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Mourning Becomes Electra | Essays and Criticism

• Mourning Becomes Electra and Oresteia

  In the following essay, Schmidt analyzes O'Neill's attempt to modernize Oresteia, and how these changes affected the theme and structure of the play.

• "The Legacy of Melville's Pierre: Family Relationships in Mourning Becomes Electra"

  In the following essay, Maufort argues that O'Neill used Melville's Pierre as a source, and that together O'Neill and Melville show a criticism of Puritan American family relationships.

• "Eugene O'Neill's Paradise Lost: The Theme of the Islands in Mourning Becomes Electra"

  In the following essay, Werner contends that the theme of the islands in O'Neill's play represents the recovery of the paradise of the original bond between mother and son.

• "Mother and Daughter in Mourning Becomes Electra"

  In the following essay, Young describes Lavinia as the ‘‘American Electra’’ but Christine as the "most tragic member of the Mannon family.''

• "Insular Typees: Puritanism and Primitivism in Mourning Becomes Electra"

  In the following essay, Curran discusses how the concept of the islands fails for certain major characters in O'Neill's play, dominated as they are by Puritanism.

• "More Shakespeare and Less Aeschylus in Eugene O'Neill 's Mourning Becomes Electra"

  In the following essay, Frenz and Mueller argue that Hamlet and Mourning Becomes Electra "show similarities in plot wherever there are plot differences between Hamlet and the Oresteia’’

• "Our Electra"

  In this favorable review of O'Neill's play, Krutch appraises the original production of Mourning Becomes Electra as possessing all the "virtues ... which one expects in the best contemporary dramatic writing."

• 1931 Review of Mourning Becomes Electra

  Claiming that the playwright "has at last written a straightforward tragedy of major proportions," Skinner offers a positive review of the debut production of O'Neill's play.

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1. Mourning Becomes Electra: Introduction
2. Mourning Becomes Electra: Summary
   1. Homecoming: Acts I - IV Summary
   2. The Hunted: Acts I - V Summary
   3. The Haunted: Acts I - IV Summary
3. Mourning Becomes Electra: Eugene O’Neill Biography
4. Mourning Becomes Electra: Themes
5. Mourning Becomes Electra: Style
6. Mourning Becomes Electra: Historical Context
7. Mourning Becomes Electra: Critical Overview
8. Mourning Becomes Electra: Character Analysis
   1. Captain Adam Brant
   2. Lavinia Mannon
   3. Brigadier-General Ezra Mannon
   4. Orin Mannon
   5. Other Characters
9. Mourning Becomes Electra: Essays and Criticism
   1. Mourning Becomes Electra and Oresteia
   2. "The Legacy of Melville's Pierre: Family Relationships in Mourning Becomes Electra"
   3. "Eugene O'Neill's Paradise Lost: The Theme of the Islands in Mourning Becomes Electra"
   4. "Mother and Daughter in Mourning Becomes Electra"
   5. "Insular Typees: Puritanism and Primitivism in Mourning Becomes Electra"
   6. "More Shakespeare and Less Aeschylus in Eugene O'Neill 's Mourning Becomes Electra"
   7. "Our Electra"
   8. 1931 Review of Mourning Becomes Electra
10. Mourning Becomes Electra: Compare and Contrast
11. Mourning Becomes Electra: Topics for Further Study
12. Mourning Becomes Electra: Media Adaptations
13. Mourning Becomes Electra: What Do I Read Next?
14. Mourning Becomes Electra: Bibliography and Further Reading
15. Mourning Becomes Electra: Pictures
16. Copyright

Related Topics

1. Eugene O'Neill

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