There are several types of incest, including:
The most complex new dynamic is the "in-law" or the "partner of the child." This character serves as the audience surrogate. They are the one who says, "Why does your mother talk to you like that?" They force the family to explain its own insanity to an outsider, creating brilliant exposition. Incest -316-
Complex family drama understands that marriage is not an escape from the family of origin—it is a hostage negotiation. There are several types of incest, including: The
A literary masterpiece of the "midwestern family meltdown." Franzen shows that family drama doesn't need a murder or an affair. Sometimes, the drama is a father’s declining mental health, a mother’s desperate attempt to have one last perfect Christmas, and the adult children’s failure to be present. The "Lambert family" is complex because their love is real, but so is their resentment. A literary masterpiece of the "midwestern family meltdown
The family assembles. This is often for a holiday, a funeral, or a crisis. The exposition is delivered through ritualistic behavior: the seating arrangements, the passive-aggressive compliments, the rehearsed smiles. The inciting incident is usually a micro-aggression —a toast that isn't made, a chair that is removed, a name that is forgotten. By the end of Act I, the audience must know who hates whom, but not yet why.