Psychoanalytical critics, in their discussions of orality in 'night, Mother, assert that the question of appetite is a factor that either determines or reflects Mama's and Jessie's attitudes toward life. They refer to the instance when Jessie says that if she "really liked rice pudding or cornflakes for breakfast or something, that might be enough" to stick around (Norman 77). Most often, critics focus either on the symbolic qualities of the word "milk," which for them is rich with connotations of mother-child relationships, or Jessie's and Mama's contrasting attitudes toward eating. Burkman, writes, "the major difference between Jessie Cates and her mother seems to be a question of appetite" (255). Morrow, claims that food, along with talk and crocheting, distract Mama from the "unpleasant truth" of her life, but, because Jessie lacks an appetite, she cannot be so easily distracted (26). These discussions describe how Mama and Jessie view food and use it or do not use it in their everyday lives, but they do not attempt to reveal how the topic of food actually works in the dialogue.

Considering "milk" in the context of 'night, Mother rather than the broad context of Western literature, I see milk as an important topic in the play because it is a food item as well as one of the few topics on which Mama and Jessie hold a mutual opinion. In the next section of this chapter, I will take up the subject of Mama's and Jessie's diametrically opposing views of life, which go far beyond a simple difference in appetite. I want to preface that section now by focusing on their shared view of milk and how the situation they face causes them to argue even over this seemingly neutral topic.

In segments 1.04 and 1.05, Jessie and Mama discuss a topic on which they concur: both of them dislike milk and agree that hot cocoa would be good if it were not for the milk it contains. In spite of this agreement, in segment 1.06 milk provides Jessie and Mama with a topic for disagreement. Significantly, milk is not what Jessie and Mama are actually arguing about. Rather, their quarrel over milk is a result of their struggle for power in the conversation. When Jessie tells Mama that she "should drink milk" and that she has instructed the milkmen to continue delivering it no matter what Mama tells him, she uses milk as a part of her larger scheme to assure Mama's welfare and relieve herself of guilt about committing suicide. And when Mama refuses to drink milk, she is telling Jessie that she does not condone her plan to commit suicide and will not go along willingly with Jessie's plan to prepare her for life after the suicide. Milk seems to be a stand-in topic which provides a means for Jessie and Mama to express feelings that they cannot or do not wish to address directly.

Milk is not the only food item to be used in such a way in the dialogue. Throughout the middle section of the play (segments 1.04-1.06) the topic of food, in the various forms of hot cocoa, okra, coffee, and caramel apples, functions in much the same way. Table 7 lists the distribution of the topic of food according to database's ten textual units. In segments 1.04-1.05 the topic of food appears in over one fourth of the conversational turns.

In this middle portion of the play, segments 1.04-1.05, Mama and Jessie are in the kitchen talking over hot cocoa, which may explain the high frequency of this particular food term. But they also speak often of okra, something with which they are not directly involved. So the focus on food cannot simply be explained away as a necessary part of the stage business. Their discussions of food, okra for example, are often tied to larger issues; okra directly involves their neighbor, Agnes, and indirectly encompasses concepts of normalcy and truth. The discussion of okra underlines the fact that Mama and Jessie appreciate different things in life. Mama appreciates things that are entertaining; Jessie appreciates things that are true. Mama does not "know how much okra the average person eats" (41), nor does she know how much okra Agnes actually eats, and she honestly could not care less about those facts. She simply wants to entertain Jessie with stories about the crazy okra-eating lady next door so that she might gain more time with Jessie and possibly even prevent the suicide. Throughout this conversation, Mama takes pleasure in spinning tales about Agnes' habits and being temporarily diverted from the all too serious issue of suicide. Jessie, however, would prefer to learn the truth about Agnes and how much okra she eats. Furthermore, Jessie's motivation for discussing Agnes differs greatly from Mama's. Jessie discusses Agnes as a part of her plan. In order to relieve herself of the possible guilt she feels for leaving her mother to spend the rest of her life alone, she presents Agnes as a likely companion.

