Arsenic and Old Lace

A detailed Summary of Arsenic and Old Lace


When people in town see Martha and Abby Brewster, they only see half of what is truly there. The people of Brooklyn, New York see two elderly sisters who give to charity and do good all around town. Little do these people know that these ladies are sinister sisters, they poison travelers and have their nephew, Teddy, bury them in the basement. The two women have two other nephews, Mortimer and Jonathon, one is engaged and the other is the black sheep of the family. Lots of laughs were thrown into this twisted play that some how keep the sisters lovable.

Early in the play the sisters are chatting with the minister of their church about the war. Abby says at one point, "It may not be very charitable of me, but I've almost come to the conclusion that this Mr. Hitler isn't a Christian. (462)" Now people may wonder how such sweet old ladies may turn to murder. The twist in the plot is that they do not see it as murder at all and do not hide the fact that they kill people and bury them in the basement. They see their act of murder as an act of ch


So while Teddy is helping with the murders, Mortimer is trying to figure out how to handle the situation. His aunts are important to him and he wants to protect them. At the same time he has to save his engagement to the minister's daughter and get his brother, Jonathon, out of the house. Jonathon also has a secret; he has become a serial killer. When he finds out the aunts have twelve murders, the same amount he has, he feels the need to have more murders than they do. Finally Jonathon gives himself away after waking up and seeing several cops in the house. Little did he know that the cops were just dropping by to say hello. Another twist occurs when Abby and Martha ask to be committed to the same mental institute that Teddy is going to and leave everything to their nephew, Mortimer and his Fiancee, Elaine. The aunts said in the last act, "Jonathon always was a mean boy. Never could stand to see anyone get ahead of him. (510)" Then they saw Mr. Witherspoon, the Superintendent at Happy Dale mental institute, and handed him a glass of elderber

Some common words found in the essay are:
Mortimer Jonathon, Happy Dale, Panama Canal, Brooklyn York, Daily Herald, Finally Jonathon, Fiancee Elaine, Abby Martha, President Roosevelt, Abby Brewster, elderberry wine, play sisters, bury basement, mental institute, twelve murders, twisted sisters, lots laughs, nephew teddy,

Approximate Word count = 706
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels

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