The Theme of Feminism in Long Days Journey into Night - Research Paper Example

Insert The theme of Feminism in Long Day’s Journey Feminism is the oppression of the female gender; it is all about not giving them equal opportunity in the society. Men are given more opportunity than the female sex. In many cultural perspectives, men are stronger, and women are believed to be weak. Which are not true women and men should be given equal opportunity to express themselves. They place men in front thought this man depends on the women support. The episode entitled Long Day’s Journey into Night comes out as a play written by O’Neill about a single day has complicated lives of a family in the early twentieth century. O’Neill brings out the role of men and women in the society at that time and the difference between the father and his sons. The issue of gender and especially feminism is focused in the play through the life of Mary, who also happens to be the structural center of the play. A deeper analysis reveals that Eugene portrays Mary in a manner that she has many troubles and has many weaknesses evidenced by the use of morphine. She is being seen as irresponsible mother who cannot quite the addition. In addition, it is evident at times when James and Jamie talk alone and on the arrival of Mary, they shut up. The evidence concerning the fact that they are to be the only persons is from the fact that she is the one who can handle issues since they believe as seen in the statement, “Ive always believed Jamie did it on purpose. He was jealous of the baby. He hated him.” (2.2.103) (Eugen and Neill 103). James showed man character when he told Mary to forget the past. This is demonstrated by how strong he is and could forget the past. In addition, James Tyrone characters confirm feminism through his appearance and personality. It is evident that the story evolves around him as the head of the family but later we see the role of the woman becomes necessary when it comes to reliance and love. On the other hand, O’Neill uses Mary to show the “struggles that women go through in their daily lives” (Porter 80). Mary is described as a beautiful woman who takes up her role as a mother despite the addiction and other challenges that she has to overcome. For that reason, Mary started using morphine and got addicted to it after she had difficulty and was not treated well at the birth of her youngest son Edmond. Mary is also depicted as a tragic woman who is different from what she used to be in the past. She was innocent, beautiful and used to have dreams of becoming a Catholic nun a pianist. She also had strong religious faith in God. Analysis shows that when Mary got married to Tyrone, her beauty and dreams were destroyed, and her faith was also weakened. In addition, she lost faith in marriage when her husband failed to keep the promises that he made to her in the wedding. In that regard, Mary remembers how she did not want to blame anybody when she says “Im not blaming you, dear. How can you help it? How can any one of us forget?” (1.1.228) (Eugen and Neill 228). Here, Mary acts as an ideal figure of life of troubles and anxiety that women go through in their marriages and how their husbands and family shatter their dreams in general. Motherhood is at the center of issues in O’Neill’s book. In the episode, the whole family is dependent on Mary for happiness though she suffers and keeps reflecting on her past decisions that made her unsuccessful. It is evident that Mary does her “duties as a wife” and tries to make “her sons happy even though” they are not “providing her with the love” she also needs (Hall 40). In addition, Tyrone talks to “her because the dependence on her was for love” and care (Mandl 22). O’Neill shows how women have to make sacrifices for their families despite the difficulties they go through. The play also shows the gender expectations. This is represented by Mary, men in Tyrone family are a stereotype, but they admit that a women is necessary for their happiness. In addition, it is evident from the two brother’s conversation. As a result, Edmund asked Jamie where he had gone that night, and he replied with a place where he could find a suitable “female companion” (Porter 80). It is a portrayal of the fact that they needed female companionship and love. Loneliness Mary is seen very lonely and consoling herself with morphine in secret since she is trying to quit it. She takes it without anybody seeing her. Moreover, James does not allow her to go out of the house alone; he fears that she will start taking morphine without knowing that she is already it in secretly. In addition, Fog is used to show how Mary is isolated, and she says she loves the fog since it hides her from the world and the world from her. Realize that sometimes, Edmund encourages her to go for a drive in her car. Mary refuses to accept that because she still remembers when she had been told, “In a real home one is never lonely. You forget I know from experience what a home is like. I gave up one to marry you” (2.2.3) (Eugen and Neill 3). Moreover, her husband will suspect that she went to buy the drug. Tyrone’s isolation from the world is evident when his desperate prayers for Mary’s addiction, leads him to deny the