His lustful words show his sinful passion. Abbie marries Cabot for the farm and later betrays him. O’Neill presents how greed and desire blind human hearts, leading them toward inevitable guilt and suffering.
Adulterous Love as Sin: Eben and Abbie’s love is the central sin of the play. Their relationship begins as revenge but turns into forbidden love. Abbie says,
“Can’t ye see it’s got t’ be that an’ more—much more—fur me t’ be happy?”
This love violates family and moral laws. Their passion leads to guilt, not joy. O’Neill shows that love without purity becomes sin. Their secret affair brings shame and tragedy, proving that sinful desire always demands a painful retribution.
Murder as the Final Sin: Abbie’s act of killing her baby is the greatest sin. She kills the child to prove her love for Eben. She says,
“I killed him, Eben.”
Her crime shocks both Eben and Cabot. This murder becomes the turning point of their punishment. Abbie’s act, though born of love, is morally wrong. It destroys the family completely. Through this, O’Neill shows that even passionate love cannot justify sin. The killing becomes the symbol of human weakness and tragic retribution.
Retribution Through Guilt and Suffering: Every character in the play faces retribution. Eben’s heart fills with guilt after Abbie’s crime. He says,
“I’ll tell the Sheriff.”
His decision to confess shows his deep regret. Abbie, too, suffers mentally and emotionally. Cabot loses everything—his family, pride, and peace. His final words, “God’s lonesome, hain’t He? God’s hard an’ lonesome,” show his inner punishment. O’Neill makes it clear that their suffering is not God’s revenge but the natural result of their own sins and desires.
Moral and Spiritual Realization: Ultimately, the sinners gain awareness of their guilt. Eben and Abbie accept their punishment together. Their final walk to prison becomes an act of spiritual cleansing. They find peace in suffering. Cabot realizes his loneliness and failure as a father. O’Neill’s treatment of sin and retribution is not about divine punishment but human realization. The characters’ pain purifies them. Their suffering under the dark elms becomes their moral redemption and tragic end.
To sum up, O’Neill treats sin and retribution with deep humanity. Desire, greed, and pride cause every sin, and guilt becomes the true punishment. Abbie’s crime, Eben’s guilt, and Cabot’s loneliness show that sin destroys but also awakens the soul. O’Neill teaches that retribution is not from heaven—it comes from within the human heart filled with pain and repentance.
Continue Reading
Subscribe to access the full content
Upgrade to Premium