Title: Dat ole davil, sea: cowardice and redemption in Eugene O'Neill's Anna Christie
Abstract:early all the characters in Eugene O'Neill's Anna Christie play roles within their roles. They somehow manage to obscure their -L ^ true identities. Thus, Johnny-the-Priest is not priest but bartender...early all the characters in Eugene O'Neill's Anna Christie play roles within their roles. They somehow manage to obscure their -L ^ true identities. Thus, Johnny-the-Priest is not priest but bartender. His priestlike appearance is nothing but facade: beneath all his mildness one senses the man behind the mask?cynical, callous, hard as nails (60). Marthy Owen, the self-assured prostitute, speaks in mannish voice and wears a cap, man's jacket and a brogans (65). However, the most striking examples of dissembling characters are Chris and Anna Christopherson. In existentialist terms, they live in bad faith (Sartre, Being 86), pretending to be something they are not. They are what Sartre would call cowards because they refuse to take full responsibility for their actions. But whereas the old Chris remains stuck in his unauthentic ways, Anna manages to transcend her cowardice by means of her love for Mat Burke.Read More
Publication Year: 1998
Publication Date: 1998-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 1
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot