Machinal

These final episodes present Helen’s trial and execution. Helen learns her lover has betrayed her, is bullied into confessing, and relinquishes her life. She tells the court that she killed Jones “to be free” (1636). The final episode further emphasizes that her life is not her own. She can’t even die as she wishes or spend herremaining minutes in peace. Nagged by the priest and the guards, she is executed, killed by “the machine,” as she cries out for “somebody.”

In Episode 8, Helen has been arrested and we see her in court. Everyone in the court—the reporters, the lawyers—speaks mechanically and virtually ignores Helen, who is being sentenced to death. A stay of execution is summarily denied. The lawyers tell her story, getting her to agree or restate what they say as a question. One reporter offersa completely opposing view of what transpires from another: “a clear statement, a rambling confused statement” (1587).

Helen’s story suggests that much of what she says is what she learned from others, such as the police. A year has passed since she met her lover in the bar. The prosecution tells the court that he was able to get a signed statement from her lover, who was in Mexico, about their affair.