Instructions for John Howell by Julio Cortázar
"Instructions for John Howell" is a short story by Argentine author Julio Cortázar that intertwines themes of identity, theatricality, and existential freedom. The narrative follows a character named Rice, who is invited backstage at a play to assume the role of John Howell, a character within the performance. Initially reluctant, Rice finds himself improvising during the play, revealing the constraints imposed by a predetermined script and the influence of other characters. As the story unfolds, the lines between performance and reality blur, particularly during moments of dramatic tension involving infidelity and impending doom. The character of Eva whispers urgent pleas to Rice, deepening the emotional stakes of his involvement. Ultimately, Rice’s attempts to alter the course of the play lead to unforeseen consequences, culminating in a chase that symbolizes the struggle against fate. Cortázar's work reflects on the nature of choice and the illusion of control, leaving readers to ponder the complexities of life as scripted versus lived. The story invites contemplation on the roles individuals play in society and the limitations placed upon them by their circumstances.
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Instructions for John Howell by Julio Cortázar
First published: "Instrucciones para John Howell," 1966 (English translation, 1973)
Type of plot: Fantasy
Time of work: The late 1960's
Locale: London, England
Principal Characters:
Rice , a spectator at a playAn actor , the man who plays the role of John HowellAn actress , the woman who plays the role of EvaFlora , an actress who plays the role of the woman in redAn actor , the man who plays the role of MichaelThe tall man , who gives Rice the instructions for John Howell
The Story
The title of the story, "Instructions for John Howell," is ambiguous, for the identity of John Howell is only tentative. John Howell is a fictional character in a play that Rice attends. John Howell is also the actor who appears in the role, and, during the second and third acts of the four-act play, John Howell is Rice himself.
During the first intermission of the play that Rice is attending at the Aldwych Theater, a man in gray invites him backstage, gives him a costume and wig, and instructs him to act the part of John Howell. When Rice protests that he is not an actor, the man agrees, saying that he is John Howell. Onstage during the second act, Rice finds that his lines are entirely predetermined by the words of the other characters. He has no freedom to do what he wants to do or say what he wants to say. As the act progresses, it becomes clear that the character Eva is deceiving her husband, Howell, by having an affair with another character in the play, Michael, and that the mysterious woman in red seems to be implicated in the infidelity in some way. At one point during the action, the actress who plays Eva whispers to Rice in her offstage voice, "Don't let them kill me."
During the second intermission, the man in gray and a tall man congratulate Rice on his performance and serve him several glasses of whiskey. The tall man gives Rice extensive instructions on what he is to do during the third act, and it becomes apparent that the decisive moment of the play comes at the end of this act, when the woman in red speaks a line that determines the denouement of the play in the last act.
In the third act, under the influence of the alcohol and resisting confinement to the predetermined plot, Rice begins to improvise. By the lines that he delivers, he creates problems for the actor playing the role of Michael. He is amused by the display of anger that he sees in the wings as the tall man protests what he is doing. He is disturbed by Eva's plea—again in her offstage voice—that he stay with her until the end. Rice tries to delete the last line of the third act by leading Eva offstage, but she turns around to receive from the woman in red the inevitable words that will determine the outcome of the play.
In the third intermission, the tall man and his accomplices throw Rice out of the theater. When he returns to his seat to watch the last act, he is surprised that the theatrical illusion takes over immediately, so that the audience does not protest the change of actors. The actor who played Howell in the first act is again in the role. At the crucial moment, as Eva is about to drink the tea poisoned by the woman in red, Howell startles her so that she spills the tea. In the confusion that follows, there is a sharp cracking sound. Eva slowly slips into a reclining position on the sofa and Howell runs offstage.
Rice runs out of the theater and through the streets of London. He realizes that someone is following him and turns to find that it is the actor who played the role of Howell. When Rice states that he tried to stop the irrevocable action of the play, the actor responds that amateurs always think that they can change things, but that it never works. It always turns out the same way. When Rice asks why they are both fleeing, if it always happens this way, the actor begs Rice not to leave him in his predicament of forever running away, then disappears in flight down the street. As he hears the sound of whistles in the streets, Rice runs in the opposite direction, reminding himself that there will always be streets and bridges on which to run.