Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Desire Under Elms was a 3 Act play by Eugene O’Neill that was first performed in 1924. The play is loosely based on the Greek myth of Hippolytus and Phaedra which was first depicted in the play Hippolytus by Euripides. Eugene O’Neill depicted a similar story in a rural New England setting, albeit there are some basic differences between the story of Hippolytus by Euripides and the story of Desire Under Elms by Eugene O’Neill.
Characters: Eben Cabot is a young man with a strong sinewy build. He is attractive looking with defensive and resentful eyes. He lives with his old father and two half-brothers from his father’s first wife. The farmland they live on belongs to his mother whom his father married for land. His mother died while working hard at the farm and Eben blames his father for her death. Simeon and Peter Cabot are elder than Eben. Simeon is 39 years old and Peter is 37 years old. None of them wishes to waste their life on the farmland and they dream of venturing out to California and trying their luck in gold mines. Ephraim Cabot is 75 years old man, father of Eben, Simeon, and Peter. He is strongly built though his eyesight is weak now as he is too old. His first wife died at an early age when Simeon and Peter were little. He married for the second time and worked the farm of his second wife and made it successful. His second wife also died early and he often complains of being lonesome and the fact that no one really knows him. While he remained dutiful to each of his sons, none of his sons is close to him. Simeon and Peter wish he dies so that they may get their share of the farm and go to California to find gold. Eben on the other hand resents his father and wrongly blames him for his mother’s death. Abbie Putnam is a vivacious buxom woman, 35 years old. She is attractive with a strong sex appeal that cannot be denied. She marries Ephraim Cabot and becomes his third wife for security, money, and land. However, Ephraim is too old for her and she sets her eyes on Eben. Eben believes that she married his father only to grab his mother’s land. He resents Abbie for this but gradually accepts her as his lover. Abbie is happy to get the security of home as Ephraim’s wife while her physical and emotional needs are fulfilled by Eben until he comes to think that she is tricking him for his land.
Summary of Desire Under Elms:
It is a 3 Act play divided into 12 scenes. Eugene O’Neill was known for his heart-shaking tragedies and this play is also a tragedy based on difficult themes of greed, vengeance, love, desire, adultery, and distrust. The play is set in a farmhouse in New England in the 1850s. The farmhouse has two grown u strong elm trees, one at each side of the gate. Eben Cabot is a young attractive thin man with strong muscles showing his strength. He rings a bell to call his elder brothers Simeon and Peter to have supper. As Simeon and Peter arrive, they discuss the gold mines of California. Simeon says that it is an appropriate time for them to go to California and venture their luck in finding gold. Peter mentions that their father Ephraim Cabot is too old. He went out of the house two months ago and hasn’t returned yet. Simeon says that they cannot leave the farm until their father returns. Eben is listening to them and he says that he wishes their father is already dead.
Simeon and Peter know that Eben resents their father but they chastise him for wishing for his death. Eben argues that their father was responsible for the untimely death of his mother who died at a young age. He even blames Simeon and Peter for not helping his mother at the time of her need. Later on, Eben leaves the house to visit a local prostitute. Simeon says that Eben is exactly like their father.
The next morning, Eben arrives with news that their father has married for the third time. Simeon and Peter are afraid that the new wife of Ephraim will claim her share in the farmland. Eben sees his opportunity and offers $300 each to Simeon and Peter if they agree to give their rights on the farmland in favor of Eben to which Simeon and Peter agree. Eben has a strong desire to hold the whole farmland alone as it belonged to his dead mother.
As soon as Ephraim Cabot returns to the farmhouse along with his voluptuous curvy wife Abbie Putnam, Simeon and Peter leave home to go to California for their new venture in gold mines. Before leaving, they get into an argument with their father and warn him that Eben is just like him and he will chew him and throw him away. Meanwhile, Abbie is too excited at seeing her husband’s land and it is pretty clear that she married only for the land. As she goes out to have a stroll on the farm, she encounters Eben working in the field. She sees him with great interest and finds herself strongly attracted to him. Eben also notices her grown-up voluptuous body and finds himself attracted to her. Yet, when Abbie starts behaving seductively, he rejects her advances and reprimands her. He says that his father brought her like a prostitute and she has no right on the land as it belongs to him alone. Abbie too has a strong interest in the land but now, her whole attention is only on Eben who has aroused a strong desire in her.
