Q1) THEMES

"Synge's attitude towards Ireland and Irish peasantry is highly paradoxical - an insight combined with
toleration, a love without passion. The understanding of the primitive society of the seafaring Irish
peasants of western coast is subtly mixed with mockery. The irony of the play “ The Playboy of The
Western World” is founded upon incongruity. The glorification of the act of parricide and thereupon
the evolution of Christy's personality followed by a setback and then again a recognition all together
underscore the ever concerning theme of fantasy versus reality".

The action of the play is laid against the backdrop of a village on the coast of Mayo. These villagers,
subjected to oppression for several centuries, became anarchic, rebellious and hostile against the
government. The breaking of law is held as a celebration. The policemen, 'peelers' as they call, are
looked down for they are being one of the machinery of government. This natural outburst against
police is quite a common incident in this society. Pegeen, in Act I, tells about Daneen Sullivan who
"knocked the eye from a peeler" and Christy, while narrating the tortures that he met with from his
father, tells that peace of mind he got only when his father was sent to assylum once and to jail for
beating up the peelers. In this setting the fantasy reshapes violence, a curtain of illusion is drawn
upon it and it acquires a new meaning. This event, Christy's patricide, becomes an act of a hero, the
approbation of his act is conspicuous in Pegeen's speech and also in other: "That'd be a lad with the
sense of Solomon to have for a pot-boy, Michael James, if it's the truth you're seeking one at all."

Christy's act is awe-inspiring to the villagers. Through their queer sense of morality they interpret the
heinous crime committed by Christy. In a different way to them it is transformed into a myth
generating episode. They build up a myth centering around Christy. He is elevated to an awesome
hero. Their praise, their apotheosis foster Christy's ego and self- confidence and these instill in him a
process of transformation. He realizes this change in himself. He enjoys the adoration from the
women folk especially Pegeen. The rivalry between Pegeen and Widow Quin lets him feel his own
worth. The myth, the fantasy of the Mayoites also affect his sense of reasoning. The elevated and
thrilled Christy now laments why did not he kill his father earlier.

The triumph in the sports boosts up his confidence, though he suffers a minor setback seeing his
father alive but Widow Quin's cooperation on some conditions eliminates his fear. Now, 'mounted on
the spring-tide of the stars of luck' the poet in him waxes eloquence. His romantic spirit works in full-
swing. It is for the love of fantasy that Pegeen draws a strange similarity be- tween Christy's act of
violence and fieriness of the poets. Even earlier Honor comments upon his power of narration, "He
tells it lovely." Christy's romantic wooing, steeped in passion, and Pegeen's consequent approval of
his love together with Michael's blessing consolidate the chance of their marriage. Christy in the
meantime with his newly-discovered bravery annuls Shawn's claim over Pegeen. Till now he is an
ideal man, a playboy-a good sportsman, playing with words and flirting with girls, a brave hero.

The arrival of Old Mahon at the spot shatters the illusion created by fantasy. Christy is now tainted
with an accusation of lie. It is through this anti-climax the hero becomes the mock-hero, The public
sympathize with Old Mahon and turn on Christy. Pegeen rejects him severely. It is ironical that few
times back she has rejected Shawn for Christy whose romanticism and courage Shawn lacks : "It 's
there your treachery is spurring me, till I'm hard set to think you're the one I'm after lacing in my
heart-strings half an hour gone by."Now to make himself acceptable to Pegeen and also to the
villagers he 'murders' his father second time. But the impact of the disillusion is too great drapped
and the sight of the 'murder' proves to be inimical. The first 'murder' with fantasy is a ‘gallous story'
and the second 'murder' stripped of fantasy, becomes a 'dirty deed.'
Christy encounters his father third time and this releases him from the indictment of murder. But
now he emerges as a true hero not only by murdering his own previous self but also symbolically
slaughtering the dominance of his father. He is the 'gallant captain' with his head held high living a
life to the hilt and Old Mahon being a ‘heathen slave', is amenable and yielding to his son's
supremacy. Also, Pegeen's severe rejection is counterbalanced by Christy's stern indifference to her
at the end. Shawn's hope for their prospective marriage dissolves in Pegeen's ruthless rejection.

