Our thanks to Jeff for suggesting we listen to “The Ravine” from Bradbury 13! Based on acclaimed writer Ray Bradbury’s short story “The Whole Town’s Sleeping,” this episode tells the story of a dark night in a small town. Despite a murderer being on the loose, three young women brave a trip to the movies. Will they dare pass through the ravine where the killer lurks? Why is Lavinia so determined to face this threat? How many peppermint chews can you get for a nickel? Listen for yourself and find out! Then vote and let us know what you think!
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The add on ending was perfect. She is a loner. Not only is she female “the weaker sex”, she is single (so no man to rush to her aid), and older so less likely for random young men to rush to her aid. Since she is single, EVERYONE wants to tell her how to live and what she can and cannot do. Because she is a little older she is getting to the “I don’t give a flying fig what anyone else thinks” phase. I don’t see how it is any less scary that she killed the killer. Frankly as… Read more »
Thanks for the interesting perspective, Trish. I also liked the add-on ending, mostly because I interpreted it as a victory for Lavinia. I never thought about the implications for her after the story ends. Intriguing and depressing.
I totally agree with you Trish. Without the ending, this is just a Bradbury morality tale about how uppity women are secretly afraid and will be deservedly killed if they don’t know their place.
The more Bradbury MORLS reviews, the more clear it is that Bradbury is pretty socially conservative.
The ending could have been more gracefully integrated, perhaps a producer or sponsor demanded a ‘happy ending’?
I understand Trish’s point, but I have to agree with Eric on the ending. To me, it felt like a bit of a let-down after a great show.
From a structural point of view, I understand why the ending felt like a let-down. For me though, the fake-out ending (“Hello, Lavinia”) was the let-down, because it felt like business as usual. In OTR, female characters with agency usually wind up dead (see almost every Lights Out story featuring female protagonists). The “Hello, Lavinia” ending was how I expected the story to conclude so the revelation that Lavinia not only escaped with her life but killed the Lonely One in the process felt like a breath of fresh air.
I like your (and Trish’s) reasoning, but I think the scissors ending needed to be developed more to work. I think if you want to give Lavinia more agency, you can’t just do that off-stage, so to speak.
Incidentally, I just listened to the “Suspense” version, and I didn’t think that ending fully worked either. I think comparing the two adaptations illustrates how difficult it is too translate Bradbury’s literary ending into an audio format.
(By the way, is there any way commenters here can get email notifications when someone else comments in a thread they’ve posted to?)
I agree, it is just clumsy. Had the last lines been “Hello Lavina” and then “As I turned to face the intruder, I grabbed my sewing scissors…”. Something to that effect.
In Dandelion Wine, you hear in the next chapter from the neighborhood boys that she stabbed the Lonely One with scissors. I think as a standalone story it works better with an ambiguous ending, but in the context of the book, it needs a resolution.
I was also delighted that the independent woman did not get offed at the end.
Wow, I like the ending even more now. Dandelion Wine is one of the few Bradbury novels I haven’t read yet. I’m going to add it to my summer reading list. Thanks for the info!
Let me try to post this again in the right place!
I listened to this in broad daylight while driving. By the end I was gripping the steering wheel too hard, and I was clenching my teeth. My body was in full physical fright mode. And THAT hasn’t happened yet during this podcast. Easily the most terrifying story you’ve done so far. Holy sh*t.
Eric, I am with you on so many points, but your colleagues are right about the structure of this radio play. I agree that a simple ambiguous ending would have been scarier. I share your reticence about post-Golden age radio plays. I agree with your opinion that there are almost no stories that cannot be improved by the inclusion of a hard-boiled detective tracking down a criminal. Importantly, I am one of about three people on the planet who agrees with your view that the Lord of the Rings movies are awful. (The books are great, which made the movies… Read more »
It was the best and I would also listen to it all the time
I like the Veldt but this is better the veldt
She is a loner. Not only is she female “the weaker sex”, she is single (so no man to rush to her aid), and older so less likely for random young men to rush to her aid. Since she is single, EVERYONE wants to tell her how to live and what she can and cannot do. Because she is a little older she is getting to the “I don’t give a flying fig what anyone else thinks” phase. I don’t see how it is any less scary that she killed the killer. Frankly as a woman you defend yourself from… Read more »
It’s been so long since I’ve read the story that I also thought Lavinia was the killer for much of the play. The killer is inexplicably known as “The Lonely One,” and the other women make a point of saying that Lavinia lives all alone. Furthermore, there’s even a possible motivation, in that one of the victims is described as being nearly as pretty as Lavinia. Was she offing the “competition?”
For a similar “in the narrator’s head” terror experience, read “A Walk in the Dark” by Arthur C. Clarke. Scared the hell out of me as a kid.