Nov 15, 2009

The Great God Brown | Introduction

When The Great God Brown opened at the Greenwich Village Theatre in New York on January 23, 1926, Eugene O’Neill presented the audience with a new kind of theatrical experience. Other playwrights had previously used masks on stage, but none had presented them in such an innovative way. While opening night reviews were mixed, the audience’s appreciation of the play kept it running for 283 performances. Many viewers were excited by the play’s bold expressionistic technique—specifically O’Neill’s experimental use of masks. The play focuses on the lives of three main characters: Dion Anthony, a failed artist; his wife, Margaret; and Billy Brown, a successful architect and friend to Dion and Margaret. Throughout the play, these characters wear masks that serve several purposes. They help the characters hide and thus protect their vulnerable inner selves while, at the same time, allowing them to project pleasing public images in an attempt to restore their confidence in themselves. Yet, ultimately, the tensions that result from not being able to reveal their true selves cause the characters to suffer and further isolate themselves from each other. The Great God Brown presents a penetrating study of the inner workings of the human psyche as it struggles to cope with betrayal, failure, and a search for identity.

The Great God Brown Summary

Prologue and Act One
The play opens on the night of the high school commencement dance. Billy Brown stands on the pier with his parents, who decide that Billy will go to college to study architecture and that he will eventually become a partner in his father’s firm. Soon after the Browns leave, the Anthonys approach the pier. Dion walks behind them ‘‘as if he were a stranger.’’ Eugene O’Neill

Mr. and Mrs. Anthony argue about sending Dion to college. His father says he doesn’t believe in it, declaring, ‘‘let him slave like I had to! . . . College’ll only make him a bigger fool than he is already.’’ However, when Mrs. Anthony tells him that Billy will be going to college to become an architect and afterward will work in the contracting firm he and Mr. Brown jointly own, Dion’s father changes his mind, insisting that Dion will go to college and become a better architect or he will turn his son ‘‘out in the gutter without a penny.’’

Later, Margaret and Billy come out on the pier. Margaret takes off her mask, which is an accurate replica of her own face, and declares her love for Dion as Billy declares his own feelings for her. After she ignores his pronouncements, Billy feels despondent but wishes her happiness and insists that he will always be her best friend. The focus then shifts to Dion, standing alone. He takes off his mask, revealing ‘‘his real face . . . shrinking, shy and gentle, full of a deep sadness.’’ He asks himself questions that reveal his sensitivity and insecurity. When Billy approaches and sees Dion, he is at first resentful and then becomes the ‘‘good loser.’’ Dion admits to Billy his fear of loving Margaret since he doesn’t know himself. When he removes his mask, a mocking reflection of Pan, his face appears ‘‘torn and transfigured by joy.’’ He soon decides that her love will allow him to discard his mask. Yet later, when Margaret does not recognize him without it, he puts it back on.

After his father dies, Dion sells his share of the firm to Billy and marries Margaret. The two... » Complete The Great God Brown Summary