The play also foregrounds themes like wildness and imagination, J.M. Synge subtly critiques
materialism through the characters of Christy Mahon and Shawn Keogh. Shawn, embodying
materialism and religious rigidity, attempts to bribe Christy with riches and a one-way ticket to
America, a symbol of economic prosperity. This act highlights the stark contrast between Christy's
imaginative spirit and Shawn's preoccupation with wealth. Notably, Christy only accepts the clothes,
using them to gain favor with Pegeen, but rejects the ticket, a metaphorical defiance of materialism.
This choice signifies a preference for staying in Ireland despite its hardships, suggesting a rejection of
materialism in favor of a more imaginative and fulfilling life.

The theme of possessing imagination is central to understanding Christy’s impact on other

characters. This theme works with others to develop Christy as the protagonist and shape his
reception. Christy’s confession of patricide provokes intense reactions and suggestions from the
characters, highlighting their suppressed imaginations now unleashed by his story. This excitement
and engagement enhance Christy’s confidence as a storyteller, reflected in his increasingly enriched
language. Pegeen Mike, representing the Irish folk, equates imagination with bravery, elevating
Christy to a hero's status in the village. Christy’s newfound fame, based on his poetic and imaginative
prowess, temporarily frees the townspeople from their impoverished lives. Ultimately, his
imaginative storytelling grants him an unprecedented social position.

Oedipus is the cursed hero of Greek mythology. He is destined to kill his father and marry his mother
for the anger of gods that his father, Laius, incited by offending them and marrying the woman
against their wishes. The circum- stance proved it true and when Oedipus came to know the truth of
his wife's identity and heinous crime he has committed against his father, he renounced his kingdom
and blinded himself and left Thebes in a wretched plight to atone his guilt.
In the play Christy commits the supposed crime of patricide. For the crime he committed he is on run
and eventually landed up in the tavern of Michael James. His heroic welcome in the village of Mayo
triggers the evolution of Christy's personality. Instead of arousing dread and natural abhorrence,
Christy's disclosure of crime inspires wild imagination in the fanciful mind of the Mayo villagers. His
act creates a myth and subsequently he is elevated to a legendary hero. Christy committed the first
murder after being driven by the agitated instinct. In the course of the drama he murders his father
second time. This, he does deliberately but is not aware of the cousequence. Stripped of fantasy, this
time Mayoites see the murder as heinous crime, 'a dirty deed' and binds Christy to hand him over to
the police, not out of horror but instigated by a sense of self-preservation. Third encounter of Christy
with his father culminates into a symbolic murder that consists of the complete effacement of his
own prior-self, thereby emerging a new, resolute personality of Christy and the demolition of his
father's dominance, who now becomes subservient to Christy. Episode where Oedipal theme also
touches upon is Old Mahon's goading his son to marry Widow Casey. She is a "terror from beyond
the hill", the lady who breast-fed Christy when he is a newly-born baby.
In conclusion, Synge’s play offers a complex outlook on Irish identity through the perspective of the
common folk. The major overarching themes in the play help shape and develop that same
perspective. This complex composition on the part of Synge creates the opportunity for in-depth
research and analysis, and also opens up the field for different interpretations of the events in the
play, both in terms of spheres or categories of life and of interest.
Q2) CHARACTER CHRISTY/ MOCK CHRIST CHARACTER

The debate on the subject-Christy developing as a hero or this development Synge actually satirizes
aiming at the ignorance and primitiveness of e Mayo people-raises storm among the critics. Alan
Price by his elaborate analysis comes to the conclusion that Synge by blending 'dream' with ‘actual-
ty' engineers a process of development in Christy that transforms him "from weakling to hero." Una
Ellis-Fermor in her analysis, shows that Christy devel- oping "not merely into ‘a likely man', but into a
poet-hero, 'The only Playboy of the Western World". Hugh. H. Maclean in his discourse infers a
similarity between Christ and Christy in their capability of generating myth.

