Since there is no one left to punish her, she must punish herself—she must entomb herself in the house with the ancestors. Read the Study Guide for Mourning Becomes Electra…, View the lesson plan for Mourning Becomes Electra…, View Wikipedia Entries for Mourning Becomes Electra…. A "distorted look of desire" comes into his face and he tells her he loves her. As the last male Mannon, he has written a history of the family crimes, from Abe's onward. Orin enters, insisting that he see Hazel alone. [4], O'Neill also differed with Aeschylus on the theme of fate and the role of the gods in the lives of men.

Lavinia wishes his death. Orin enters, insisting that he see Hazel alone. Christine agrees to Lavinia's terms. The story is a retelling of the Oresteia by Aeschylus.

In O'Neill's interpretation, these forces are eliminated in favor of Freudian and Jungian psychology. Peter appears in the doorway.

Christine enters indignantly, wondering why Lavinia has summoned her. In May 1932, it was unsuccessfully revived at the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre) with Thurston Hall (Ezra), Walter Abel (Orin), Judith Anderson (Lavinia) and Florence Reed (Christine),[1] and, in 1972, at the Circle in the Square Theatre, with Donald Davis (Ezra), Stephen McHattie (Orin), Pamela Payton-Wright (Lavinia), and Colleen Dewhurst (Christine).[1].

Startled, Orin realizes that his death would be another act of justice. Osborne-Bartucca, Kristen.

Hazel confronts her and tells her to leave Peter alone, as she has influenced him and made him crueler. Lavinia reappears and coldly calls Orin to see their father's body. Christine departs. Orin gives pause, and grimly tells Hazel it is over between them. He then observes snidely that Lavinia is the most interesting criminal of all.

She tells Orin she will do anything if he surrenders it.

Hazel agrees. He and Lavinia make it look like a robbery.
The Mannon secrets will prevent their happiness.

At the beginning of the play Ezra and Christine’s daughter Lavinia, a thin and cold young woman, talks with the family gardener, Seth, and realizes that Brant has been coming around the house not to court her but to see her mother. Unnaturally casual, Orin remarks that he was about to go clean his pistol and exits. Lavinia stiffens.

Lavinia reappears in the room and coldly calls Orin to view their father's body.

Suduiko, Aaron ed.

She accuses her mother of adultery. Brant has sworn vengeance. Christine surprises him and tells him Lavinia seems to know about the murder and that they must go away. She enters the house. When Orin angrily accuses her of sleeping with one of them, Lavinia assumes Christine's taunting voice. Calculatingly, Lavinia derides the memory of Brant's mother, who died of starvation in her son's absence as Ezra never replied to a message she sent for help. She also realizes that Brant is the child of David Mannon, Ezra’s father Abe’s brother. In 1967, the Metropolitan Opera gave the world premiere of an operatic version, composed by Marvin David Levy to the libretto of William Henry Butler. Her strength gone, Christine collapses in a faint, and Lavinia falls to her knees in anguish. Mother and son embrace jubilantly.

While Christine and Brant were talking, Lavinia and Orin had hidden themselves and listened to their mother’s conversation. She should only open it, (a) if something happens to him, or (b) if Lavinia tries to marry Peter. Peter is suspicious, and Lavinia clings him and accidentally calls him “Adam.” Peter cannot understand and asks about the native man. Orin and Lavinia appear, revealing that they killed Brant. Christine collapses.

Orin then tells Hazel goodbye forever and tells her to leave. Orin jealously mocks his sister, accusing her of becoming a true romantic during their time in the Islands. Brant has sworn vengeance. He thinks Christine is speaking through Lavinia. You're insane! There are literary readings that classify Mourning Becomes Electra in the naturalism movement. Surprised by the bitterness in his voice, Lavinia desperately flings herself into his arms crying, "Take me, Adam!" The play premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theatre on 26 October 1931 where it ran for 150 performances before closing in March 1932, starring Lee Baker (Ezra), Earle Larimore (Orin), Alice Brady (Lavinia) and Alla Nazimova (Christine). Suddenly Brant himself enters from the drive.

Seth, the gardener, takes the anguished girl aside. Hazel wonders why Lavinia seems to control Orin so much.

Christine explains that Lavinia has gone mad and begun to accuse her of the impossible. Mourning Becomes Electra Summary and Analysis of "The Hunted" Act I & Act II.

