The Miracle Worker
Encyclopedia
The Miracle Worker is a cycle
of 20th century dramatic works derived from Helen Keller
's autobiography
The Story of My Life
. Each of the various dramas describes the relationship between Keller—a deafblind and initially almost feral child
—and Anne Sullivan, the teacher who introduced her to education
, activism
, and international celebrity
. The movie was filmed in Gladstone, New Jersey
. They used coaches from the Black River and Western Railroad
and the producers wanted to use Ex. Delaware, Lackawanna and Western No.565 in the movie, but because the Central Railroad of New Jersey
would not transport the locomotive out of Chester, New Jersey
, only some of the BR&W coaches appear in the movie.
Its first realization was a 1957 Playhouse 90
broadcast written by William Gibson
and starring Teresa Wright
as Sullivan and Patricia McCormack
as Keller. Gibson adapted his teleplay
for a 1959 Broadway production
with Anne Bancroft
as Sullivan and Patty Duke
as Keller. The two reprised their roles for the 1962 feature film
.
The Miracle Worker was produced in London's West End, first at the Royalty Theatre in March 1961, transferring to Wyndhams on 8 May of the same year. Anna Massey played Annie Sullivan and Janina Faye was Helen Keller.
It was remade for television in 1979, with Patty Duke as Sullivan, Melissa Gilbert
as Keller, and Diana Muldaur
and Charles Siebert
in supporting roles. In 2000, another television production was made, directed by Nadia Tass
and starring Alison Elliott
as Sullivan and Hallie Kate Eisenberg
as Keller, with David Strathairn
and Lucas Black
in supporting roles. A 1984 made-for-television sequel, Helen Keller: The Miracle Continues
, starred Blythe Danner
as Sullivan, Mare Winningham
as Keller, and Jack Warden
as Mark Twain.
's description of Sullivan as a "miracle worker". The famed American humorist and author was an admirer of both women, and although his own personal finances were problematic, he helped arrange the funding of Keller's Radcliffe College
education by his friend, financier and industrialist Henry Huttleston Rogers
.
or gibberish
equivalent of "water".
Many have questioned the reality of this depiction, as Keller had not uttered a single vowel in the course of the film, and, as an apparently prelingually deaf and blind child, would not have been aware of the existence of verbal communication. Although the moment of comprehension is the most satisfying scene in the film, it was designed for hearing audiences. A hearing audience would not be expected to fully relate to the importance of the moment by seeing Keller merely spell the word, which would require an understanding of the manual alphabet. Keller mimics the words Sullivan spells into her hand throughout the film by spelling them back in Sullivan's hand, so at this moment it would only seem that Keller was continuing to mimic without understanding the concept. To bridge that problem, the film's writer and director had actress Patty Duke (and others who portrayed Keller in subsequent remakes of the film) speak the word "wah-wah" while she fingerspelled "water". The moment of revelation thus becomes clear for hearing audiences, but has been criticized for setting unrealistic expectations for deaf children to "be like Helen Keller" and speak, when even the most gifted deaf child realistically takes years to utter a comprehensible syllable and a lifetime of speech therapy to maintain the ability. Keller herself never spoke with complete clarity although she practiced daily from her tenth year.
Nevertheless, according to Keller's own account in The Story Of My Life, she was not actually just a little baby when she experienced the illness that destroyed her sight and hearing; she was a year and a half old, at a developmental stage where she understood what was said to her and she had a small spoken vocabulary, including "How d'ye," "tea, tea, tea," and "water", which she in fact pronounced "wah-wah". She continued to say "wah-wah" long after becoming deaf; she describes it as the one word she kept, while substituting a large vocabulary of signs
for everything else she wanted to say. She not only remembered that speech existed, but she constantly put her hands over others' mouths as they were talking
and attempted to talk as well. This is depicted accurately in the play. Like Laura Bridgman
, she did have that year and a half of developmental normalcy, and it is not unreasonable to assume that this is one reason "water" was the first spelled word that gave her the understanding that the symbol and the water itself were meant to be linked.