existence of God. Note that, Edmund quotes that God is dead. In addition, Tyrone’s isolation from the world brings a sense of loneliness especially to Mary, who is trapped in the house of the men and she longs for a female companion. That is the reason why she sometimes spends time with her servant Cathleen just to talk about her past and mentions that “the doctor there had warned me I must have peace at home with nothing to upset me, and all Ive done is worry about you” (2.2.128) (Eugen and Neill 128). Cathleen is also isolated she only deals with her choices, and she spends time alone. The only times that she gets a company is when Mary comes to supervise her or spend time with her. This happens when she is very lonely and needs someone to hear her out. We can see this when Mary talked with her about her past dreams how she wanted to be a Nun until she met James. “James was fortunate” at that time, she did not expect them to lead such a life (Fleche 26). Mary was bitter “because hes always sneering at someone else, always looking for the worst weakness in everyone. But I suppose life has made him like that, and he cant help it. None of us can help the things life has done to us. Theyre done before you realize it, and once theyre done they make you do other things until at last everything comes between you and what youd like to be, and youve lost your true self forever” (2.1.76) (Eugen and Neill 76). In addition, Porter in his work highlights how he sees Jamie saying that there is no place he is going to be happy than in a woman companion. From this, it is evident that even the family is not important to him. From this, we can see how his life is miserable he spends his money on alcohol and women. In addition, Edmund on the other side is not a happy man he tried to kill himself this shows that he is isolated since he could not talk to anybody about his problems. The three characters look unhappy and reveal the loneliness that has swallowed them. This play shows power belonging to the male and female characters are slowly empowered by the fact that male characters are much weaker than what they show. In the end, it clears that a male cannot do without the female characters. Hall claims that Female characters can be successful without the male characters, it’s evidenced by the fact that Mary says she does not have “any female companion whom they can gossip” and laugh together (Hall 36). The issue of gender and especially feminism is focused in the play through the life of Mary, who also happens to be the structural center of the play. The story evolves around him as “the head of the family” but later we see the role of the woman becomes necessary when it comes to reliance and love (Porter 84). Tyrone talks to her because he depends on her for love and care. When Mary got married to Tyrone, her beauty and dreams were destroyed, and her faith was also weakened. She also lost faith in marriage when her husband failed to keep the promises that he made to her in the wedding. In addition, O’Neill shows how women have to make sacrifices for their families despite the difficulties they go through. On the other hand, Jamie felt lonely and rejected by his parents, but it is because of Jamie’s behavior that nobody wants to associate with a looser and a drunker. Tyrone’s isolation from the world brings a sense of loneliness especially to Mary, who is trapped in the house of the men and she longs for a female companion. Mary on the other hand too attempted to commit suicide because of the loneliness she did not have a friend and his family is isolated from the world. It is obvious that they need a female companionship and love. Works Cited Eugen and Neill. long days journey into the night. New York: Oxford University Press, 1955. Fleche, Anne. "Long Days Journey into Night: The Seen and the Unseen." Mimetic Disillusion: Eugene ONeill, Tennessee Williams, and U.S. Dramatic Realism. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 1997. 25-42. Rpt. in Drama Criticism. Ed. Janet Witalec. Vol. 20. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Artemis Literary Sources. Web. 14 May. 2015. Hall, Ann C. "Long Days Journey into Night." "A Kind of Alaska": Women in the Plays of ONeill, Pinter, and Shepard. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1993. 35-46. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Thomas J. Schoenberg and Lawrence J. Trudeau. Vol. 225. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Artemis Literary Sources. Web. 14 May. 2015. Mandl, Bette. "Wrestling with the Angel in the House: Mary Tyrones Long Journey." Eugene ONeill Newsletter 12.3 (Winter 1988): 19-24. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Thomas J. Schoenberg and Lawrence J. Trudeau. Vol. 225. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Artemis Literary Sources. Web. 14 May 2015. Porter, Laurin. "Long Days Journey Into Night: Descent into Darkness." The Banished Prince: Time, Memory, and Ritual in the Late Plays of Eugene ONeill. Ann Arbor, Mich.: UMI Research Press, 1988. 79-92. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Thomas J. Schoenberg and Lawrence J. Trudeau. Vol. 225. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Artemis Literary Sources. Web. 13 May 2015. Read More