I just have to start off by saying this is the FIRST time I have read O'Neill and it won't be the last!! I loved this play. The fact that it takes place in one room (the LIVING room) is genius! The "living" room. That is a wonderful contradiction as to what really goes on in there. The Tyrones aren't busy "living", they are busy dying!
Every member of this family is dependent upon each other for re-assurance as to who they are. Mary is so concerned about her hair that it is almost comical (ya' know, since she's a dope head). "What is it? What are you looking at? Is my hair-?" She says this several times throughout the play and it leads me to believe she is lacking in confidence. She relies on her family to build her confidence. But.... to no avail! She's hooked on "the dope" and she won't be back soon!
Mary's addiction plays out as an addiction to comfort. She lacks comfort in her "home"; she lacks social comforts, like friends; and she lacks comfort in herself.
Tyrone Sr. is played as an "old codger" of sorts. He sort of reminded me of my grandfather. He's an older man who is given to claiming he's "poor" (land poor) and he likes his whiskey! He treats Mary in a way that both endears me to him ("None of that, my lady! You're just right. We'll have no talk of reducing."), and also makes me dislike him with his backhanded compliments to Mary. He seems to be a good father and it is obvious he has no problem letting the truth slip out when it comes to Jamie.
Jamie is like the black sheep of the family. His drinking and whoring are practically accepted by his family. It's like they just say, "Oh! That's sooo Jamie!" Jamie is very dependent upon his parents for money and a place to stay. He tries to do his part (trimming the hedge) to earn his keep but he is more concerned about "fat" hookers and whiskey than he is about himself. He genuinely loves his brother but, at the same time, I don't think he would lose too much sleep if Edmund died.
Edmund is the shining example of this dysfunctional family. He has consumption. Or is it, he's being "consumed". I love that the "frail" and sickly Edmund is also the one who appears to be the strongest and most independent of the Tyrones. He has ventured outside of this family to try and find himself---only to find that he's anchored to a sinking ship (his family).
I have rambled to the point of boredom!! The final picture of this family is one of sorrow, loss, co-dependency, addiction (to both alcohol and drugs), and love. It's a beautiful train wreck of a family!! They continue to look at each other without SEEING each other. Tyrone Sr. sums it up best with this line: "Yes, forget! Forget everything and face nothing! It's a convenient philosophy if you've no ambition in life except to....." Well said, sir! Well said!
I hated this play, it was so depressing. I could barely get through reading it because I wanted to do an intervention on the family. Everyone is heavily screwed up. They wake up everyday and basically its groundhog day for them everyday. How depressing...Call me a typical sappy stereotype but I like a happy ending or at least one where the characters develop throughout the story.
ReplyDeleteYour comment about Mary's primary addiction being an addiction to comfort is really interesting-- I agree! She craves comfort in her life and her apparent lack of it manifests as self pity and a lack of self-esteem. The morphine that was originally intended to reduce her physical pain is now being used to numb her reality (reducing, albeit temporarily, her mental and emotional pain).
ReplyDelete"Long Day's Journey into Night" showcases family dysfunctionality like no other play I have ever read or seen performed. I liked your comment that Edmund is anchored to a sinking ship, but I think that this can be applied to the other family members too. Mary, Tyrone, Jamie, and Edmund are all struggling with their own personal demons (alcoholism, drug dependency, unmet expectations, family pressure, unfulfilled dreams, etc. etc. etc.) Their ties to each other, and their ingrained behavior of blame and self-pity, prevent them from forgiving each other and moving forward. Just as the play is a day in the life of the Tyrones (one that is seemingly typical of their life), the characters themselves perpetuate their blame and self-pity and make little effort to improve their daily reality. They seem resigned to their fate and have little hope that things will change, at least on a practical level that would involve them forgiving each other and owning their own faults and mistakes. O'Neill's play is realistic and although it's not exactly uplifting, a lot of its power lies in what's NOT said-- that this family's only hope for redemption is for each family member to proactively and DAILY choose to forgive each other.