Abbie continues to seduce Eben but he is strong-willed to reject her advances again and again. Abbie is concerned that Ephraim is thinking of offering the whole farm to Eben so she devises a plan and complains to Ephraim that Eben has been flirting with her. This angers Ephraim and he threatens to kill Eben or drive him away from the farm. Abbie realizes that she wants nothing of it as she still hopes to seduce Eben. She calms Ephraim down and tells him that she wishes to become the mother of his child. Ephraim is delighted to listen to this and he promises to fill her womb with a child soon. However, Abbie isn’t satisfied with Ephraim’s advances. Soon she decides to go to Eben’s cabin and kisses him forcibly. Eben tries to resist but fails to control her onslaught. She then invites him to the parlor down the hall which is a long unused room as it is believed to be haunted by Eben’s dead mother. This offers a different insight into Eben. He thinks that his mother would approve of his sexual relationship with his father’s newlywed wife as revenge against Ephraim. Thus, Abbie and Eben begin an incestuous relationship.
Soon Abbie becomes pregnant and then after nine months, she gives birth to a child. Old Cabot believes that the newly born baby is his child and throws a party to celebrate. All the neighborhood knows about the incestuous relationship between Abbie and Eben and they laugh at the back of Old Cabot but he ignores them. After the party, Ephraim goes to Eben’s room and says that the farm will go to Abbie and his newly born child. This angers Eben and they start fighting. When Abbie hears the noise, she goes up and tries to separate the two. Old Cabot soon retires to his room. When Abbie tries to talk to Eben, he shouts at her and blames her for using him to get pregnant so she could claim the child was Cabot’s and take the farm. Now when Old Cabot has announced that the farm will go to Abbie and her child, Eben finds no reason to stay at the farm and decides to go to California to work with his elder brothers. Abbie tries to reason with him and convinces him that she will find a way to prove his doubts wrong. Eben rejects listening to her and says that he wished the child had never been born. Abbie realizes that her own child is the wall between her and Eben.
The next morning, when Eben is preparing to leave for California, Abbie decides to act and she smothers her own child to death while standing on the balcony. She then rushes down to stop Eben from going away as she informs him that she has killed the child. While Abbie is feverish and proud as she did the ultimate sacrifice to save her love, her desire, Eben is horrified by Abbie’s act. He says that he is going to inform the Sherrif of the murder of the child. Abbie tells him that she doesn’t care for anything now as she did what was necessary to win back his love. Eben goes out to inform the Sherrif.
Meanwhile, hearing the noise, Ephraim gets up and comes out. He asks Abbie if the child is still sleeping to which she answers that the child is dead. Ephraim is shocked and sad. He goes to the child to check and finds him dead. He takes the child in his arms and starts crying. Abbie sees him and cruelly shatters his heart more by revealing that he is not the father of that dead child as the child was Eben’s son. Ephraim feels as if the ground is shattering under his feet. He says that he is going to inform the sheriff to which Abbie says that he doesn’t need to do that as Eben himself has gone to call the sheriff.
Eben returns and informs that the Sheriff is coming soon. He faces Abbie and tells her that no matter what happened but he loves her more than anything in the world and says that he will equally share the blame for the murder of the child. Abbie hugs Eben and they both disgust Old Cabot. Old Cabot is too sad and he says that he will burn the farm and go to California with his saved money. Eben informs him that he used his saved money to buy Simeon and Peter’s land on the farm. Old Cabot realizes that he now has no money but only the farm. He accepts his fate to live lonely on the farm as the Sherrif arrives, arrests Eben and Abbie, and takes them away.
So, this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of American literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards.
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