Entertaining Mr. Sloane: Analysis of Major Characters
"Entertaining Mr. Sloane" is a play by Joe Orton that explores the dynamics of a dysfunctional family and their interactions with a charismatic yet morally ambiguous lodger, Mr. Sloane. The central character, Kath, is depicted as a middle-aged woman who represents the contradictions of bourgeois values, harboring both a troubled past and a complicated attraction to Sloane. Her character showcases a blend of outward respectability and inner selfishness, reflecting the play's critique of middle-class moralities.
Mr. Sloane, a young man with a mysterious and potentially criminal background, disrupts the status quo of Kath's household, manipulating those around him to serve his own interests. Ed, Kath’s brother, adds another layer of complexity as a self-serving bully who masks his greed with false concern for morality. The elderly father, Kemp, serves as a tragic figure, caught between his ambitious children and the threatening presence of Sloane, ultimately leading to dire consequences.
Together, these characters illustrate themes of exploitation, hypocrisy, and the darker aspects of human desire, offering a provocative commentary on societal norms and personal ethics. The interplay between these characters drives the narrative, culminating in a tense and revelatory conclusion.
Entertaining Mr. Sloane: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Joe Orton
First published: 1964
Genre: Play
Locale: England
Plot: Black humor
Time: The 1960's
Kathy (Kath), a dowdy Englishwoman in early middle age. An outwardly respectable symbol of bourgeois life and values, Kath is a woman with an illegitimate child in her past. She lives with her father in a small home, and her passion for the young lodger she takes in forms one of the play's central story lines. Although she makes frequent protestations regarding her own morality and honor, she is at heart selfish and easily able to rationalize her less-than-respectable actions. This attitude typifies the play's portrait of the British middle class.
Mr. Sloane, an attractive, ruthless, and utterly amoral young man. Sloane is the catalyst for the play's action, arriving as a lodger in Kath's home in the opening scene and establishing volatile relationships with each of the other characters. Although his background is mysterious and probably criminal, he clearly is a member of the working class and, therefore, an intruder in the social norm of Kath's household. A figure of menace and violence throughout the play, Sloane appears to be an avaricious manipulator, successfully exploiting the other characters' weaknesses for his own ends. The story's conclusion finds him caught in a trap of his own device.
Ed (Eddie), Kath's selfish, bullying brother. Ed is a pompous, greedy hypocrite with a keen interest in young men. He is trying to take control of his father's finances when the play opens. His initial misgivings over his sister's new lodger vanish when Sloane appears agreeable to Ed's broad hints of a close future relationship. Ed, more than any of the play's other characters, makes a constant show of outward concern for notions of morality and social convention, yet he, like Sloane and Kath, is thoroughly unscrupulous in matters of self-interest.
Kemp (Dadda), Kath and Ed's father, an elderly pensioner. Kemp is the play's true victim, an old man saddled with two greedy children and a vicious young intruder whose presence eventually leads to Kemp's death. From the time of their first meeting, Kemp sees the menace that Sloane represents, but his son's and daughter's shared attraction to the young man leaves him at Sloane's mercy. His death at Sloane's hands provides the means by which Kath and Ed finally are able to trap Sloane into doing their bidding.