Topic: Critical appreciation of Eugene O’ Neill’s play’ Mourning becomes Electra’

Introduction of the play

Eugene O’ Neill (1888- 1953) was the son of an actor whose work meant that the family led a difficult life on the road. O’ Neill deeply resent his insecure child hood, pinning the family’s problem including his mother’s drug addiction, on his father. He was educated at boarding school. O’ Neill gained admission to Princeton University but left after only one year to go to sea. He has also attempted to suicide he spent his early twenties living of the docks of Buenos Aires, Liverpool, and New York sinking into alcoholism which has broken his life and his addiction took his job writing for a newspaper.

So we can say that Eugene o’ Neill a dramatist of U.S.A could not keep peace with the progress, in other branches of literature. He has also suffered with tuberculosis and was consigned to a Sanitarium for six months. While in recovery O’ Neill decided to become a playwright.

Works of Eugene O’ Neill

O’ Neill wrote his first play, Bound East of Cardiff, in 1916. At the end of 19^th century English drama comes to end. Standards of drama had also fallen. By the next decade playright becomes increasingly aware of the richness of the American sense.

The American theatre in the 1920’s experimented in many different ways. Expressionism was also brought to America. The artists tried to depict state of mind and psychological condition. And so by that expressionism American theatrical spirit grew.

O’Neill is also known as great dramatists and was genius also. He brought change in American drama depiction. O’ Neill has great skill of writing the play according to the demand of the audience he used expressionism and realism in his play. He also used naturalistic details with symbolism mood, suggestiveness and symbolism.

O’Neill went on write over twenty innovative plays in the next twenty years, to steadily growing acclaim. O’ Neill has also written twenty innovative plays in the next twenty years, to steadily growing acclaimed. The famous works from his early period include.

‘The great god brown’ (1926) and

‘Strange Interlude’ (1928)

His later works brought masterpiece in his career, such as ‘The iceman Cometh’ (1946)

O’Neill wrote morality plays and experimented with the tragic form. Because he was interested in tragedy began early as a tale of ‘Elms’ a tale of incest’s, infanticide, and fateful retribution. Then slowly and steadily he started to write different plays and it has mad his career bright into the English literature. His other works included are.

1. Aeschylus’s oresteia and

2. Mourning becomes Electra ( 1931)

Such work written by O’ Neill to aim of provides “modern psychological approximation of the Greek sense of fate” which shows writer’s creative freedom.

So we can say that O’Neill used expressionistic techniques. He used poetic devices as aside, soliloquy, mask etc. He has also given epic – dimensions by using myth and legend, in order to convey the sense of overhanging fate driving men to their doom, which was the play Mourning becomes Electra.’

O’ Neill likes T. S. Eliot, went to the Greek for inspiration. The ills of life seemed to him for complex to express through the photographic technique. He also says that.

“Tragedy, I think has the meaning the Greek gave it “So his plays argue towards urge of life and intention for living more life. O’ Neill has also done deep study into Freud and Jung made him discover the modern equivalent of the gods in the Unconscious, which shows serious and moral purpose in his play.

Introduction of the play:

Title of the novel

As per the title:” Mourning Becomes Electra” Mourning means: The expression of sorrow for someone’s death, Grief, lament, lamentation Black clothes worn as an expression of sorrow when someone dies. “Electra” means: Sparkling, the fairy sun “Becomes “in the sense of “befits” Electra to mourn- it is her fate mourning (Black) (sorrow) is becoming to her, it is the only colour that becomes her destiny.

CHARACTERS:

1. Lavinia Mannon: - Daughter of Mannon 2. Christine Mannon: - Wife of Ezra Mannon 3. Orin Mannon: - Son of Mannon 4. Brigadier General Ezra Mannon: - Father of lavinia and Orin 5. Captain Adam Brant: - Lover of Christine 6. Hazel Niles: - Friend of Mannon 7. Captain Peter Niles: - brother of Hazel
8. Seth backwith: - Aged gardener of Mannon

Theme of Mourning becomes Electra.

Mourning becomes Electra this play is related with psychology and psychological elements which leads towards broken relationships between family members who were closely attached with each other. The chief theme of O’Neill’s plays is man in relation to his society, his ‘God’ and the ‘Universe.’ The theme of strange Interlude is the breaking up a woman’s character, because of the death of her lover in the war. And it shows the fear of war and killings of the people during the world war- 2.

