Remembering Judy & "Fight" Scene
English Lit: Edexcel IGCSE The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, topic 3.1.6
Christopher Remembers his Mother
While telling Siobhan about what he has learned from Mrs Alexander, Christopher begins to tell her of what he remembers about his mother, Judy.
Judy appears on stage
- During the flashback to his memory of a day at the beach, the audience sees Judy, his mother, on stage for the first time.
- Christopher’s first memory of his mother is bathed in sunlight and paints a vivid picture of a fun-loving and vibrant individual, playing in the water (“she jumped backwards and disappeared”) and encouraging Christopher to join her (“Over here love. Christopher! Look it’s lovely”).
Reassuring Christoper
- After Judy scares Christopher in the water (“I thought a shark had eaten her and I screamed”), there is a touching moment of intimacy where Judy reassures her son (“It’s OK Christopher”) and spreads her fingers out in the shape of a fan.
- This gesture mirrors the moment of intimacy between Christopher and his father when we are first introduced to Ed.
Regret and disappointment
- Even in this short flashback, there are hints of regret and disappointment from Judy.
- This foreshadows the breakdown of her marriage to Ed, as she imagines an alternative life (and an alternative relationship) with a “local handyman” in the South of France.
The Fight
In the previous flashback/Judy scene, the audience could see, on a different part of the stage, Ed finding and reading Christopher’s notebook. When Christopher returns home, Ed confronts him about the investigation.
Violence
- In direct contrast to the gentle intimacy of the previous scene, this scene quickly becomes violent, signalled in Stephens’ stage directions.
- Ed “throws” Christopher’s notebook in anger and then “grabs” Christopher’s arm. The struggle escalates into a “fight” in which Ed “shakes Christopher hard”.
- The power of these verbs (“throws… grabs… fight.. shakes”) indicates the intensity of this scene and its potential to shock an audience.
Christopher falls unconscious
- Ed shakes his son so hard that Christopher falls unconscious “for a few seconds”.
- The brief lull (pause) in the action gives the audience time to process what they have just seen and allows Ed to cool off.
- He leaves the house (“I need a drink”) and apologises to Christopher on his return.
Gesture of reconciliation
- The scene ends with a gesture of reconciliation as Ed and Christopher fan out their fingers and touch each other’s hands.
- But the dialogue undermines the apparent reconciliation: Christopher asks his father where his notebook is, signalling to the audience that he has not decided to obey his father and end his investigation.
Test yourself on Remembering Judy & "Fight" Scene
Who does Judy imagine her alternative life with?
What undermines the apparent reconciliation of the fight scene?
What does Ed say as he leaves the house after shaking Christopher?
What happens to Christopher after his father shakes him?