A Piano in the House story
A cynical theater critic takes advantage of a player piano that reveals people's hidden selves. Directed by: David Greene. Story by: Earl Hamner, Jr.
16 total · 2 choice · 8 major · 6 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| coping with an arrogant jerk | choice | Fitzgerald was extraordinarily insensitive to other people. |
| sadism | choice | Fitzgerald humiliated one person after the other with extraordinary spitefulness. |
| attitude of superiority | major | Fitzgerald treating his wife in a condescending manner. In particular, after she expressing a desire to learn how to play the piano, he gifted her a player piano for her birthday with the insinuation that she had no talent, and was therefore undeserving of a real piano. |
| disintegrating romantic relationship | major | Esther originally married Fitzgerald because she thought he was a great man, but she ultimately came to resent him for his being a spiteful jerk, and left him for a better man. |
| extramarital affair | major | Influenced by the piano, Gregory confessed to Fitzgerald that he was carrying on an affair with Fitzgerald's wife, and that the two had vacationed together in Mexico City. |
| husband and wife | major | Fitzgerald and Esther Fortune. |
| love triangle | major | The story concluded with Esther leaving her husband Fitzgerald for the playwright Gregory. |
| magic object | major | There was a player piano that when playing made people reveal their innermost thoughts. |
| poetic justice | major | A man who was deliberately humiliating other people was himself humiliated. |
| selfishness | major | Fitzgerald was egomaniacal beyond belief. |