Trystan Casey
Mourning Becomes Electra is a trilogy of three related plays by Eugene O'Neill: 'Homecoming', 'The Hunted', and 'The Haunted'. It is a modern retelling of the Oresteia, a trilogy of Ancient Greek tragedies by Aeschylus. The story is set in post-Civil War New England and explores themes of murder, adultery, incestuous love, revenge, and insanity. O'Neill's characters have motivations grounded in 1930s psychological theory, and the play can be interpreted through a Freudian lens, exploring various characters' Oedipus and Electra complexes.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of play | 1931 |
| Date of film | 1947 |
| Playwright | Eugene O'Neill |
| Film director | Dudley Nichols |
| Film runtime | 159 minutes (British cut) |
| Film runtime | 105 minutes (American cut) |
| Film stars | Rosalind Russell, Michael Redgrave, Raymond Massey, Katina Paxinou, Leo Genn, and Kirk Douglas |
| Play characters | Clytemnestra/Christine Mannon, Orestes/Orin Mannon, Electra/Lavinia Mannon, Aegisthus/Adam Brant, etc. |
| Film characters | Christine Mannon, Orin Mannon, Lavinia Mannon, Adam Brant, Seth, Peter Niles, Hazel Niles, etc. |
| Play themes | Murder, adultery, incestuous love, revenge, fate, psychological theory, Oedipus complexes, Electra complexes |
| Film themes | Revenge, murder, incestuous love, insanity |
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![Mourning Becomes Electra (1947) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.0 Import - Spain ]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71Q13GCbrVL._AC_UY218_.jpg)
What You'll Learn
Eugene O'Neill's 1931 play
O'Neill's play is set in New England during the American Civil War and explores similar themes of murder, adultery, incestuous love, and revenge. The main characters are members of the Mannon family: Brigadier-General Ezra Mannon, his wife Christine, their children Lavinia and Orin, and Captain Brant, who is Christine's lover.
The play begins with Ezra's return from the Civil War and the return of Lavinia and Orin from a trip to the islands. Seth, the gardener, warns Lavinia against Captain Brant, but she is more concerned with her brother Orin's growing obsession with her. Orin forbids Lavinia from seeing her lover, Peter Niles, and the tension between the siblings escalates, leading to Orin's suicide.
In the second part, The Hunted, Lavinia and Peter pledge their love, but their relationship is complicated by the Mannon family secrets and Orin's envelope, which contains a document that Orin gave to Hazel to open if he dies or if Lavinia tries to marry Peter. Despite their challenges, Lavinia and Peter plan to marry.
The final part, The Haunted, sees Lavinia dressed in deep mourning, struggling with her family's dark past and her own desires. She confronts her mother, Christine, who reveals her hatred for Ezra and her knowledge of Adam's true identity. Lavinia forces Christine to give up Adam by threatening to expose the truth to Ezra. Christine, however, manipulates Adam and Lavinia's relationship, driving a wedge between them.
Mourning Becomes Electra explores the cyclical nature of human action and the subconscious forces that drive people's behaviour. It delves into the violent emotional states of its characters, particularly the complex dynamics within the Mannon family. The play also examines the concept of fate and how it intersects with the characters' motivations and psychological states, offering a "modern psychological approximation of the Greek sense of fate".
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![Mourning Becomes Electra (1947) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.0 Import - Spain ]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41VDvI15LEL._AC_UY218_.jpg)
1947 film adaptation
Mourning Becomes Electra is a 1947 American drama film adapted from Eugene O'Neill's 1931 play of the same name. The film was written and directed by Dudley Nichols, who was inspired by O'Neill's modern take on the ancient Greek Oresteia trilogy by Aeschylus. The film is set in 1865 Massachusetts and centres around the Mannon family, specifically focusing on the characters of Lavinia (played by Rosalind Russell) and her brother Orin (Michael Redgrave).
