The 7 Stages of Grieving Themes

In Wesley Enoch and Deborah Mailman’s The 7 Stages of Grieving, Australia’s colonial history hovers over everything. As the action unfolds, the play’s lone character, an Aboriginal woman known only as “the Woman,” shares her experiences of grief and sorrow, evoking the violence and oppression that white settlers and their descendants have inflicted on Australia’s indigenous populations for centuries. Throughout the play, Enoch and Mailman show that the experience of suffering from…

Throughout The 7 Stages of Grieving, the Woman tells stories of how the various members of her family have been affected by trauma. This trauma has its roots in Australia’s colonial history and the ongoing subjugation of its indigenous peoples. The Woman’s stories highlight cyclical issues of poverty, isolation, violence, and shame that affect generation after generation of her family, and she explores how collective memory—while a source of joy and resilience—can also be…

Throughout The 7 Stages of Grieving, as the Woman investigates trauma, grief, and the ravages of colonialism, she also highlights her own journey toward self-love. The play’s experimental vignettes explore what it means to take pride in oneself and one’s heritage in spite of structural, institutional racism and the hopelessness it can create. Ultimately, Enoch and Mailman suggest that pride and resilience in the face of impossible circumstances are vitally important to individual and communal…