‘The Tie That Binds’

Abstract Against the backdrop of the current Broadway revival of Wilder’s 1938 play, this essay calls into question scholarship arguing that Our Town , despite its artistic merits, is ultimately a failure since it does not satisfy theatergoers’ expectations of tragedy, especially ancient Greek tragedy. Both the Stage Manager’s and Mrs. Gibbs’s beliefs that the work of the deceased is to forget life on earth and prepare for that which is ahead are contradicted in Act Three. Those in the cemetery in Grover’s Corners not only reminisce about their life experiences, but also retain the ability to feel natural phenomena such as the weather and human emotions like wonder, joy, and even anger.