It shows the consequences of fulfilment of men’s twisted desires.

O’ Neill brought book of life many conventions of Greek drama, like the chorus, the aside and the trilogy of this play. Mourning becomes Electra is an American version of the Greek triology of the murderer of Agamemnon, the death of Clytemnestra and the results that follows into the ply. O’ Neill has adopted the Greek story to the necessity of American setting.

The Levin war is taken as American civil war and Agamemnon is General Ezra Manon. Christine Manon is Clytemnestra, Electra is Lavinia, and Orests is Orin Aegie is captain Brant. Eliot in ‘Murder the Cathedral’ O’Neill is also gratlet fascinated by the Greek dramatists and their technique. So in the play Mourning becomes Electra ‘Oedipus’ and Electra complex is described perfectly by showing the familiar relationship of the people.

Critical appreciation of the play ‘Mourning becomes Electra.’

As above we have seen that how O’Neill has described Oedipus and Electra complex into the play Mourning becomes Electra.

The Electra complex is derived from the 5^th century. Sigmund Freud developed the female aspect of the sexual development theory described the psycho dynamics of a girl’s sexual possession of father as the feminine Oedipus attitude and the Oedipus complex, yet it was his collaborator Carl Jung who coined the term Electra complex in 1923.

O’ Neill has used expressionistic techniques into the play. His play were very longer like epic- dimensions he has also used poetic devices like soliloquy, mask etc, to convey the sense of overhang fate deriving men to their doom. I think O’ Neill has used different symbolism to communicate with the people and readers. It is also gives a broad and universal significance to his theme. Which also related with the religion perspective and also hatred towards relationships which were related with own blood relations. (O'Neill)

Oedipus complex and its use into the play

Oedipus complex is related with the psychology but it is also known as the myth which is O’ Neill has described in his play Mourning becomes Electra’.

Freud was a psychologist he did many experiments on the human psychology. His psychoanalytical work has been of great value. He gave the concept of Oedipus complex.

Oedipus is a king who unknowingly marries his own mother. It is a play by a Greek playwright Sophocles. Oedipus as a child was sent by his parents to kill because of the misunderstanding that the child would marry to his mother. To avoid this incident this child was to be killed but the child reached somehow to the other king. The child was brought up by the king. The child was not known about his original parents. When he became young he went to his real father’s place, and kills his father and marries to his mother.

So Freud analyses and as a result he concluded that father is close to his daughter where as mother is close to the son.

“You're so like your mother in some ways. Your face is the dead image of hers. And look at your hair. You won't meet hair like yours and hers again in a month of Sundays. I only know of one other woman who had it. You'll think it strange when I tell you. It was my mother.”

In India we will find that father loves daughter more that the mother and mother love more than the daughter to her son. But here we can’t use the Oedipus and Electra complex because it is the love which we will found between the family which lives together.

O’Neill’s symbolism also quiet near to realism

“Not masks for all plays conceived in purely realistic terms.”

In this play the playwright has use the Electra legend to achieve an appointment to the Greek sense of fate such as would appeal so that it would appear to modern audience.

“Before O’Neill, the united states had theatre: after O’Neill it would had drama.”

In Greek drama struggle use as a weapon and it related struggle between men and god. But in the play of O’Neill we will found struggle between “men’s own past and future” and also himself. For him fate, all is the concept of sub conscious. And through it he gave a new concept of tragedy.

“Pride is responsible for their tragedy.”

O’Neill’s tragic heroes are modern equivalent of the Gods.

In this play we will also found the trilogy of three parts.

The play starts with above lines. The singer, Seth Beckwith, finishes the last line as he enters from around the corner of the house. Closely following him are Amos Ames, his wife Louisa, and her cousin Minnie. Seth tells her that the war is certainly over and her father coming home.

