Brighton Beach Memoirs: Themes

Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.

Supporting Family

Supporting family, both financially and emotionally, and taking responsibility for their well-being is a prevailing theme that underlies almost every action and decision made by characters in Brighton Beach Memoirs. Within the family, economic support—putting food on the table and clothes on the back—is valued above all others, at least initially. This principle of supporting others by earning money flows from Jack, the main breadwinner who exhausts himself with two jobs, through Stanley, who gave up any chance at attending college to work full-time, and down to Eugene, who worries that he will have to quit school and get a job after Stanley’s departure.

In many instances, the characters embrace this responsibility. They are not afraid of hard work and they all long to get ahead and build a better life. Stanley vows to work a second job until he earns back the money he lost gambling. Nora wants to go on stage in part to help her family. Blanche, realizing that she has failed to be a strong role model for her daughters, decides she needs to get a job so she can have greater independence. Over the course of the play, however, the characters come to understand that they have inherent value in their own right, not simply for what they can bring to the household. As they learn to place more emphasis on the emotional support that stems from love rather than duty, they draw closer to one another and resolve issues that have been brewing in their relationships.

Becoming an Adult

The theme of becoming an adult expresses itself through numerous characters in the play, not only Eugene even though he is the most obvious example. In the throes of puberty, Eugene manifests characteristics both of a child and a young adult. While his body is physically changing and his brain is focused on matters of sexuality, his parents still treat him as a kid who must follow orders. Similarly, Blanche treats Laurie like a much younger child and refuses to allow Nora to have any significant part in a decision involving her own future. By the end of the play, however, most characters understand that there is more to becoming an adult than simply what happens physically and chronologically.

Adults can fail to act the part, as Blanche does when she deflects the decision about Nora’s future onto Jack. Teenagers can take on adult responsibilities but doing so can never transform them into adults. For instance, although Stanley earns money for the household, he still requires his father’s advice. When he decides to return home to his family in their time of need, this choice is what shows his movement into adulthood. And for his part, Eugene declares at the end of the play that puberty is now over for him. He attributes this change to entering the world of adult sexuality by finally seeing a naked woman in a picture. But over the past week, he also experienced the deep respect and love that bolsters a strong family. Having the support of so many people will allow Eugene to venture into the world, when the time is right, and tackle the challenges he lays out for himself.

How Ailments Shape Personality

Many characters in Brighton Beach Memoirs suffer from physical ailments that impact their daily lives, but throughout the play, the audience often sees these ailments used as an excuse for either taking some specific action or choosing not to do so. The ailments reinforce ideas that people hold about themselves or others. Laurie provides the most obvious example. She lived as a typical healthy child until a doctor noted a “flutter” in her heart, and since then, Blanche has refused to allow Laurie to perform any but the easiest of tasks. While Blanche thinks she is protecting her daughter, she ends up constraining Laurie from many of life’s pleasures, such as having friends or being a fully participating member of the family.

Blanche is another example of someone whose ailments are transformed into defining characteristics. Blanche’s asthma and poor eyesight prevented her from getting a job after the death of her husband. Ironically, the one member of the family who suffers a true medical emergency is Jack, the backbone of the family. His body manifests the results of the stress under which he lives, and he has a heart attack. Because of what they have learned, Blanche and Laurie will be able to develop into more fully functional individuals and members of the family, and Jack will learn to accept more help.

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