Curse of the Starving Class

In Shepard’s play, much of the titular “curse” that has stunted the central characters’ lives stems from a longtime inability (or unwillingness) to nurture or relate to each other by communicating honestly and selflessly. The Tate family members, each isolated by their own grievances, obsessions, selfishness, and fantasies of escape, repeatedly lie to each other and talk at cross purposes, if they talk to each other at all. In addition, the long silences that punctuate their conversations emphasize their awkwardness and lack of trust in sharing their thoughts and feelings.

Early in the play, Ella Tate learns that her daughter, Emma, has begun to menstruate. In a healthy family, this milestone in her daughter’s life would be a prime opportunity to prepare her for the changes of adulthood via sound advice about health, boys, sexuality, etc. Instead, Ella scares her daughter with a gruesome myth about how swimming during menstruation can be fatal, and then rambles on about the spread of dangerous germs, an obsession of hers that is somewhat curious given the state of her home. Repeatedly, Curse of the Starving Class depicts the callous parents abusing the power of communication, psychically impairing their children by (among other things) saddling them with their own fears and weaknesses, often as a controlling tactic to make them fear the outside world.