Against this school of thought that likes to see the development in Christy's personality in positive
light, there is another school of thought-that highlights the irony in this so-called development of
Christy's personality. David Krause finds mock-heroic treatment by Synge originates from Ossian
archetype. He identifies antinomies of idealism and irony in Synge's treat- ment, where "lyric and
satiric modes are played against each other". Peacock discovers a subtle irony in Synge's vision in the
play. He is of the opinion that Synge by means of his own fine language and fine idea mocks at fine
language and fine idea in the play.
Christy as a Mock-hero
Christy's appearance in the first act is not like a hero but more like Shawn, a coward in the play. He is
nervous, frightened, worried and in a wretched condition. Such appearance goes well with Mahon's
description of Christy-a "looney", a frightened rabbit. But, in the final action there is, as Howard
D.Pearce comments: "the obviously diametrical movement of Christy upward in the eyes of the
audience and downward in the eyes of the Mayo people." This highlights the irony of Christy's self-
glorification.
The most striking irony in the play is the apotheosis of a supposed murder. His act of murder is seen
as an act of defying law. He is not the champion of law like a true hero but a defender against law. His
crime makes him the most befitting guard against the peelers-the representatives of law, as revealed
from Philly's dialogue: "The peelers is fearing him, and if you'd that lad in the house there isn't one of
them would come smelling around if the dogs itself were lapping poteen from the dung pit of the
yard". Christy himself narrates his act of crime to the village girls to the expansion of heroic
proportion. They are charmed by this ostensible heroism, and Sara's immediate reaction after Widow
Quin proposes Christy to participate in the sports is: "I'll bet my dowry that he'll lick the world". It is
interesting to note that he will not save the world but 'lick or defeat the world-the attribution which
surely is not befitting for a hero.
Synge derives much of his satire from Mahon's anti-heroical, ludicrous description of Christy-a
laughing stock, incapable of doing any work, "a squinting idiot". When Mahon appears before Christy
for the second time, Christy's attitude does not seem to be heroic at first rather he is passive in his
action, yielding before Mahon's violent attack. His downfall does not evoke any sympathy as it seems
to do when a hero suffers but, like the villagers of Mayo, directs us to find some grains of rationality
in Old Mahon's anger and to sympathize with him.
The discovery that Old Mahon is alive reinforces the mock-heroic treatment of the play. It totally
nullifies Christy's claim to be a hero. Instead of loftiness that is associated with any noble act, it
exudes a ludicrous feeling when Mahon tells: "Do you think I look so easy quenched with tap of a
loy?"
The major theme of the play is Christy's transformation. But, the major portion of this transformation
is the result of illusion and fantasy. It is for their wild imagination and foolishness that Mayoites raise
Christy to heroic level. Though at the end, he emerges as a man with greater wisdom and knowledge
and also successfully establishes his supremacy. Synge's treatment-the primitive backdrop; the
farcical elements in the play; the ignobility of the subject lacking in loftiness of idea makes Christy
more of a mock-hero rather than a hero.
Christy as a Mock-Christ
Hugh H. Maclean finds prototype of Christ in Christy. The phonetical resemblance between the two
names also hints at this parallelism. Also like Christ, Christy offers a kind of salvation to his admirers.
He is the embodiment of illusion that appeals to their fantasy-loving faculty of mind. Like Christ, who
belongs to the domain of God and Heaven, Christy is a complete stranger in Mayo village who has
landed up there accidentally and actually belongs to a village in Munster. Like the Magi, who brought
gifts for the newly-born Christ, village girls also brought presents for Christy. Like Christ who suffered
at the hands of his own people, Christy also suffers at the hands of the Mayo people after the
shattering of their illusion.
In contrary to Maclean's idea of seeing Christy as a Christ-like figure, Howard D. Pearce points out the
parody that lies in such comparison. His purpose is to show Christy as a 'Mock-Christ'. He also says
that the parody underlines the dramatic irony in the play. He opines that the salvation that Christy
offers by means of romanticism does not simply results in pure thrill and wild play of imagination of
the Mayo villagers, but also some urgency and selfish fulfilment of the purpose. Pegeen admires him
and wants him as her soul-mate. Michael wants to attend the wake. Philly and Jimmy have the same
