War Brides A Play in One Act

War Brides is a powerful and evocative one-act play by Marion Craig Wentworth dramatizing the sacrifices and moral dilemmas faced by women during wartime. Set in an unnamed European village amidst the horrors of World War I the play explores the emotional and physical toll of war on the women left behind.The central character Joan is a widow whose husband and brothers have been killed in the conflict. Pregnant with her first child she represents the resilience and heartbreak of countless women. Joan's grief and anger grow as she confronts the societal expectations that glorify war and demand endless sacrifices from women in the form of war brides who produce soldiers for the battlefield. Her monologue becomes the heart of the play condemning the glorification of war and its perpetuation through the exploitation of women’s bodies and lives.