The Little Foxes

Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes (1939) is often considered a classic American 20th-century drama. Set in Alabama in 1900, the play explores themes of greed, passive violence, and female agency in the deep south, not yet 50 years removed from the end of the Civil War. The Little Foxes premiered at The National Theatre on Broadway in New York City in 1939 starring Tallulah Bankhead as Regina, before touring for two seasons across the United States. In 1941, Hellman adapted the script for the screen, which starred Hollywood Golden Age icons Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, and Teresa Wright. Many revivals of The Little Foxes garnered more award nominations and wins, including the 1981 production starring Elizabeth Taylor and the 2017 production in which Laura Linney and Cynthia Nixon alternated playing the roles of Regina and Birdie.

Other works by this author include The Children's Hour, Watch on the Rhine, and An Unfinished Woman.

This guide uses the edition of the Dramatists Play Service (1969).

Content Warning: The source text features domestic violence, alcohol addiction, racism, and violence against a character with disabilities. This study guide quotes and obscures the author’s use of the n-word.

Plot Summary

In 1900 in Alabama, three adult siblings set out to create a fortune by building a cotton mill. Ben Hubbard, Oscar Hubbard, and Regina Giddens have invited a wealthy investor from Chicago, Mr. William Marshall, to visit their homes in the south to secure the deal. The family do their best to charm Marshall into partnering with them, discussing the family’s legacy and values. Marshall is taken with the family and ultimately agrees with the deal.

As the men walk Marshall out, Regina is left alone with her timid sister-in-law, Birdie. Birdie, the only one of the group who was born a Southern aristocrat, expresses her longing to return to Lionnet, her childhood family home, once they have the money from the cotton mill. Regina wants to flee Alabama for a new life in Chicago. Birdie asks how Regina’s husband, Horace, will navigate Chicago in a wheelchair, but Regina replies that they will figure it out before Horace returns from his treatments in Maryland.

The brothers return to celebrate closing the deal with Marshall. As they begin to toast, they mention that this news is good fortune for the two of them, but perhaps not for Regina. The brothers have written to her husband, Horace, about putting up his third of the down payment for the mill but have yet to receive a reply. They assume he does not want to go in on the investment with them, and they will instead turn to fundraising the remaining third.

Regina is shocked by this, but knows that she will have to be strategic about her negotiations with Ben and Oscar. She suggests that, as Horace is also a shrewd businessman, he has been withholding his share on purpose in order to obtain a higher cut of the money. The siblings barter that, if Regina can give her word that Horace will invest, Oscar will forgo a percentage of his cut. Oscar and Birdie’s son, Leo, will be betrothed to Regina and Horace’s daughter, Alexandra (Leo’s first cousin). The deal will secure Oscar’s son’s future, and so Oscar agrees.

Leo and Alexandra return to the house. Regina tells Alexandra she will travel to Baltimore the next morning to fetch her father. Alexandra asks if Addie, the Black woman who works for them, can accompany her, but Regina insists she go alone. Birdie and Alexandra worry that Horace is too ill to make such a long journey on short notice, but Regina is firm.

Regina and the men step away, leaving Birdie and Alexandra alone. Birdie warns her niece about the plans to have her married to Leo. Alexandra doesn’t quite believe her aunt. Alexandra heads up the staircase when she hears a sharp cry from downstairs: On her way out, Birdie is slapped by her husband, Oscar, but she lies and tells Alexandra not to worry, saying she merely twisted her ankle.

Act II takes place few days later. Oscar arrives at Regina’s house in the early morning, asking after his sister. Alexandra had written that she and Horace should have been home last night, but there has been no sign of them yet. Oscar is worried about sealing the deal with the cotton mill.

Regina comes downstairs, and Leo arrives after visiting the bank where Horace works. The bank knew nothing about Horace’s delayed arrival, but Leo reveals some equally important information: Horace has a safe box at the bank, which Leo confesses that he broke into. Inside the safe box is an assortment of sentimental trinkets and $88,000 worth of bonds. Horace only checks the box every six months, which will give the brothers plenty of time to make back the money and replace the bonds before Horace notices. By having Leo use the bonds, Oscar is also securing a future for his son, and will no longer need Horace’s approval. Regina, in turn, will be cut out entirely from the deal.