William Gibson did not use The Story of My Life as his exclusive source for the play. In interviews, he has said he also relied on a printed volume of Sullivan's letters written during the time of her early stay with the Kellers. This is alluded to during the film, which depicts her writing letters in her room. Some of these letters were also reprinted in several editions of The Story of My Life.
Finally, Keller's utterance of "wah-wah" is consistent within the dramatic unity of the play and film. In the middle of the play, Helen's mother tells Sullivan that Helen, before her illness, had been precocious in her learning of language and that her first word had been "wah-wah" for water. This sets up the emotional power of the scene at the water pump. Through Helen's echoing of the first word that she had spoken as an infant, the viewer is immediately made aware that she has made an intellectual breakthrough and now grasps the existence and purpose of language.
Literature cycle
Literary cycles are groups of stories grouped around common figures, often based on mythical figures or loosely on historic ones. Cycles which deal with an entire country are sometimes referred to as matters...
of 20th century dramatic works derived from Helen Keller
Helen Keller
Helen Adams Keller was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree....
's autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
The Story of My Life
The Story of My Life (biography)
The Story of My Life, first published in 1903, is Helen Keller's autobiography detailing her early life, especially her experiences with Anne Sullivan...
. Each of the various dramas describes the relationship between Keller—a deafblind and initially almost feral child
Feral child
A feral child is a human child who has lived isolated from human contact from a very young age, and has no experience of human care, loving or social behavior, and, crucially, of human language...
—and Anne Sullivan, the teacher who introduced her to education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, activism
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
, and international celebrity
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
. The movie was filmed in Gladstone, New Jersey
Gladstone, New Jersey
Gladstone is an unincorporated area within Peapack-Gladstone in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP Code 07934....
. They used coaches from the Black River and Western Railroad
Black River and Western Railroad
The Black River and Western Railroad is a short-line railroad operating in Hunterdon County, New Jersey between Flemington and Ringoes. The railroad features vintage steam and diesel powered locomotives...
and the producers wanted to use Ex. Delaware, Lackawanna and Western No.565 in the movie, but because the Central Railroad of New Jersey
Central Railroad of New Jersey
The Central Railroad of New Jersey , commonly known as the Jersey Central Lines or CNJ, was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s, lasting until 1976 when it was absorbed into Conrail with the other bankrupt railroads of the Northeastern United States...
would not transport the locomotive out of Chester, New Jersey
Chester, New Jersey
Chester is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 1,649.Chester Township was established as a separate political entity on April 1, 1799, including the area of both the Township and the downtown Village area which came...
, only some of the BR&W coaches appear in the movie.
Its first realization was a 1957 Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California...
broadcast written by William Gibson
William Gibson (playwright)
William Gibson was an American playwright and novelist. He graduated from the City College of New York in 1938.He was of Irish, French, German, Dutch and Russian ancestry...
and starring Teresa Wright
Teresa Wright
Teresa Wright was an American actress. She received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1942 for her performance in Mrs. Miniver. That same year, she received an Academy Award for Best Actress nomination for her performance in Pride of the Yankees opposite Gary Cooper...
as Sullivan and Patricia McCormack
Patty McCormack
Patty McCormack is an American actress with a career in theater, films and television.She achieved success as a child actress, and received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The Bad Seed...
as Keller. Gibson adapted his teleplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
for a 1959 Broadway production
The Miracle Worker (play)
The Miracle Worker is a three-act play by William Gibson adapted from his 1957 Playhouse 90 teleplay of the same name. It is based on Helen Keller's autobiography The Story of My Life.-Plot:...
with Anne Bancroft
Anne Bancroft
Anne Bancroft was an American actress associated with the Method acting school, which she had studied under Lee Strasberg....
as Sullivan and Patty Duke
Patty Duke
Anna Marie "Patty" Duke is an American actress of stage, film, and television. First becoming famous as a child star, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at age 16, and later starring in her eponymous sitcom for three years, she progressed to more mature roles upon playing Neely...
as Keller. The two reprised their roles for the 1962 feature film
The Miracle Worker (1962 film)
The Miracle Worker is a 1962 American biographical film directed by Arthur Penn. The screenplay by William Gibson is based on his 1959 play of the same title, which originated as a 1957 broadcast of the television anthology series Playhouse 90...
