When this play premiered in 1934, it caused a scandal.  Actresses were afraid to accept the leading roles, fearing damage to their reputations and that the play would be raided by the police.  Times have changed, but the impact and implications of the situations that are dramatized in this play are still frightening and powerful.

Martha and Karen run a school for girls.  After a malicious young girl starts a rumor about the two women’s relationship, the rumor soon turns to scandal.   Even after the girl understands the power she holds and the potential danger she can cause for Martha and Karen, she sticks by her story, which leads to tragedy for the two women.  It is later discovered that the gossip was pure invention, but it is too late.  The damage has been done.