She loves Lavinia's brother Orin because he always seemed to be hers alone, and never Ezra's. Buy Study Guide. One week later, Lavinia stands stiffly at the top of the front stairs with Christine.

Christine, who has no love for her daughter, nevertheless lies and promises to do so.

The war has made him realize that they must overcome the wall between them. A shot is heard from Ezra's study. Orin is furious but loath to believe his sister. Calculatingly Christine assures him that all is well.

Orin rushes to Hazel and thrusts the manuscript in her hands, warning her that if Lavinia goes through with marrying Peter, Peter must read this.

Toward daybreak in Ezra's bedroom, Christine slips out from the bed. Hazel admits she has told Peter of Orin's envelope.

Lavinia cannot believe this and cries out that he is insane. Unnaturally casual, Orin remarks that he was about to go clean his pistol and exits.

Peter appears in the doorway in the midst of the argument. It is two nights after Ezra’s murder and the house is wreathed in shadow and moonlight. Toward daybreak in Ezra's bedroom, Christine slips out from the bed. He insists it is the only way to stay together. Calculatingly Lavinia derides the memory of Brant's mother. Act V

Lavinia, Ezra's severe daughter, has just come, like her mother Christine, from a trip to New York. They kiss. Mourning Becomes Electra Summary. Christine glares at her daughter with savage hatred and marches into the house. Lavinia stammers: "It is justice!". Lavinia and an enraged Orin (who followed their mother from the house) listen from the deck. Copyright © 1999 - 2020 GradeSaver LLC. Peter, Lavinia, and Orin arrive at the house.

Seth, the gardener, takes Lavinia aside. Much like Aeschylus' plays Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers and The Eumenides, these three plays by O'Neill are titled Homecoming, The Hunted, and The Haunted. Christine assures him that all is well and there is no wall between them. Act III Horrified, Lavinia orders Peter home. She loves her brother Orin because he always seemed hers alone. A resolute Hazel arrives and insists that Lavinia not marry Peter.

Orin complies, after Lavinia admits she loves him, and agrees to do whatever he wants. He obeys.

Lavinia warns Orin to be careful of Christine and not let her manipulate him. He jealously asks Lavinia about what she wrote him regarding Brant. Lavinia enters, and with forced casualness, asks him what he is doing. Back at the house, Christine is nervous about Brant, and seeks comfort from the sweet and innocent Hazel. He knows the house is not his and that Christine awaits his death to be free. After their lovemaking, Christine steals away but Ezra is awake and accuses her of wanting to get away from him.
Peter arrives, and the pair pledges their love anew. SparkNotes is brought to you by Barnes & Noble. Mourning Becomes Electra Summary. She only became pretty like their mother on the islands they visited where the native men stared at her with desire. He is confused, but he is thrilled to see his mother. Before Seth can continue, however, Lavinia's suitor Peter and his sister Hazel, arrive. Act III The night after Ezra's funeral, Brant's clipper ship appears at a wharf in East Boston. Brant agrees, and the two plan to sail to China as soon as possible.

Christine, glaring at her daughter with savage hatred, sarcastically repeats the word "Live?"

In the study, Orin tells Lavinia that Christine has already warned him of her madness. Lavinia's body has lost its military stiffness and she resembles her mother perfectly. Mannon's bitterly rebukes her. A moment later, Hazel and Peter appear in the sitting room. If Peter is proposing marriage to her again, he must realize she cannot marry anyone because her father needs her. In May 1932, it was unsuccessfully revived at the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre) with Thurston Hall (Ezra), Walter Abel (Orin), Judith Anderson (Lavinia) and Florence Reed(Christi… He needs to warn her against her would-be beau, Captain Brant. Lavinia rushes forward and embraces him. Christine defiantly tells Lavinia that she has long hated Ezra and that Lavinia was born of her disgust for him.

Mother is speaking through Lavinia. Mourning Becomes Electra study guide contains a biography of Eugene O'Neill, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. [3] For this theme, some observers note that O'Neill's approach is more similar to William Shakespeare's outlook in Hamlet than Aeschylus' in Oresteia.

David had an affair with Marie Brantome, Abe’s French nurse, and, as a result, was exiled from the family. Suddenly Ezra enters and stops stiffly before his house. It is late spring afternoon in front of the Mannon house. Each of these plays contains four to five acts, with only the first act of The Haunted being divided into actual scenes.