E. M. Ashford, D. Phil. Character Analysis in Wit

An eighty-year-old, now-retired professor of English literature who was Vivian’s mentor in graduate school. E. M. inspired Vivian to pursue the study of John Donne’s poetry and fostered her unrelenting work ethic. She always pushed her to do the most thorough work possible, which turned Vivian into the scholar that she is. At the same time, she encouraged Vivian to go outside and spend time with friends—advice Vivian ignored. The audience meets E. M. in a flashback near the beginning of the play and again at the end, when E. M. visits a mostly non-responsive Vivian in the hospital and reads a children’s book aloud to her.

E. M. Ashford, D. Phil. Quotes in Wit

The Wit quotes below are all either spoken by E. M. Ashford, D. Phil. or refer to E. M. Ashford, D. Phil. . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Poetry and the Limitations of Language Theme Icon

).

[E. M.]: Nothing but a breath—a comma—separates life from life everlasting. It is very simple really. With the original punctuation restored, death is no longer something to act out on a stage, with exclamation points… Life, death. Soul, God. Past, present. Not insuperable barriers, not semicolons, just a comma.

VIVIAN: Life, death…I see. (Standing) It’s a metaphysical conceit. It’s wit! I’ll go back to the library and rewrite the paper—

E. M.: (Standing emphatically) It is not wit, Miss Bearing. It is truth. (Walking around the desk to her) The paper’s not the point.

VIVIAN: It isn’t?

E. M.: (Tenderly) Vivian. You’re a bright young woman. Use your intelligence. Don’t go back to the library. Go out. Enjoy yourself with your friends. Hmm?

Related Characters: Vivian Bearing, Ph.D. (speaker), E. M. Ashford, D. Phil. (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 14-15

Explanation and Analysis: