Three Tall Women

Three Tall Women Summary | Act 1, Part 1 Summary

A, an old woman, sits in her chair. B, a middle aged woman, sits on a bench at the foot of a large bed. C, a young woman, sits at a desk. A announces that she's ninety one. C tries to convince her she's ninety two. B tells her to let it go, but A insists, saying she is thirty years older than "he" is, and that he reminds her of this fact all the time. C suggests that "he" may be wrong. A argues that he should know how old he is, he tells her every time he comes to visit. She frets about what day it is, disagrees when B tells her, then teases C about it being "today." C speaks sharply to her, B speaks sharply in response, and A says she cannot speak to someone who pays her in that way, then starts to cry. B and C let her cry herself into silence again.

C wonders why anyone would be so vain as to lie about being one year younger, saying she can understand five or ten years, but not one. A and B tease her about how she keeps going on about things, then A suddenly announces she has to go to the bathroom. B helps her into the bathroom, even though A complains that B is hurting her. B returns, saying that they made it that time, and commenting that it's the same routine every morning; get her set in her chair, and she realizes she has to go. She adds that sometimes they make it in time and sometimes they do not. C suddenly worries that this happens when A is sitting in the chair C is sitting in, but B reassures her that it is always in the other chair. C says it must be awful, getting older and losing control like that. B tells her to relax, it is inevitable, and then suggests that children should be taught from the time they are six that they are on the road to dying. C says that is an awful idea, and B tells her to "grow up." A returns, complaining of being neglected. B and C get her settled in her chair and bring her a pair of pillows, one for her back and one for her broken arm. B makes a joke about her arm, A laughs, then asks why C is not laughing. When C does not respond right away, A and B tease her about not paying attention. C feels they are ganging up on her and says loudly that there is nothing the matter with her. A asks why she is yelling.