purpose and in addition to it, they have their natural abhorrence towards peelers.
The gifts presented by the village girls to Christy is the parody of the holy incident-the presents gifted
by the Magi on Christy's birth. The parody is further highlighted when Christy being thrilled by the
adorations from the village girls is reprimanded by Pegeen with the information that the girls did not
trek for four miles to meet him but took the short cut "over the river lapping the stones." The gifts
they bear-'a brace of duck's eggs', 'a pot of butter', 'a little cut of cake', and 'a little laying pullet'-are
sarcastic parody on the gifts of the Magi.
Pearce also points out that Christy did not merely suffers at the hands of Mayo people. He comes to
them as a sufferer, Pegeen asking, “Aren't you destroyed walking with your feet in bleeding blisters,
and your whole skin needing washing like a Wicklow sheep."
Widow Quin endows him with the title "champion of the world" but Old Mahon's perception of his
own son is totally anti-Christ. He comments, ".....and isn't it by the like of you the sins of the whole
world are committed?" "Christy declares himself delighted with and devoted to his own evil at last,
again a kind of anti-Christ. In the fracas of Act III, when Shawn thinks he will die from being bitten by
Christy, Christy answers with delight, 'You will then, the way you can shake out hell's flags of
welcome for my coming in two weeks or three, for I'm thinking Satan hasn't many have killed their da
in Kerry, and in Mayo too.' The full force of the irony strikes in Michael's eloquent concession to
Pegeen's avowed marriage to Christy instead of to Shawn. He joins their hands, pronouncing his
blessings: A daring fellow is the jewel of the world, and a man did split his father's middle with a
single clout, should have the bravery of ten so may God and Mary and St. Patrick bless you, and in-
crease you from this mortal day.' That baroque Christ-epithet 'jewel of the world, is coupled with the
grotesquely visualized 'split his father's middle with a single clout,' achieving the mockery of lyricism
observed by Peacock."
After Christy's momentary glory, he is rejected by the Mayo people on the discovery of his hoax
killing'. The second 'killing' turns them more hos- tile and now they want to destroy him in order to
protect themselves. The fear of law overpowers them. But the so-called 'saviour' is ultimately saved
by his father. Even in the last scene, Pearce finds the transformation of Christy is partial. He might
have acquired the power of self-assurance but there still remains ridiculous lining of romanticism and
the trace of innocence. "Thus even though Christy is made into a deity, the apotheosis contains
ironies. Since he comes as a Christ-destroyer, rather than saying, he in fact in actuality destroys,
overpowers, 'licks' his people (with words, at least, though obviously he is instrumental in Pegeen's
destruction) instead of sacrificially succumbing to their destroying him."
Christy might not prove to be a hero in the truest sense but he definitely emerges as a playboy. His
amenable personality achieves the quality of resolution and wisdom. He is not a Christ-like figure. It
will be imbecility to identify spiritual significances in his actions, but he is certainly not an anti-Christ.
He is more human than a devil. In an atmosphere of absurdities and exaggerations, his act seems
plausible-an outburst in desperation. Synge has least intention to make him anti-Christ rather he
shows his admiration for his ultimate self-assertion and self-realisation. His espousing for
romanticism definitely presents him as a 'poet-hero', 'only Playboy of the Western World.'
Q3) TITLE
The Playboy of the Western World is the revised version of the play titled Murderer. This earlier
version went through various changes in the hands of Synge till the present version emerges to the
satisfaction of the playwright. The title The Playboy of the Western World seems to be more
appropriate than the previous title Murderer because in this play, written in comic vein, no actual
murder takes place. Also, the title Murderer lends a serious, gruesome note to the play which it
hardly echoes. In the present title, the term 'Playboy' is an attribution to the protagonist of the play
and 'Western World' signifies western part of Ireland and also in the course of the drama the term
extends its periphery indicating the western part of the world, namely America.
John Millington Synge's "The Playboy of the Western World" presents a compelling exploration of
identity through the character of Christy Mahon. Arriving in Mayo shrouded in guilt and fear after
allegedly killing his father, Christy undergoes a remarkable transformation, reflected in the evolving
use of the epithet "Playboy of the Western World."

Initially, the term, introduced by the astute Widow Quin, carries a heavy dose of irony. When
Christy's supposedly deceased father, Old Mahon, appears unexpectedly, Christy's panicked reaction
– hiding in terror – exposes the hollowness of his self-constructed image as a heroic figure. Widow
Quin's use of "Playboy" becomes a scathing indictment, highlighting the stark contrast between
Christy's fabricated narrative and his underlying cowardice. This initial usage establishes "Playboy" as
a symbol of Christy's carefully crafted facade, masking his true nature – a man consumed by fear and
guilt.

However, Mayo's unique atmosphere acts as a catalyst for Christy's transformation. Embracing the
locals' romanticized view of his crime, he sheds his initial timidity. He develops a connection with
Pegeen, the publican's daughter, and thrives in the pub's lively sporting events. When Widow Quin
employs "Playboy" again, it undergoes a complete semantic shift. Now, it's a term of genuine
admiration for Christy's athletic prowess. She strategically uses "Playboy" in conjunction with
"champion" and "wonder" to manipulate Old Mahon's perception. By emphasizing Christy's
newfound athleticism and potential marriage to Pegeen, Widow Quin aims to confuse the old man
and shatter his image of Christy as a "dribbling idiot." This shift in the meaning of "Playboy"
underscores Christy's transformation: the fearful fugitive has become a celebrated athlete and a
potential husband.

Therefore, "Playboy of the Western World" transcends a mere label, evolving into a multifaceted
symbol mirroring Christy's dynamic persona. It begins as a mocking term for his initial cowardice,
then transforms into a symbol of his athletic success and potential social standing. Widow Quin's
clever manipulation of the term showcases Christy's journey from a guilt-ridden fugitive to a
celebrated figure in the eyes of Mayo. Ultimately, the "Playboy" becomes a symbol of the
constructed image Christy presents to the world, a mask that both empowers and exposes him.
In "The Playboy of the Western World," the term "playboy" is multifaceted, reflecting Christy's
transformation from a timid young man to a confident and admired figure. Initially, Christy is
depicted as sexually timid, ogling girls but too scared to interact with them. His transformation
begins when he arrives in Mayo and claims to have killed his father, Old Mahon. This supposed
patricide elevates Christy in the eyes of the villagers, who are captivated by his storytelling and view
his act as heroic.
As Christy gains confidence, he becomes more charismatic and starts engaging with the village girls,
particularly Pegeen and Widow Quin, who become enamored with him. The villagers' imaginative
nature leads them to idolize Christy, viewing him as a defender of the law and a hero. This newfound
adoration helps Christy shed his previous insecurities, and he dreams of marrying Pegeen and
settling in Mayo. His victory in local sports further boosts his self-esteem, and he romantically
proposes to Pegeen, who is charmed by his eloquence and passion.

