There's more to Cloud 9 than just crazy sex coming (tee hee) from all directions. There are deep bonds formed between people, and that's a beautiful dang thing.
Through her exploration of love, Churchill tries to warn us against being judgmental about other people's loves and sexual preferences. As far as Churchill's concerned, if it doesn't affect you in any way you don't get a say in the matter. Love is a many-splendored thing, dagnabbit.
Questions About Love
- In this play, are love and sex always connected? How so? How not so? Use specific examples from the text to support your claim.
- In your opinion, is Edward a fool for loving Gerry? Do you believe Gerry when he says he loves Edward back? Why or why not?
- Based on the places in this play where characters express love, do you think that love is a subject that Churchill takes seriously? Or is this play only about being playful for playful's sake?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
In Cloud 9, Churchill tries to knock down our romantic ideals about love in order to show us that, deep down all we really care about is sex.
For Churchill, love is a totally universal thing that can happen between any two people, no matter what their ages, genders, or races.