tionship. [2016]
Eugene O’Neill (1888–1953), in his play “Desire Under the Elms” (1924), presents love as both creative and destructive. Eben Cabot and Abbie Putnam are the main victims of this conflict. Their love begins with desire and ends in tragedy. O’Neill shows how passion can mix with guilt, revenge, and motherhood. Eben’s mother fixation and Abbie’s hunger for love make them suffer deeply. Their story turns from pleasure to pain, and from sin to sacrifice.
Love Mixed with Revenge: Eben’s love for Abbie begins with hate, not affection. He hates his father for working his mother to death. To hurt him, he loves Abbie, his father’s young wife. He says,
“She may’ve been his’n—but she’s mine now.”
These words show his revengeful heart. Abbie also desires Eben as a way to gain power in the house. Their passion begins as revenge and greed, not pure emotion. Yet soon, love replaces revenge and binds them with guilt.
Mother Fixation in Eben’s Heart: Eben cannot forget his mother. He feels her spirit in the house. When Abbie comes near him, he sees his mother’s image in her. Abbie says to him,
“I’ll take yer Maw’s place! I’ll be everything she was t’ ye.”
Her words awaken both his love and his mother-fixation. This mix of motherly care and sexual desire makes their relationship painful and confusing.
Abbie’s Desire and Sacrifice: Abbie’s love for Eben grows strong and sincere. She tells him,
“Let me kiss ye, Eben! I’ll be everythin’ she was t’ ye!”
When Eben doubts her, she becomes desperate to prove her love. In madness, she kills their baby to show her loyalty. She cries,
“I killed him, Eben.”
Her act shows how love becomes blind. Abbie’s passion changes into guilt and turns her from a sinner to a tragic lover.
Love Leading to Tragedy: Their love brings only sorrow. Eben’s guilt and Abbie’s crime destroy their peace. Yet through their suffering, they find truth. When the Sheriff comes to arrest them, Eben says he will go with her. Their love, once sinful, becomes pure in pain. Cabot, their father, says,
“God’s lonesome, hain’t He?”
His words show that all human love ends in loneliness. O’Neill makes love a powerful but destructive force that burns the hearts of both lovers.
Victims of Love and Passion: Eben and Abbie are not winners of love. They are its victims. They lose the baby, the farm, and freedom. Yet they win moral peace through punishment. Their love starts in sin but ends in spiritual union. O’Neill shows that love cannot escape guilt when mixed with desire. Under the dark elms, their passion becomes a symbol of human weakness and divine forgiveness.
In termination. We can say that Eben and Abbie are victims of both love and passion. Their relationship joins desire, motherhood, and revenge. It begins with sin and ends with sacrifice. O’Neill shows that passion can give meaning but also destroy life. Eben and Abbie suffer greatly, but through their pain, they find truth, purity, and tragic peace under the shadow of the elms.
Continue Reading
Subscribe to access the full content
Upgrade to Premium