In addition to food's ability to highlight Mama's and Jessie's differences, from my examination of the data I have identified three main functions that food performs in this middle portion of the dialogue. For both Mama and Jessie, food provides a safe topic on which to focus, as it removes the focus from uncomfortable topics (i.e., suicide, epilepsy, divorce). In segment 1.04, for example, Jessie and Mama are discussing Agnes and why she does not visit the house when Jessie is there. Jessie presents Mama with a direct question, but Mama is reluctant to provide a straight answer because the reason involves Jessie. Diverting the discussion from Jessie's question, Mama pauses and then says, "Well now, what a good idea. We should've had more cocoa. Cocoa is perfect" (41). The diversion is only temporarily successful, however, and Jessie continues her line of questioning only two turns later. Interestingly enough, Jessie also uses this diversionary technique in segment 1.06 when she and Mama are discussing Jessie's seizures. After reprimanding her mother for needlessly sending her to the hospital, she turns the subject to food:

You know there never was any reason to call the ambulance for me. All they ever did for me in the emergency room was let me wake up. I could've done that here. Now, I'll just call them out and you say yes or no. I know you like pickles. Ketchup? (55)

The previous example also reveals another way food operates in the dialogue: Jessie uses food to gain or assert control. In the above instance, Jessie takes charge by turning the discussion to food and the activity of cleaning out the refrigerator, which is a part of this evening as she has planned it. Jessie wishes to set things in order before she commits suicide, and her statement makes a transition into this preparatory activity. Early in segment 1.06, Jessie also says, "I told them [the milkmen] to keep delivering a quart a week no matter what you said. I told them you'd run out of Cokes and you'd have to drink it..." (54). Again, through this statement, Jessie reaffirms her commitment to follow her plan through to the end. By connecting the present with the future, Jessie asserts her will. Notably, these same instances reveal much about Jessie's character. It appears that in her mind providing food for someone and caring for someone are inseparable. For Jessie, food is simply a practical, life-assuring commodity. For Mama, who is overly fond of food, it provides comfort and pleasure, which is why she offers to make hot cocoa for Jessie. If I offer Jessie food, Mama reasons, Jessie will stay. But food and pleasure are not the same in Jessie's view.

Finally, discussing food provides Mama and Jessie with an alternative means to discuss their conflicting opinions over difficult issues, such as their relationship and Jessie's decision to commit suicide. In other words, Norman's characters disengage from their anger or judgment concerning the greater issues of their lives and transfer those strong emotions to the discussion of food. Their argument over milk in segment 1.06, where Jessie tells Mama that the milk will continue to arrive no matter what s he says, is an example of this transference, for Jessie is implying that she will go without Mama's consent and the milk will also still arrive whether she wants it to or not after the suicide.

Moreover, the language Mama and Jessie use to describe milk is particularly negative. Of the negatively judgmental adjectives I have identified, they employ the most negative in their discussion of milk, a food item. To illustrate, Mama says, "I hate milk. Coats your throat as bad as okra. Something just downright disgusting about it" (42, emphasis mine). Jessie also says, "Yeah, it's [the hot cocoa] pretty bad. I thought it was my memory...but it's not. It's the milk, all right" (45, emphasis mine). If one accepts the symbolic relationship between milk and mothering, Mama and Jessie appear to be indirectly criticizing their mother-daughter relationship through this discussion.

In contrast to the direct way Mama expresses her distaste for specific food items is the manner in which she expresses her disapproval of Jessie's choice to commit suicide. For example, when Mama uses the words "crazy" and "retarded" in reaction to Jessie's plan, she does not connect those judgments directly to Jessie, but rather passes judgement on Jessie's actions or wishes. In segment 1.01, for example, Mama does not call Jessie "crazy"; instead, she says, "This is crazy talk, Jessie" (16). Mama al so says in a generalized statement, "No, mam, [suicide] doesn't make sense, unless you're retarded or deranged," and goes on to say, "and you're as normal as they come, Jessie" (17-18). Mama's and Jessie's use of "crazy" and "bad" centers on other people and things, such as Agnes, Ricky, and food. Thus, Mama and Jessie do not openly disapprove of one another but tend to displace their dissatisfaction by directly criticizing matter outside of themselves and their relationship.

