3 Review(s)

The Sleeping Car: A Farce by William Dean Howells is a comedic play that explores the humorous and absurd aspects of social interaction and class distinction during a train journey. The plot revolves around a group of passengers traveling in a sleeping car who find themselves caught in a series of misunderstandings and farcical situations. These interactions are largely driven by the characters’ efforts to navigate social norms, personal anxieties, and the expectations placed upon them during the journey.The farce hinges on mistaken identities, social pretensions, and the humorous awkwardness of how people try to present themselves in public. As the passengers struggle to manage their behavior in close quarters, their attempts to maintain control over their social image lead to a cascade of comedic errors. Howells uses the confined space of the sleeping car as a metaphor for the ways in which societal pressures can cause discomfort and confusion, revealing the gap between appearance and reality in social relationships.