.
The Miracle Worker was produced in London's West End, first at the Royalty Theatre in March 1961, transferring to Wyndhams on 8 May of the same year. Anna Massey played Annie Sullivan and Janina Faye was Helen Keller.
It was remade for television in 1979, with Patty Duke as Sullivan, Melissa Gilbert
Melissa Gilbert
Melissa Ellen Gilbert is an American actress, writer, and producer, primarily in movies and television. Gilbert is best known as a child actress who co-starred as Charles Ingalls's second daughter, Laura Ingalls Wilder, on the dramatic television series Little House on the Prairie...
as Keller, and Diana Muldaur
Diana Muldaur
Diana Muldaur is an Emmy-nominated American film and television actress.-Career:Born in New York City, but raised on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, Muldaur started acting in high school and continued on through college, graduating from Sweet Briar College in Virginia in 1960. She studied acting...
and Charles Siebert
Charles Siebert
Charles Siebert is an American actor and television director. As an actor he is best known for his role as Dr. Stanley Riverside II on Trapper John, M.D. which he portrayed from 1979-1986...
in supporting roles. In 2000, another television production was made, directed by Nadia Tass
Nadia Tass
Nadia Tass is a film director, producer and actress, originally from Macedonia, northern Greece, who moved to Australia in the 1960s. She began her career as an actress appearing in the television series Prisoner. Ms...
and starring Alison Elliott
Alison Elliott
Alison A. Elliott is an American actress.Elliott was born in San Francisco, CA, the daughter of Barbara, a teacher of nursing, and Bob Elliott, a computer executive. She moved with her family to Tokyo, Japan when she was 4 years old, and then moved back to San Francisco when she was 8, where she...
as Sullivan and Hallie Kate Eisenberg
Hallie Kate Eisenberg
-Early life:Eisenberg was born in East Brunswick Township, New Jersey, the daughter of Amy, who worked as a clown at children's parties, and Barry Eisenberg, who ran a hospital and later became a college professor. She has two siblings, actor Jesse Eisenberg, star of The Social Network, and Kerri...
as Keller, with David Strathairn
David Strathairn
David Russell Strathairn is an American actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for portraying journalist Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck...
and Lucas Black
Lucas Black
Lucas York Black is an American film and television actor. He is known for his roles in the CBS television series American Gothic as well as roles in films such as Sling Blade, Jarhead, Friday Night Lights, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Legion, Get Low, and All the Pretty Horses.-Personal...
in supporting roles. A 1984 made-for-television sequel, Helen Keller: The Miracle Continues
The Miracle Continues
Helen Keller: The Miracle Continues is a 1984 semisequel to the 1979 telefilm version of The Miracle Worker. It is about the life of Helen Keller.-Summary:...
, starred Blythe Danner
Blythe Danner
Blythe Katherine Danner is an American actress. She is the mother of actress Gwyneth Paltrow and director Jake Paltrow.-Early life:...
as Sullivan, Mare Winningham
Mare Winningham
Mare Winningham , born Mary Megan Winningham, is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She has been nominated once for an Academy Award, Golden Globe and Drama Desk, 7 times for Emmy Awards , and has also won an Independent Spirit Award and two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.She is...
as Keller, and Jack Warden
Jack Warden
Jack Warden was an American character actor.-Early life:Warden was born John Warden Lebzelter in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Laura M. and John Warden Lebzelter, who was an engineer and technician. He was of Irish and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry...
as Mark Twain.
Source of the name
The title originates in Mark TwainMark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
's description of Sullivan as a "miracle worker". The famed American humorist and author was an admirer of both women, and although his own personal finances were problematic, he helped arrange the funding of Keller's Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was the coordinate college for Harvard University. It was also one of the Seven Sisters colleges. Radcliffe College conferred joint Harvard-Radcliffe diplomas beginning in 1963 and a formal merger agreement with...
education by his friend, financier and industrialist Henry Huttleston Rogers
Henry H. Rogers
Henry Huttleston Rogers was a United States capitalist, businessman, industrialist, financier, and philanthropist. He made his fortune in the oil refinery business, becoming a leader at Standard Oil....
