reflecting early‑20th‑century theatrical conventions with a focus on realistic speech and social commentary. Its tone oscillates between earnest patriotism and sharp irony, especially in the confrontations over “war brides.” Readers who enjoy historically grounded dramas that explore gender roles, wartime propaganda, and the personal costs of conflict, particularly those interested in World I home‑front narratives, will find this compact, dialogue‑driven piece compelling.

Characters in War Brides

AmeliaYoung woman, nineteen, simple peasant dress, loose hair, earnest eyes, modest bonnet
Lieutenant Hans HoffmanTall officer in WWI German uniform, crisp cap, trimmed beard, stern gaze
MinnaNewly married woman, bright dress, floral apron, cheerful smile, hair in braids

The opening · free to read

SCENE: A room in a peasant's cottage in a war-ridden country. A large fireplace at the right. Near it a high-backed settle. On the left a heavy oak table and benches. Woven mats on the floor. A door at left leads into a bedroom. In the corner a cupboard. At the back a wide window with scarlet geraniums and an open door. A few firearms are stacked near the fireplace. There is an air of homely color and neatness about the room.

Through the open door may be seen women stacking grain. Others go by carrying huge baskets of grapes or loads of wood, and gradually it penetrates the mind that all these workers are women, aristocrats and peasants side by side. Now and then a bugle blows or a drum beats in the distance. A squad of soldiers marches quickly by. There is everywhere the tense atmosphere of unusual circumstance, the anxiety and excitement of war.

Amelia, a slight, flaxen-haired girl of nineteen, comes in. She brushes off the hay with which she is covered, and goes to packing a bag with a secret, but determined, air. The Mother passes the window and appears in the doorway. She is old and work-worn, but sturdy and stoical. Now she carries a heavy load of wood, and is weary. She casts a sharp eye at Amelia.

Mother:

What are you doing, girl? [_Amelia starts and puts the bag in the cupboard._] Who's going away? They haven't sent for Arno?

Amelia:

Yes. I put in the last load. All the big work on our place is done, and so--[_Looks at her mother and hesitates. Her mother begins to chop the wood into kindling._] I'll do that, Mother.