Sylvia is obviously wrestling with Mary's problem. In the Encarta dictionary, a "Friend- is an "advocate of a cause, who supports a group or principle. In accordance with Sylvia, she is taking it upon herself to figure out how to handle a very tough situation of infidelity between Mary and her husband. She could have ignored it, pushed it aside, or even told Mary just to spite her. Instead, she is contemplating a way in which Mary will be the least hurt and traumatized by the situation. To this critic, that is a true friend. .
In many instances, critics may argue that Sylvia was self-absorbed or too much of a gossip. In reality, however, Sylvia may not have been able to deal with bad news about her friends. In A theory of Personality by George Kelly, we find that everyone deals with traumatic stresses differently. "A person's processes are psychologically channelized by the way in which he anticipates events, and that these ways exist in the form of constructs . Each person goes at it in his own way, in order to properly handle things according to their personality- (Kelly, 120). Obviously, Sylvia's way to cope with bad things that happen in her life and those dear to her is by sharing them. By talking them out with others, she is able to come to a closure about the situation. Sylvia is merely mixed up' sometimes about how to handle osme situations. It is quite possible that Sylvia just doesn't know that her sharing nature may affect others in a negative way. "The clairvoyant who doesn't know what to do with his insight is a frequent example. If his head were really clear, he would know how to dig up and develop his power- (Kunkel, 189). One sees hear that Sylvia is simply nave. She doesn't know how to clear herself of all the thoughts that she feels and so she has to share with as many people as possible in order to attempt to gain back power.
In Act II Scene I of the play, Sylvia and Peggy are "working out- at a local spa.