.
The "wah wah" (water) controversy
The "miracle" in The Miracle Worker occurs when Sullivan and Keller are at the water pump refilling a pitcher. It is at this moment that Keller makes the intellectual connection between the word Sullivan spells into her hand and the tangible substance splashing from the pump. Keller demonstrates her understanding by miraculously whispering "wah-wah", the baby talkBaby talk
Baby talk, also referred to as caretaker speech, infant-directed speech or child-directed speech and informally as "motherese", "parentese", "mommy talk", or "daddy talk" is a nonstandard form of speech used by adults in talking to toddlers and infants.It is usually delivered with a "cooing"...
or gibberish
Gibberish
Gibberish is a generic term in English for talking that sounds like speech, but carries no actual meaning. This meaning has also been extended to meaningless text or gobbledygook. The common theme in gibberish statements is a lack of literal sense, which can be described as a presence of nonsense...
equivalent of "water".
Many have questioned the reality of this depiction, as Keller had not uttered a single vowel in the course of the film, and, as an apparently prelingually deaf and blind child, would not have been aware of the existence of verbal communication. Although the moment of comprehension is the most satisfying scene in the film, it was designed for hearing audiences. A hearing audience would not be expected to fully relate to the importance of the moment by seeing Keller merely spell the word, which would require an understanding of the manual alphabet. Keller mimics the words Sullivan spells into her hand throughout the film by spelling them back in Sullivan's hand, so at this moment it would only seem that Keller was continuing to mimic without understanding the concept. To bridge that problem, the film's writer and director had actress Patty Duke (and others who portrayed Keller in subsequent remakes of the film) speak the word "wah-wah" while she fingerspelled "water". The moment of revelation thus becomes clear for hearing audiences, but has been criticized for setting unrealistic expectations for deaf children to "be like Helen Keller" and speak, when even the most gifted deaf child realistically takes years to utter a comprehensible syllable and a lifetime of speech therapy to maintain the ability. Keller herself never spoke with complete clarity although she practiced daily from her tenth year.
Nevertheless, according to Keller's own account in The Story Of My Life, she was not actually just a little baby when she experienced the illness that destroyed her sight and hearing; she was a year and a half old, at a developmental stage where she understood what was said to her and she had a small spoken vocabulary, including "How d'ye," "tea, tea, tea," and "water", which she in fact pronounced "wah-wah". She continued to say "wah-wah" long after becoming deaf; she describes it as the one word she kept, while substituting a large vocabulary of signs
Home sign
Home sign is the gestural communication system developed by a deaf child who lacks input from a language model in the family...
for everything else she wanted to say. She not only remembered that speech existed, but she constantly put her hands over others' mouths as they were talking
Tadoma
Tadoma is a method of communication used by deafblind individuals, in which the deafblind person places their thumb on the speaker's lips and their fingers along the jawline. The middle three fingers often fall along the speaker's cheeks with the little finger picking up the vibrations of the...
and attempted to talk as well. This is depicted accurately in the play. Like Laura Bridgman
Laura Bridgman
Laura Dewey Lynn Bridgman is known as the first deaf-blind American child to gain a significant education in the English language, fifty years before the more famous Helen Keller...
, she did have that year and a half of developmental normalcy, and it is not unreasonable to assume that this is one reason "water" was the first spelled word that gave her the understanding that the symbol and the water itself were meant to be linked.
William Gibson did not use The Story of My Life as his exclusive source for the play. In interviews, he has said he also relied on a printed volume of Sullivan's letters written during the time of her early stay with the Kellers. This is alluded to during the film, which depicts her writing letters in her room. Some of these letters were also reprinted in several editions of The Story of My Life.
Finally, Keller's utterance of "wah-wah" is consistent within the dramatic unity of the play and film. In the middle of the play, Helen's mother tells Sullivan that Helen, before her illness, had been precocious in her learning of language and that her first word had been "wah-wah" for water. This sets up the emotional power of the scene at the water pump. Through Helen's echoing of the first word that she had spoken as an infant, the viewer is immediately made aware that she has made an intellectual breakthrough and now grasps the existence and purpose of language.