In a small town in England in the early 20th century, a young man named Luther has recently married a woman named Minnie. Luther’s mother, Mrs. Gascoigne, is not a fan of her new daughter-in-law, claiming the marriage was a mistake and Minnie is only with her son because no one else wanted her. When a woman from the town, Mrs. Purdy, shows up at Mrs. Gascoigne’s home to tell her that her daughter is pregnant with Luther’s child, Mrs. Gascoigne must decide whether to help her son or let him and his new wife fix this on their own. She decides, out of spite, to let Minnie weather the storm. We watch as the mother struggles to give up control over her son, a young man navigates his new life as a husband and breadwinner, and a daughter-in-law and new wife tries to hold on to her marriage while keeping her own identity and integrity. D. H. Lawrence described his play as neither a tragedy nor a comedy - just ordinary, and indeed in The Daughter-in-Law we see ordinary people dealing with the extraordinary circumstances of ordinary life.
The Daughter-in-Law guide sections
