30 pages • 1 hour read
Elmer RiceThe Adding Machine
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1929A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Scene 1Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Scene 1 Summary
The curtain first opens on Zero’s bedroom, where his wife, Mrs. Zero, is speaking to Zero as the two prepare for bed. In relating the events of her day, Mrs. Zero reveals her own interest in moralizing and gossiping, as she shares some of the opinions of her neighbors and friends with Zero, and speaks her mind about them as well. From this monologue, it becomes clear that Mrs. Zero views some as being higher up on the social ladder; she would like to see Zero and herself implementing some changes (i.e. where they go to the movies) to be more like these people. She continues, making comparisons between her own job as a homemaker and Zero’s as an accountant, “addin’ figgers.” She circles back on these topics until the end of the scene, without a peep from Zero.
Scene 1 Analysis
Mrs. Zero’s monologue circles subjects of morality and censorship, including a discussion of the depiction of marriage and romance in the movies (and amongst Hollywood actors off-screen.) Despite coming across as possessing high moral standards when it comes to adultery, Mrs. Zero expresses interest in seeing films downtown before they have been censored for violence and sex. This seems to be more of a point of pride, in that the more-privileged Mrs. Twelve, Mrs. Nine, and Mrs. Seven have seen explicit versions and are able to comment on their variations.
Mrs. Zero also compares her husband’s accounting job with her own, which appears to be that of a homemaker. While Zero gets to punch out, her job is never done, so she deserves to feel more tired than he does. While she disparages his lack of social mobility, she makes clear comparisons between their lifestyles: him “sittin’ for twenty-five years on the same chair” and her “at home here lookin’ at the same four walls an’ workin’ my fingers to the bone to make both ends meet” (196).
