Play It As It Lays

Throughout the story, Maria suffers physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, yet she and those around her do not seem to take these actions seriously. What accounts for these attitudes? Why might Maria have not wanted to see herself as a victim?

Didion writes Play It as It Lays in short, snappy chapters, sometimes only consisting of a few lines. How does the writing style fit the novel’s subject matter? How would a different writing style have changed the narrative?

Most of Play It as It Lays is told as a flashback, which Maria relates while she is institutionalized in a mental hospital. Given this context, can we consider Maria a reliable narrator? How does our judgment of Maria’s (un)reliability effect our understanding of the text?