The film explores themes of repressed passions, shameful secrets, murder, adultery, incestuous love, and revenge, which ultimately lead to the destruction of the Mannon family. In the film, Lavinia has just returned from a trip to New York, and is warned by the gardener Seth against her suitor, Captain Brant. However, she is in love with Peter Niles, and upon his return from the islands, Orin is driven mad by jealousy and guilt, eventually leading to his suicide. The film also explores the complex dynamics between the characters, including the strained relationship between Orin and Lavinia, and the rivalry between Lavinia and her mother, Christine, over Adam.
The 1947 film adaptation of Mourning Becomes Electra was initially released by RKO Radio Pictures with a nearly three-hour runtime. However, due to its poor box-office performance and lack of Oscar wins, the film was eventually cut down to 105 minutes, resulting in the loss of over an hour of footage. Despite the cuts, the film received criticism for its length and acting, with Bosley Crowther of The New York Times describing it as "tedious" and overlong.
The film marked Rosalind Russell's second consecutive nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role, and Michael Redgrave was also nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role. The film also featured notable performances by Raymond Massey, Katina Paxinou, Leo Genn, and a young Kirk Douglas in a supporting role. Although the original three-hour version of the film appears to be lost, the British cut, running 159 minutes, has been preserved and is available on DVD and Turner Classic Movies.
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Characters and their Greek counterparts
Playwright Eugene O'Neill's 1931 play, Mourning Becomes Electra, is a modern retelling of the Oresteia, a trilogy of Ancient Greek tragedies by Aeschylus. The play explores the same themes of revenge, murder, incestuous love, and insanity, but in a post-Civil War New England setting.
General Ezra Mannon (Agamemnon)
Ezra is the master of the Mannon house and has returned from fighting in the Civil War. He is hated by his wife, Christine, who sees him as a hardened, unfeeling male chauvinist. Knowing that he has a weak heart, she tells him she has a lover, which causes a heart attack, and then gives him poison.
Christine (Clytemnestra)
Christine is Ezra's wife and the mother of Lavinia. She is manipulative and hated by the townspeople. She becomes Brant's mistress and deliberately poisons her husband, Ezra, to death.
Lavinia (Electra)
Lavinia is Ezra's daughter and Christine's daughter. She blindly hates her mother and loves her father. After returning from a trip to the islands, she transforms herself into her mother in looks and behaviour. She is engaged to Peter but is also desired by Orin.
Orin (Orestes)
Orin is Christine's son and Lavinia's brother. He is bitter and resentful from his time as a soldier and becomes jealous and obsessed with Lavinia. He kills Brant, his mother's lover, in a fit of rage and later commits suicide.
Captain Adam Brant (Aegisthus)
Adam Brant is Christine's lover and the enemy of Ezra. He is killed by Orin in a fit of rage.
Peter Niles
Peter is Lavinia's love interest and fiancé. He is initially delighted with Lavinia's transformation into her mother, Christine.
Hazel Niles
Hazel is Peter's sister and Orin's love interest. She accuses Lavinia of driving Orin to suicide and tries to prevent their marriage.
Seth
Seth is the gardener who warns Lavinia against Adam Brant. He also reveals to Lavinia that Adam is actually David's son.
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Themes of revenge, murder, incestuous love
Mourning Becomes Electra is a trilogy of plays written by Eugene O'Neill, based on the Greek tragedy Oresteia by Aeschylus. The title refers to the transformation of the main character, Lavinia, from a state of mourning for her father into a figure of vengeance, mirroring the ancient Greek myth of Electra, who plotted revenge for her father's death. The themes of revenge, murder, and incestuous love are central to the plot and drive the tragic outcome.
Revenge is a dominant theme in the trilogy, with the action centered around the revenge sought by Lavinia and her brother, Orin, for the murder of their father, Ezra. The pair's desire for retribution consumes them, mirroring the ancient Greek concept of 'lex talionis', or 'an eye for an eye'. Lavinia and Orin's revenge is not swift, but a prolonged and torturous affair, as they plot and scheme to bring about the downfall of their mother, Christine, and her lover, Adam, who were responsible for Ezra's death. This theme of protracted revenge adds a layer of psychological complexity to the characters, as the audience witnesses the corrosive effect of their desire for vengeance.
