Yay! Character development! Wait... isn't it kind'a late?

One thing I noticed about GGTL was that the last scene added way more character development and depth to the play than the rest of the scenes put together. The happy-go-lucky mass produced play personalities are gone and the characters become more tangible and realistic as they finally turn and acknowledge the more unfortunate and unpleasant sides of life that they seem to have been oblivious to or glossing over for the majority of the play.

Laurey is no longer the careless, narcissistic, chore-avoiding child she once was and actually cares and is concerned for another human being. She is worried about Curly, and instead of pretending to be unaffected by his peril and going to brush her hair like she would have done in the past she shows her fear and worry while she visibly grieves.

Aunt Eller gets more of a back story and fills out; becoming a much more round character. She doesn't become more dynamic, however, because she doesn't really change; instead she stays the same, we simply have more information of how she got the way she is. Laurey's parent's deaths, which before were little more than just a blip of character exposition, are infused with emotion and made so much more solid and real when Aunt Eller emphasizes the fact that it wasn't just Laurey's parents who died to her, it was her brother and his wife. When we learn the cruel fate of her husband we cease to think of her as a bitter old maid and instead see her as a lonely, still grieving old widow who is emotionally fortified by necessity. With that we realize that the two women are very similar and in Aunt Eller we may very possibly see the future Laurey.