Representation of Females in O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night and Desire under the Elms

Abstract

This research explores an ambivalent attitude of the American dramatist, Eugene O’Neill towards females in his plays, Long Day’s Journey into Night and Desire under the Elms from the perspective of critical feminism. O’Neill represents woman as an angel or goddess as well as a witch, devil or fallen woman because of the influence of the Swedish playwright August Strindberg and the German theorist Friedrich Nietzsche. So, he hates females or expresses negative attitude towards them. However, he respects them as goddess or angels because of his own life experience and nature. In the play Long Day’s Journey into Night, O’Neill presents Mary as a goddess mother and in Desire under the Elms too, the two Elm trees are represented as the spirit of Eben’s mother and his step-mother but he represents Abbie as a prostitute, whore, devil or fallen woman. Thus, O’Neill’s attitude towards females is divided, therefore, he shows dual nature towards females. So, he expresses love as well as hatred towards females in his plays, Long Day’s Journey into Night and Desire under the Elms.