During a related examination of food as a topic, I discovered that references to food are most dense in segments 1.04-1.06, I decided to investigate how the topic of food functions in other parts of the dialogue, since what Norman does with food throughout segments 1.04-1.06 might be unique to this central portion of the text. From what I have found, food operates similarly in most other sections of the dialogue; however, its use as a diversion is more evident in the middle segments because the infrequency of its use highlights the odd points of the conversation at which it is introduced. Notably, Jessie uses this strategy habitually, but Mama does not.

In segments where food is not a central focus of the discussion (1.01-1.03 and 1.07-1.10) Jessie tends to use food with two main purposes in mind: sidestepping difficult topics, and asserting her will through preparing her mother to live without her. When Mama presses Jessie for answers about her plan to commit suicide, Jessie introduces food in the hopes of diverting Mama's attention and sidestepping the topic a total of five times. In segment 1.02, for example, Mama sarcastically voices her disapproval of Jessie's suicide. All Jessie says in reply is "There's just no point in fighting me over it, that's all. Want some coffee?" (20). Predictably, as Mama is trying to convince Jessie not to commit suicide, she ignores Jessie's attempt to change the focus to food. Seconds later Mama asks what she has done to cause Jessie to want to commit suicide. Jessie, unwilling to implicate Mama in this decision, simply says, "Nothing. Want a caramel?" (21). According to the stage directions, Mama, whom the critics have identified as orally fixated on food, ignores the candy and presses on with her inquiry. In another instance, Jessie avoids answering Mama's inquiries about why she dislikes Dawson and Loretta by offering her a "chewy mint" (24). When Jessie tells her mother that her nosy family is also not the reason she wants to die, Mama asks, "Then what is it?" (25). In reply, Jessie begins instructing her about how to order groceries. Also, in segment 1.03, Mama asks why Jessie began thinking about suicide on Christmas. After providing an oblique answer, Jessie again switches the focus to food and moves onto her plan by telling Mama how the sweets are organized in the cupboard (29).

As the final two examples in the previous paragraph show, Jessie also introduces food in order to ensure Mama's well-being after the suicide. Food has a complex function for Jessie here; in discussing her plans to keep Mama well fed, Jessie is simultaneously professing her resolution to commit suicide. In fact, even before revealing that she plans to commit suicide, Jessie connects taking care of Mama to food. When Mama complains that the snowballs are gone, Jessie replies that she has bought an entire case of them for her. Jessie also uses food in this way towards the end of the play. As she and Mama are discussing Jessie's funeral, Jessie says to Mama,

And be sure to invite enough people home afterward so you get enough food to feed them all and have some left for you. But don't let anybody take anything home, especially Loretta....You have to be more selfish from now on. (81)

By contrast, within segments 1.01-1.03 and 1.08-1.10 Mama introduces the topic of food only once. After Jessie has called herself "garbage" (60), she says, "I'll make your apple now" (61). Mama seems to offer food as a comfort, a way of lifting Jessie's spirits and bringing a close to Jessie's negative evaluation of herself. Compared to Jessie's uses of food, which are obvious attempts to manipulate the conversation, Mama's appears cooperative. She seems ready to grant Jessie's wishes, at least her wish to have hot cocoa and a caramel apple before she goes. However, Mama's use of food in this case is also manipulative: she is attempting to persuade Jessie to stay by being agreeable and focusing on food, which for her provides pleasure and a valid reason to live.

Thus, food appears to serve a purpose whenever Norman has Mama and Jessie introduce it in their conversation. Norman has not included food in the dialogue simply because this is a domestic drama. Rather, she uses food, a natural choice considering that this is a domestic drama, strategically to achieve a variety of effects in the conversation. These effects include complex characterization, for we can see what motivates or fails to motivate these characters by how they use food to manipulate the discussion. Food also highlights the conflict between Mama and Jessie; each character changes the topic of conversation to food at various points because she does not wish to address the topic at hand. The conflict is also revealed when one character introduces food and the other ignores it or when food is introduced at clearly inappropriate times. My investigation has made Mama's and Jessie's conflict readily observable as a textual characteristic. Their opposing values lie on the page.

In sum, through employing empirical methods and treating the theme of food as a characteristic that can be counted and analyzed, I have identified some of Norman's techniques for developing her characters and distinguishing between them. In addition, I have gone beyond a simple recognition of food's symbolic importance and provided a description of how Norman uses the topic of food regularly to highlight the conflicts that occur within the play.