Hannie Rayson - Inheritance

Topic Question: 3 - "We all got trapped into doing things that we didn't want to do." Are all the characters trapped or do they act out of self-interest?

Hannie Rayson's complex play, "Inheritance", is a dramatic capture of the contrasting lifestyles of city and country folk in the 20th century and how inheritance proves to be an important role in the development of lifestyles of generations to come. People do not always inherit what they wish for, however they have the choice whether or not they will live there their lives around what they have inherited, or around there own desires. The characters inherit a range of valuables though many forms such as marriage, relational inheritance, and lifestyle and feel they are trapped when in fact the others act out of self interest for there own personal gain.

Marriage is a binding contract and although Dibs is the inheritor of Allendale (the family farm), though sadly she does not share the farming country spirit her husband Farley portrays. William furiously announced to Dibs "You've been whingeing about this house all our lives." Dibs has always wanted "her own brand new home, which she's dreamt of all her life" but William claims "the key issue for mum (Dibs) is that she is going to have to get some help with a certain person". As she is not willing to follow her actions of self interest as long as her marriage is intact. She is trapped due to her loyalty to her marriage and isn't freed until the end of the marriage at Farley's death.

Direct inheritance from pass downs from a parental figure to a child is always a valuable event that is non negotiable. William is trapped through his mother Dibs into (through being a descendant) into ownership of the farm. However, he acts through self interest wants to sell the farm for his partner Kevin which he advises "is my family". Dibs argues with him that he has no children "that's the difference. You don't know what it means to put yourself second. And as a result you seem to have lost the capacity for human charity." William never wanted to inherit the farm and so with his own self interest, chooses to sell it and reap its benefits for himself and his partner.

Along with material goods, people often inherit a way of life. Nugget, Lyle, Girlie, and Farley, after inheriting a life involved in some way in caring for the farm also inherited the typical country personality, all of which care for the