However, the illusion of Christy’s heroism is shattered when Old Mahon reappears, revealing the
truth about Christy's exaggerated tale. The villagers, feeling deceived, turn against Christy and jeer at
him, using the term "playboy" derisively. Despite this, Christy's personality development remains
genuine. Even as a disgraced hero, he fights bravely and attempts to kill his father again, although
this action fails to restore his status. The villagers, now fearful of the law, plan to hand Christy over to
the authorities.
In a dramatic turn, Old Mahon, who is not dead, saves Christy from the mob. This encounter strips
Christy of any remaining illusions, but he emerges with a newfound resolution and determination to
live life on his terms. He acknowledges the villagers' role in his transformation and leaves Mayo with
a stronger sense of self. His evolution into a true "playboy" is marked by his romantic spirit and
determination to pursue his own path, prompting Pegeen to mourn the loss of "the only Playboy of
the Western World."
In "The Playboy of the Western World," the title's geographical specificity serves a deeper thematic
purpose. The play unfolds in County Mayo, Ireland, a remote, untamed region isolated from societal
advancements. This rugged landscape, marked by a harsh sea and impoverished peasantry, fosters a
vibrant culture of fantastical imagination and escape from reality. Here, gossip flourishes and alcohol
fuels flights of fancy, creating the ideal environment for the play's exploration of illusion and
disillusionment.

Furthermore, the setting presents a fascinating tension between untamed imagination and religious
strictures. Catholicism reigns supreme, with Father Reilly embodying the voice of reason and moral
authority. His presence contrasts with the free-spirited desires of characters like Pegeen, who yearns
for a life of romantic adventure.

Uniquely, the play upends traditional notions of criminality. The "Westerners" celebrate notorious
figures like Daneen Sullivan and Marcus Quin, who defied societal norms. Even Christy, initially
lauded for his fabricated patricide, embodies this subversion. This unconventional perspective
highlights how the "Western World" perceives acts of defiance as bravery, even if rooted in
falsehood.