Just then, Horace and Alexandra arrive. They were delayed due to Horace’s poor health. Alexandra leaves her father in Addie’s care and goes upstairs to wash. As Addie is helping Mr. Horace settle in, she discloses the family’s plans to marry Alexandra off to Leo. Horace disapproves of this idea and is horrified that his wife and brothers-in-law are using his daughter as a bargaining tool. Addie wheels him into the parlor, where the family is eager to talk about the cotton mill. After an awkward greeting, Ben and Oscar retreat, leaving Regina and Horace alone.

Horace tells Regina that he has thought about what to do with both the remainder of his life and his money. He says he does not have very long to live because his heart condition has worsened. The two argue, revealing existing marital problems, and Regina coaxes her brothers back into the room to settle the business of the cotton mill for good. Ben and Oscar brag about how they convinced Marshall to build the cotton mill in the south by cheating their workers of an honest wage. Then, Horace announces that he will not invest in their venture. He won’t give a reason, but when he and Regina go upstairs to discuss it further, he reveals that he doesn’t approve of the siblings’ greed and refuses to make the world harder for the workers than it already is. Regina is furious at her husband, and the brothers decide it is wisest to take the bonds and pretend they were on loan to Leo, making him a third partner instead.

Act III opens with Alexandra and Birdie playing piano together for Horace, while Addie serves them cake and elderberry wine. Birdie reminisces about the first time she met the family, and how Horace has always shown her the most kindness. She drinks steadily throughout the scene and speaks bittersweetly about her childhood home at Lionnet, wishing they all could return there. Birdie fears that Oscar only married her because she was a Southern aristocrat, and not because he ever really loved her. Addie tries to calm Birdie, warning that she will get one of her infamous headaches, but Birdie starts to weep and replies that she never actually gets them. She often finds herself drinking too much, and her husband is quick to tell others she can’t come down because of a headache. Seeing she is upset, Alexandra offers to walk Birdie home, leaving Horace and Addie alone.

Addie is shocked at all Birdie said in front of Alexandra, who is only 17. Meanwhile, Horace is grateful his daughter got a glimpse of what might await her if she isn’t careful. He tells Addie that when he dies, he wants to ensure Alexandra doesn’t get forced into a marriage with Leo. He tells Addie there is an envelope of cash with her name on it and asks her to promise she’ll take Alexandra away from the life the family has planned for her. The two share a moment of solidarity, which is soon interrupted by Cal, one of the men who works for the household.

Regina returns and tells Horace he shouldn’t be in this part of the house, as they agreed the other night. Horace agrees he won’t do it again, but has something to tell her before he leaves. He tells her that they have invested in the cotton mill after all. Horace found out about the loans when he had the safe box sent to the house three days prior. He tells Regina that instead of holding it over their heads, he is going to go along with the story, and say that the bonds were a loan from Regina. He is rewriting his will so that the brothers will repay her the $88,000, and the rest of his inheritance will go to Alexandra. He vows not to say anything about what actually happened as long as he lives.

Regina reveals she has hated Horace all this time because he was not ambitious enough to make them wealthier. Horace is struck by this, as he married Regina because he loved her. In the middle of their fight, Horace has a heart attack and begs Regina to fetch his medicine. Regina ignores him, leaving him to suffer. Horace, still weak and in a wheelchair, uses what little strength he has to make his way to the staircase, where his medicine is waiting for him upstairs. He collapses on the stairs, unable to go any further. Regina waits until she is sure he is beyond help, and then finally calls out for someone to come to her aid.

Horace passes away before he can change the will, and Regina, who was left out of their father’s inheritance, now takes the power and blackmails her brothers into giving her more money. They are forced to accept her terms, and leave the house frustrated. Alexandra and Regina are left in the house, and Regina tells her daughter of the lavish life she has planned for them in Chicago. Alexandra, recognizing her mother’s selfishness, refuses to go with her. She leaves Regina on the staircase—wealthier but utterly alone.