[close] A tale of a young woman's self-discovery and sublimated passion, of villainy narrowly defeated and true love triumphant at last, A Laodicean is a comedy whose happy ending is more than usually hard won. Paula Power, its reluctant "New Woman" heroine, attempts to devise her role and purpose within a rapidly changing society and economy. Nostalgically longing for medieval certainties, she must face the fraught conditions of her own age. [close]