William and Mary story
A widow is informed by her doctor that her husband's brain has been kept alive. The husband had always imposed a strict regime on his wife and she now seeks revenge. Directed by: Donald McWhinnie. Story by: Roald Dahl.
12 total · 9 major · 3 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| brain disembodiment technology | major | Dr. John Landy removed William's brain from his dying body and kept it alive and functioning in a box. |
| coping with the death of a spouse | major | The viewer is shown a widow in the immediate aftermath of her widowing. |
| husband and wife | major | The widow Mary reflected on her underwhelming life with her late husband William. |
| personal identity | major | Dr. Landy briefly explained to Mary that her late husband William was identical to his disembodied brain. |
| prudishness | major | William disapproved of his wife's smoking, drinking, watching of television, and so on. |
| the desire for vengeance | major | Mary decided in the end to get payback at her late, unloving, prude of a husband by torturing his disembodied brain with all that which had formerly offended his sensibilities. |
| the nature of humor | major | Mary used dry humor. The presenter also commented on the use of humor in this story. At the end of the story Mary got a humorous revenge on William. |
| unethical human experimentation | major | Was Dr. Landy justified to keep William's brain alive after his death? |
| what if someone I knew returned from the dead | major | Mary thought her husband was dead only to find that his disembodied brain was being kept alive by unholy science. |
| animal cruelty | minor | We saw a living disembodied dog head and must ponder whether the poor creature had consented to this treatment. |