Judith by Howard Barker

When identifying the Major Dramatic Question of a piece like Judith, I think it's important to think about how the character of Judith seems to change throughout the play. She starts as sort of this quiet, mousy girl who does as she is told. However, you quickly realize that she may be the one in charge here. In retrospect this is evident in Judith's very first line, "You are killing my property." (Barker, p. 50) Holofernes has just attacked the servant. Is choking the life from her. But Judith says it so coolly. You don't see any exclamation points or bold print. She says it as a matter of fact. You're killing my property, you may want to fix that. As the play continues, Judith makes effort to be in agreement with Holofernes, to appease him. However, it doesn't seem to be out of fear. She confides to the servant, "I am neither awed nor intimidated, and I can say in perfect honesty, he is not what I expected."(Barker, p. 53) And while Holofernes barks about war and death, the servant tries to keep things on track. Although we're unclear as to her actual function. She won't leave and seems to be neither servant to Judith nor Holofernes, but merely serving her own purpose. She also goes back and forth between ordering Judith around: to take off her clothes or speak to Holofernes. But then being told by Judith to , "Be quiet…I said to be quiet didn't I?"(Barker, p. 53 and 55)

Initially the Major Dramatic Question seems to be, "Who's the Boss?"

But this question doesn't serve us. Mainly because it isn't a proper MDQ(it can't be a straightforward "yes" or "no" answer). I just saw an opportunity to post a picture of Tony Danza, and I took it.

No, the Major Dramatic Question became more clear to me on the second read. I noticed a quotation that didn't strike me the first time around. After Judith undresses she becomes panicked, but why? She's not shy, she's not worried about being physical with Holofernes(it's the pretense of why she came here after all). Judith contemplates her reservations, "As if I were not the object of his gaze, but simply the object of my own…As if I were before the mirror…"(Barker, p. 52) This indicates that she sees something in Holofernes that she has begun to discover in herself. The Major Dramatic Question may then be put forth as "Is Judith a killer?". It isn't "Will she kill Holofernes?" because he is killed a good deal earlier than the end of the play. But she sits with this question, of whether or not she could take additional life. In fact, the servant leaves her in that room to continue her inner monologue and Judith seems to increasingly embody the spirit of Holofernes. She may in fact, be a killer.