Literature Help: Mourning Becomes Electra

By Students' Academy

“Mourning Becomes Electra” retells the story of Oresteia by Aeschylus.

The Greek tragedy has been masterly transformed into this modern play. The play revolves around murder, adultery, incestuous love and revenge, and a group of town dwellers who serve the purpose of Greek chorus.

It is noticeable that most of the characters in Greek tragedies are guided by fate, but the characters in the present play have their motivations grounded in 1030s era psychological theory.

Literature Help: Mourning Becomes Electra
Copyright
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Plot Overview
Chapter Three: Characters
Chapter Four: Complete Summary
Homecoming
The Hunted
The Haunted
Chapter Five: Critical Analysis

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raja Sharma
• Release date: Feb 3, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311450913

Students' Academy

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Literature Help: Mourning Becomes Electra

Students' Academy

Copyright

Literature Help: Mourning Becomes Electra

Students’ Academy

Copyright@2014 Students’ Academy

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Chapter One: Introduction

Mourning Becomes Electra by American playwright Eugene O’Neill is a play cycle. It first premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theatre on 26th of October 1931.

The play ran continuously for 150 performances at the Guild Theatre. It was closed in March 1932.

It was later revived in May 1932 at the Alvin Theatre, which is not called the Neil Simon Theatre. It was also revived at the Circle in the Square Theatre in 1972.

Mourning Becomes Electra retells the story of Oresteia by Aeschylus.

The characters in the play are parallel to the characters in the ancient Greek play. The character of Agamemnon from The Oresteia is General Ezra Mannon in the modern play. Likewise, Clytemnestra from The Oresteia is Christine, Orestes is Orin, Electra is Lavinia, and Aegisthus is Adam Bran, and so on.

The Greek tragedy has been masterly transformed into this modern play. The play revolves around murder, adultery, incestuous love and revenge, and a group of town dwellers who serve the purpose of Greek chorus.

It is noticeable that most of the characters in Greek tragedies are guided by fate, but the characters in the present play have their motivations grounded in 1930s era psychological theory.

The play can also be observed from a Freudian perspective. The author pays attention to several characters’ Oedipus complexes and Electra