War in Excelsior: A Historicist Reading of Act 3 of The Skin of Our Teeth

Abstract

This article argues that act 3 of The Skin of Our Teeth can be read through the historical context of the state of New Jersey during the period of time Wilder was constructing the play and the decades preceding it. Wilder was deeply affected by World War II and in constructing the conclusion to The Skin of Our Teeth, wherein the Antrobus family begin to build the world anew, it is likely he drew upon the cultural fears of foreign attack on the eastern coast of the United States, the economic upheavals of the Great Depression, and the changes in the country as it readied for World War II. The state of New Jersey during the years Wilder wrote The Skin of Our Teeth was emblematic of these major changes, allowing Wilder to capture his country’s fears, destitution, but also determination to recover––all within the town of Excelsior, New Jersey.