Tragic Motherhood in Drama

Paper Summary:

This paper explore the role of the tragic hero in drama especially in the case of the heroism of two mothers. The paper describes the stories of Henrik Ibsen's play "Ghosts" and its tragic hero Helene Alving and of Sean O'Casey's drama "Juno and the Paycock and its tragic hero Juno Boyle". Juno and Mrs. Alving, the paper indicates, are important examples of tragic motherhood because they represent the realization of the roles of wives and mothers from opposite ends of the spectrum.

From the Paper:

"Instead, as Joan Templeton argues, Ibsen lays responsibility for Oswald's death at Mrs. Alving's feet. Her husband had no outlet for his "excess of vitality", and she admits herself that she "didn't bring any sunshine into his home." (Of course, Mrs. Alving is referring to her husband's sex drive and her refusal to submit to his sexual desire.) This is not necessarily to say that wives have a "duty" to become intimate with their husbands; however, Templeton notes that this claim is "the time-worn principle of the 'marriage debt' masquerading as sexual liberalism."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Beyer, Edvard. Ibsen: The Man and His Work. Trans. Marie Wells. New York: Taplinger Publishing Company, 1978.
• Cvetkovich, Anne. Mixed Feelings: Feminism, Mass Culture, and Victorian Sensationalism. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1992.
• Davis, Derek Russell, M.D. "A Re-Appraisal of Ibsen's 'Ghosts'." Family Process 2 (1963): 81.
• Dixon-Kennedy, Mike. Encyclopedia of Greco-Roman Mythology. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, Inc., 1998.
• Fitz-Simon, Christopher. The Irish Theatre. London: Thames and Hudson, Ltd., 1983.

More papers on Tragic Motherhood in Drama:

• Analytical Essay # 122557 : "Tragic Elements in "Hamlet"
• Analytical Essay # 121928 : "Tragic Flaws in Protagonists"
• Analytical Essay # 31749 : "Motherhood in Literature"

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