“Desire Under the Elms” by Eugene O’Neill

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Farmhouse as an important element of play narration
Conclusion

Introduction

The current essay deals with an analysis of Eugene O’Neill’s play named desire under the Elms, which is the classic of modern American drama. The research purposes we pose are not about revealing plays structure or its comprehensive description. Instead, this argumentative essay seeks to outline the contours of the main theme that can be found in Desire under the Elms and reveal relations between characters, their viewpoints, and cognitive perceptions, which in their turn constitute the theme realization. The main theme analyzed in this argumentative essay is selfishness, hate, and envy sandwiched between lust for money and land, which eventually leads to deprivation and tragedy since all material values are pursued in an immoral manner. After the main elements of this theme are revealed, we discuss the farmhouse as an important setting in the play where all major events unfold. Finally, the integration of this setting with a central idea is made, describing how it provides expressive means for depicting selfishness, hate, and lust in O’Neill’s play.

Selfishness, hate, lust for money, and land in Desire under the Elms.

Besides all differences between the three sons of Ephraim Cabot, the owner of a large and prosperous farm in New England, they have much in common, and this is hatred, resentment, and envy for their father and their desire (the notion of desire means something malicious in O’Neill play) to be owners of Cabot’s farm. They lost their mother in early childhood and were raised in patriarchic traditions, beaten and oppressed by him. They saw how greedy he was for money, how he spent his ‘blood and sweat’ (in his own words) to earn money, to capitalize on his farm and land. This situation resembles the plot of Dostoevsky’s Karamazov Brothers, where Karamazov-father was also a greedy voluptuous man who spent his wealth only for indulging himself and didn’t give money to his sons, which made them hate him. So Cabot was very greedy, and though he understood that he is old, he still made everything he could to harm his children. ‘Stingy night,’ he was one can claim. For Cabot, hardness and strictness are real virtues, but he uses them only in relation to his sons. Amusement and indulging, he leaves for himself. Of course, all this can’t help but produce such feelings as selfishness and especially envy in his sons that grew narrow-minded, stupid, having only money in their mind and secretly hating each other.

Ephraim, though, knows that his sons are envious of him and hate him, and he seems to know the reason. As he tells Abbie later in the play: ‘They hated me ’cause I was hard. I hated them ’cause they were soft’. In fact, Cabot here seems to misinterpret the main reasons for hate. He is unconscious about money and land, and material orientations are the main reasons for envy and hatred. His own Desires became the Desires of his sons. Thus he can be claimed responsible for their attitude to him.

But the most selfish of all sons are undoubtedly Eben, around whom the main dramatics of the novel is mainly organized. His main desire is to possess the farmhouse, which is due to his lust for money and selfishness. He even pays money for his brothers so they would not contest his right on the farmhouse. Simeon and Peter then depart to the West (California) in search of money and social prestige. It can be claimed, though, that Eben’s Desire to obtain a farmhouse is based not only on mere mercantile vision but are deeply embedded in his project to revenge his father, whom he considers the main to blame for his mother death. Hence, Freudian motifs come into play, intermingling with selfishness and hatred. This partly explains the fact why Eben didn’t hesitate to start an affair with Ephraim’s new young wife Abbie, who took with him to his farmhouse. Eben hates Ephraim’s practicability and pedantic attitudes, but he doesn’t notice that he is the same. For instance, when Ephraim says that he likes to sleep nights in a barn so he may take the lessons of life from the cows, he is not joking but rather reveals some important traits about his personality – practicalness which is the main follower of egoism and individualism. Eben’s hatred and envy always are not superficial. When he spews hatred at his own father, it shouldn’t be regarded as frustration – it is deep anger.

Many episodes of O’Neill’s play prove the fact of great hatred of Eben to his father: ‘Eben appears outside, slamming the door behind him. He comes around the corner, stops on seeing his father, and stands staring at him with hate’. Ephraim, in his turn, feels the same about Eben. This is seen in his conversations with Abbie, where he constantly insults him and tries to reveal his inner truth while at the same time revealing his own: ‘Ye needn’t heed Eben. Eben’s a dumb fool–like his Maw–soft an’ simple!’. Here we also see that Eben’s desire to revenge for his mother is quite justified.

It is important to note that Eben’s greediness and lust for money are no less than his hatred and selfishness. He likes to watch the things in the farmhouse and land around it: ‘Eben stops by the gate and stares around him with glowing, possessive eyes. He takes in the whole farm with his embracing glance of desire.’

The relations of egoism, hypocrisy and possessive hatred are also peculiar for Abbie-Ephraim relations. She married him because she knew that he had money and a farmhouse. Moreover, she loves Eben and pregnant with his child. Her comments on Ephraim’s love outpourings are brutal. For instance, she says: ‘Waal–ye hasn’t dead yet’ In his turn, Ephraim begins to understand that all the deal is about the farmhouse. He screams in anger: ‘I’d set it afire an’ watch it burn–this house an’ every ear o’ corn an’ every tree down t’ the last blade o’ hay! I’d sit an’ know it was all a-dying with me an’ no one else ever owns what was mine, what I’d made out o’ nothin’ with my own sweat ‘n’ blood!’ He is so greedy that he better-ruing everything than allows somebody to own his house. Abbie is so selfish, thinking that bearing Eben’s child would destroy their relations that make infanticide. Eben’s reaction is quite calm even when he loses this child.

Farmhouse as an important element of play narration

There is no denying the importance of the fact that farmhouse as the main object of clash is a crucial element of narration. When the play begins, it is described as beautiful, cozy, with good furniture inside, with all necessary premises for farming inside. It is presented as a place for family life where children can have fun. But as the plot unravels and all bad feelings and malicious projects are nurtured, hate and egoism cover with a thick film this farmhouse.

Beginning from the Second Act, it is mainly described in bleak shades. A crack finally appears in its walls, and it is broken. Authors’ descriptions of farmhouse transformations are often put in Cabot’s mouth.

He connects these changes to worsening of relations inside family and Abbie: ‘Ye give me the chills sometimes. (He shivers.) It’s cold in this house. It’s easy. They’s thin’s pokin’ about in the dark – in the corners. ‘I felt they were somethin’ unnatural – somewhat – the house got so lonesome – an’ cold – drivin’ me down t’ the barn – t’ the beasts o’ the field’. Or another example: ‘It’s allus lonesome cold in the house – even when it’s bilin’ hot outside. Hain’t yew noticed?’.

Conclusion

Thus, as we see, the farmhouse plays a symbolic role in the play. Every change in relations between family members, every single act of hatred or selfishness, every tension and dramatics is symbolized by some change in the house settings. The complete demise of the family is marked by the breaking of the farmhouse wall. All these elements constitute the realization of the play’s main theme, as this essay has proven.

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“Desire Under the Elms” by Eugene O’Neill

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