Greek tragedies she is a person of deep emotions and suffering She endures the loss of her husband father-in-law and six sons By the end of the play even her last son Bartley is taken by the sea Maurya s struggles against forces she cannot control make her a classical tragic character The Role of Fate In classical tragedies fate plays a major role and Riders to the Sea is no different The sea acts as a symbol of fate The poor islanders cannot escape the sea They must go to sea for fishing or trading otherwise the families would starve Bartley must cross the sea in bad weather to sell his horse and support his family Bartley explains he must go as no boats will go in two weeks or more Bartley says This is the one boat going for two weeks or beyond it No matter how much Maurya prays or tries to stop Bartley from going to the sea she is powerless against the sea s will just like the classical tragic heroes cannot escape their fate Presence of Chorus Cathleen Nora and the old women and neighbors in the play act like the chorus in Greek tragedies They witness and comment on the events Cathleen and Nora provide background information The audience knows from their discussion that Michael has been missing for nine days Again Nora forshadows impending danger like a chorus Nora says God help us There's a great roaring in the west Nora's comment about the impending storm foreshadows Bartley's death by the power of nature Catharsis Like classical tragedies the play evokes pity and fear among the audience The audience feels pity for Maurya s relentless suffering and fear of the sea s overwhelming power By the end of the play when Maurya accepts her losses and resigns herself to fate the audience experiences catharsis a cleansing of emotions Maurya says No man at all can be living for ever and we must be satisfied Modern Tragedy Unlike classical tragedies that focus on kings or nobles Riders to the Sea portrays ordinary people Maurya is not a queen or a noblewoman but a simple mother trying to survive in a harsh environment This focus on the struggle of the poor islanders makes the play a powerful modern tragedy Moreover the language is simple and the concerns are practical Bartley must sell horses to bring money home or the family will starve This realism grounds the story in real life rather than myth Also the style of short one-act play suits modern drama Universal Themes Despite being set in a specific place and time Riders to the Sea deals with universal themes like grief death and acceptance These universal themes make the play a classical modern tragedy In conclusion Riders to the Sea is a modern tragedy because it focuses on the struggles of ordinary people in a realistic setting At the same time it has classical elements like fate a tragic hero and the presence of the chorus