The Clean House

When Ana reaches the final stages of her illness, Charles leaves on a journey. What is the meaning of his journey? What does it symbolize? How does it function for the female characters? What does it mean to Charles?

How would you characterize Ana and Charles’s relationship within the rules and world of the play? Was it as unavoidable as they claim? Are they soulmates?

Why do you think the playwright decided that Matilde’s parents should be played by the same actors who play Charles and Ana? How are those characters similar? How are they different?

The characters in the play constantly break the fourth wall and address the audience. How does this repeated reminder that the audience is watching a play affect the way the narrative is viewed and interpreted?

Matilde is an expert comedian, but she tells jokes that an audience that speaks only English can’t hear or understand. Why do you think Ruhl made this choice? How do you or how might you view the play differently if you speak Portuguese in addition to English?

How does the play depict women’s relationships, and how do their gender roles and racial and national identities shape those relationships? Consider the female characters, their individual journeys, and how they affect one another’s narrative arcs.

Sarah Ruhl was inspired to write The Clean House after she heard a woman at a cocktail party complaining, “My cleaning lady is depressed and won’t clean my house. So I took her to the hospital and had her medicated. And she still won’t clean!” How are this statement and its subtext central to the play? What ideas does this complaint encapsulate?

Based on the way Ana talks about her cancer, why do you think she chose a mastectomy instead of another approach? Why do you think she chose to refuse treatment when the cancer returned, other than to manage pain?