Vertiginous relations in Eugene O'Neill's Desire Under the Elms and Mourning Becomes Electra

The recurrent theme of inter-human family relationships in a state of loss and decay in plays authored by Eugene O'Neill arises in part from the author's own traumatic relationship with his parents and with his brother James. Trying to deal with his torturous memories, O'Neill seeks answers through his cursed characters, who partly derive from the writer himself, yet also offer a universal portrayal of humankind as a victim of his own mental being and system. Given O'Neill's profound interest in psychoanalysis, the plays mostly take place in the life process of the individual minds of the protagonists and of the animating effect they have on others who populate the play-texts; therefore it is essential for the understanding of the play-works under critical consideration to look at the inner lives and worlds of these enigmatic characters, and to evaluate to what extent they act on their own will and where, conversely, unconscious forms of desire from other characters, memories, wishes, objects and so forth are instead determinant. The canonical plays Desire Under the Elms and Mourning Becomes Electra offer an intriguing blend of the forms and of the contents of the classical-traditional and of the modern stage play, as they extend the heritage and the lineage of ancient Greek tragedy, although situated in..