Background -- Nature of nature in The trip to bountiful -- "The child is father of the man": The orphans' home cycle -- Betrayal and responsibility in The young man from Atlanta and Henrik Ibsen's A doll's house and Little Eyolf -- The kidders and the Disappointment Club: -- A critical theme in The young man from Atlanta -- History as family: a reflection -- Foote and the critics: designing identity and being polite -- Departure, arrival, and varieties of silence: Narration and dramaturgy in Farewell and Beginnings -- The actor: full circle, still moving.