Murder is, of course, a key element of the plot, with the initial murder of Ezra setting the tragic events in motion. However, it is the subsequent murders, driven by the theme of revenge, that truly showcase the destructive nature of the characters' actions. Lavinia and Orin's plotting leads to the deaths of several characters, including Christine and Adam, as well as the tragic death of Lavinia herself, who is unable to escape the cycle of violence and revenge that she has set in motion. These murders are not presented as heroic or glorious acts, but as tragic and futile gestures that only serve to bring about further pain and suffering.
Incestuous love is another important theme in the trilogy, adding a layer of psychological complexity to the characters' relationships. The incestuous desire between Lavinia and Orin is a key motivator for their actions, as they become obsessed with the idea of 'purifying' their family line by removing those they see as tainted, namely Christine and Adam. This theme of incest adds a further dimension to the characters' revenge, as it becomes not just a desire for justice, but a twisted attempt to 'restore' their family to its former purity. The incestuous love between Lavinia and Orin also serves to isolate them further, as they become consumed by their shared obsession, unable to form healthy relationships with those outside their family circle.
Overall, the themes of revenge, murder, and incestuous love in Mourning Becomes Electra create a powerful and tragic narrative that explores the destructive nature of unchecked desire and the corrosive effects of revenge. The characters' actions, driven by these themes, lead only to further pain and suffering, as they become trapped in a cycle of violence and revenge, mirroring the ancient Greek tragedies that inspired O'Neill's work.
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Naturalism movement
The play cycle "Mourning Becomes Electra" by Eugene O'Neill is classified by some literary critics as belonging to the naturalism movement. Naturalism, a 19th-century theory that emerged in the wake of Darwin's theory of evolution, posits that people are products of their heredity and environment. In naturalistic drama, human life is portrayed similarly to animal nature, driven by Darwinian instincts, and these natural forces often diminish or negate individual free will.
In "Mourning Becomes Electra", O'Neill employs naturalistic elements by demonstrating how the characters' personal histories and environments shape their actions and motivations. The play's setting in the post-Civil War era showcases O'Neill's understanding of American history and ideology. He draws parallels between the Civil War, driven by strong ideological convictions, and World War I, largely fuelled by colonial conflicts. Additionally, he contrasts 19th-century New England's Puritan heritage with modern America, highlighting how conformity and materialism have led to cultural relativism and a moral compass void.
O'Neill's focus on violent emotional states serves to emphasise the subconscious and inner spiritual forces influencing the characters' behaviour. The play explores the theme of revenge, where crimes of the past dictate the protagonist's suffering and actions in the present. This cyclical pattern of human action and the inability to escape it are central to the naturalism movement's tenets.
However, it is important to note that "Mourning Becomes Electra" also incorporates expressionistic elements. Expressionism, which emerged as a reaction against naturalism and realism, seeks to project inner states of mind, psychological conditions, and emotional crises through the distortion of outer symbols. In the play, this is evident in the pairing of characters (Lavinia mirroring Christine and Orin mirroring Ezra) and the symbolism of the Mannon house, which resembles a Greek temple.
Overall, while "Mourning Becomes Electra" does contain naturalistic elements, particularly in its exploration of human behaviour and the impact of history, it also transcends the boundaries of the naturalism movement by incorporating expressionistic techniques to convey the complex psychological dynamics of its characters.
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Frequently asked questions
Mourning Becomes Electra is a trilogy of three related plays: Homecoming, The Hunted, and The Haunted.
Mourning Becomes Electra was written by Eugene O'Neill.
Mourning Becomes Electra is a modern retelling of the Oresteia, a trilogy of Ancient Greek tragedies. It explores themes of revenge, murder, adultery, incestuous love, and revenge.
Mourning Becomes Electra was first produced in 1931.
Yes, Mourning Becomes Electra was adapted into a 1947 American drama film by Dudley Nichols.