The first part starts with home coming it is late afternoon in front of the Mannon house. The house is in the style of a Greek temple style, featuring a white, columned portico that stands like an "incongruous white mask." Darkness, associated with death, pervades the plays: Homecoming, for instance, begins with the sunset, moves into twilight, and ends in the dark of night;

The play , Manon family of New England , Ezra Menon the brigadier General and an ex- judge has gone to participate in civil war and the mother Christine and the daughter Lavinia waits for the return of Ezra Manon. Ezra Manon is to return as the war ended on surrender of Lee’s forces. But when Ezra Manon returns the family members were becomes happy but if we minutely observe the happy moment for the return we will found that the family members only does show ups they in real sense not looking happy because the familiar love is prevalent between them was not real but was an illusion.

Levinia is the daughter of Ezra Manon and she falls into the love of Adam Brant who was the son of Lavonia’s Grand uncle who had seduced the Canadian maid servant. Lavonia’s father was ill and so she went to New York and then she met with Brant again it shows irresponsible daughter who gives important to her boyfriend rather than her ill father. Lavinia was very dear to her father. Brant was very close to his mother. The first part ends here and here we will found Oedipus and Electra complex into the play. So the first part ends with the analysis of Oedipus and Electra complex. O’ Neill broods over death and there is in his, and there is in him a susceptibility to extremes of passion, will and affliction, that one discerns in the Jacobean. So we can say that O’Neill vision of life as something terryifying and magnificent and often quite horrible that makes tragedies so powerful moving.

The second part of the play is The Haunted in this part Orin returns from the war. And was got injury. Levinia gives minute detail of Christin’s room where her father’s dead body was lying. Manon realize that her treachery and calls Lavinia for help. Lavinia rushes to her father. With his dying effort, Ezra indicates his wife: “She’s guilty not medicine.” He asps and then dies. Her strength gone, Christine collapse in a faint. So we will find that hoe O’Neill‘s preoccupation with death and gloom makes him a kin of Webster and Ford, the prominent Jacobean dramatists. Orin also shots Brant and next day Christine commits suicide. When Christine commits suicide thereafter O’Neill makes use of device in his oeuvre, one that appears in the Iceman Commeth and elsewhere a period of terrible suspense between a major player’s decisions to suicide plays vital role which turns into taking the revenge. So at the end of the play Lavinia stammers: “It is Justice.” So we can also say that in haunted O’ Neill has appear in his play repeatedly and in various things were leads us towards the human illusions.

Into the third part we will found that in to the third part Lavinia has grown more beautiful like her mother and he brother has incestuous love for her. Lavinia wanted to marry Orin but his wish will never fulfill. Orin shoots himself and so Lavinia loves Peter but breaks relations with him. In this part Orin and Lavinia are back after visiting the China and various other Islands. O’Neill has used many symbols he has used sea symbol and developed south Island motives which appear as peace, security, beauty, freedom of conscience, soundlessness etc.

O’ Neill not satisfied with the realistic details of his first draft of the play and he was eager to introduce psychological fate and symbolism. After the death of their mother Lavinia escaped to sea to come in contact with sea and island which shows image of mother as mentally peace in life.

So we can find that how O’Neill has great style of narration of the plot of the play which divided into there parts and it which is also an interesting play which leads reader’s towards psychological thinking and fear of war also by using different symbols and masks. “Each time I come back after being away, it appears more like a mask on puritan Grey ugliness.” The determinism of the play attracted the modern audience. The conflict of the play lies in love and lust. Ezra Mannon was the image of pride and egotism. There was no difference between love and lust for him. The Mannon believed that one is born to die. The mask-like face staged, was new technique. This device was criticized.

Conclusion

The playwright has given us an opportunity to peep into the characters inner conflict. The play also satisfies some of the codes of tragedy laid by Aristotle. It’s interesting that the length of the play doesn't deviate our attention. So we can say that Lavinia turns defiantly from what Orin described earlier as the “Jungian eye” of the sun to live out her days in darkness which we will found as the fear of ghost that will hound and haunt her forever. So the play is full of complexities because this play is related with the familiar relations or we can say broken relationships of the family members. And so this play gives psychological image and a vast scope of deep thinking of this play.

Works Cited

O'Neill, Eugene. The plays of Eugene o' Neill Volume - 2. New Delhi: Affiliated East- West Pressn Pvt Ltd, n.d.

Asmita Gonds's assignments

Friday 30 October 2015

Critical appreciation of Eugene O'Neill's play Mourning becomes Electra