Sunday, May 25, 2014

Critically examine Mary's obsession with her past in Long Day's Journey into Night.

Mary's obsession with her past is very much a function of
her denial of the present.  By living in the past, she is able to ignore the problems of
the present: Edmund's illness, Tyrone's frugality, all three men's alcohol abuse, and
her own morphine addiction.


Another aspect of Mary's
obsession with her past is that it represents a time of innocence: a time when she she
was contemplating a life in the convent, when she played the piano beautifully, when she
was beautiful.  But, then she married Tyrone and a series of events followed that slowly
removed her innocence.  She carries with her the guilt of Eugene's death, along with the
conflicted she has over the birth of Edmond.

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