However, the significance of the "Western World" extends beyond mere location. It transcends
geography to represent any space where reason gives way to illusion. While Synge acknowledges the
potentially deceptive nature of this world, he also suggests its potential for positive transformation.
Christy's journey exemplifies this, as his eventual disillusionment paves the way for personal growth.
Ultimately, the "Western World" becomes a crucible of transformation, shaped by both the allure of
fantasy and the sobering reality that shatters illusions.
The title The Playboy of the Western World is appropriate for the play since it conveys the core
message of the play, which being interpreted in various angles comments upon the overall
personality of the protagonist and also signifies the setting of the play that throughout the
enactment of the action does not shift. By the repetitive mention of this phrase, Synge himself has
invested it with the importance of being naturally chosen title of the play.
Q4) SATTIRE AND IRONY
The Playboy of the Western World is a play where fantasy and illusión have a great influence on the
action of the play. The locale of the play provides the perfect atmosphere in which romanticism
flourishes. The protagonist shows all the heroic qualities of courage, playfulness, rhetorical
excellence and a charming personality to attract girls. The locale is fantastic in the sense that
inhabitants of this place are all pulsating with queer imaginations and it spur them to seek for the
elements of fantasy and illusion and accept them as the part of their life. However, Synge's aim is not
only to uphold the fantastic, illusive vibe of the play but also focus on the realistic elements of life in
conjunction of which the curtain of fantasy is pulled back bringing under the light the bare truth and
producing much of humour and irony in the play.
Much hue and cry had been raised after the play's stage performance. The Irish found the play
outrageous, depreciating their moral values and some of the dialogues were slur to their concept of
womanhood. Especially the use of word 'shift' in the dialogue. "....and what'd I care if you brought
me a drift of chosen females, standing in their shifts itself, maybe, from this place to the eastern
world?" This, they construe as an insult to the womanhood of Ireland which was held in very high
esteem in terms of sanctity and purity. The irony lies in the picturesque description where "maidens
perceived in terms of a slave market, or a throng of eastern houris, is made yet more fantastic in that
the term drift is applied to a drove of heifers".The attack is also targeted against the local custom.
The description of 'wake' where free flow of wine and the people's blasphemous attitude degrade
the holiness and gravity of the occasion.
The depiction of characters also hurt the sentiments of Irish people. The men folk in Mayo all
indulging themselves in drinking is seen as a slanderous comment upon Irish culture. Especially, the
character of Michael James to whom the allurement of drinking is more vital than the paternal
responsibility to his lonely, unmarried daughter. The irony also emanates from the depiction of
father-son relationship. Christy's boasting is counterbalanced to some extent by Mahon's boasting of
lechery and drinking: "Then the blight of the sacred drouth upon myself and him, for I never went
mad to this day, and I not three weeks with the Limerick girls drinking myself silly and parlatic from
the dusk to dawn".
The irony also lies in Synge's sardonic view upon peculiar blend of paganism and Roman Catholicism
in the west. The portrayal of the priest Father Reilly who hovers in the background suggests Synge's
acrimony to the moral guardianship of religion. Father Reilly is the supporter of cowardly Shawn and
thus he is also the rival of Christy-an epitome of romanticism.
The whole idea of accepting a committer of parricide as the hero of some exceptional bravery is
ironical. Christy arrives in Mayo as a wretched, hungry person. He is cautious and nervous and is on
run to elude policemen. However, the declaration of his crime in the face of querries makes him hero
at once. His murderous act is glorified and raised to the level of heroic deed.
Fantasy plays the role of a catalyst in the apotheosis of his murderous deed. In the second act when
Christy basks in the self-asserted glory amidst the village girls, Pegeen appears and the milieu created
by his narration and the elements of fantasy that the girls associate with it vanishes instantly.
Pegeen out of jealousy points out his vulnerabilty in actual world. This contrast between the 'felt
rituality' of Christy's deed and his incompetence and pettiness in actual world as Patricia Meyer
Spacks suggests gives rise to ironical situations. Christy with his inflated ego in Act II fiercely rejects
Shawn's proposal to leave the place and Pegeen. But the next moment he sees the 'walking spirit' of
his murdered 'da'. The incident bears enough irony to deflate his ego. Apparently, Christy succeeds in
making the seeming reality and actual reality coincide when he renders a stupendous performance in
sports. This culminates into Pegeen's unconditional surrender to Christy's romantic and passionate
wooing.
At the moment of this heightened romanticism which also witnesses the display of Christy's bravery-
the outcome of fantasy and illusion in cowering down Shawn-Old Mahon appears, Christy's hoax
claim over bravery gets dis- closed. Once the irony of the entire situation gets revealed, the people of
Mayo who are so far the active agents in generating myth surrounding Christy, ironically turn on him.
The revelation initiates the complete disillusionment of Pegeen and she dissociates herself from
Christy. However, Christy still reeling under the in- fluence of romanticism makes an effort to coincide
the reality and illusion and 'kills' his father second time. But, stripped of any fantasy the act itself
shows the gap between 'a gallous story' and 'a dirty deed'. Once again irony springs from the
contrast between reality and fantasy. In Act I Christy received a hero's welcome from Mayoites for
defying law, but now ironically the fear of law overpowers them and they decide to hand over Christy
to the police for 'murdering;' his father. At the end of the play, we see a big blow of irony when
Christy's supposed murdered father saves his son and accepts his son's supremacy over him.
It is not only by the means of action Synge underlines the irony of the play, but also the dialogues
have been used deftly for the same purpose. The contrast between actual and fantasy gets displayed
through the dialogues, highlighting underlying irony. Pegeen, after knowing Christy's murderous act
recommends him as a pot-boy in their shebeen: "That'd be a lad with the sense of Solomon to have
for a pot-boy, Michael James, if it's the truth you're seeking one at all." In the same vein, she
appreciates Christy: "You should have had great people in your family, I'm thinking, with the little,
small feet you have, and you with a kind of a quality name, the like of what you'd find in the great
powers and potentates of France and Spain." The charm of fantasy are played in full-swing in these
dialogues hiding the harsh reality. The irony is very much conspicuous in Widow Queen's dialogue
when she comes to know that Old Mahon is very much alive: "Well, you're the walking Playboy of
the Western World, and that's the poor man you divided to his breeches belt." Juxtaposition of the
following two dialogues highlights this contrast between reality and fantasy:
Christy (In despair and grief). Amn't I after seeing the love-light of the star of knowledge shining
from her brow, and hearing words would put you thinking on the holy Brigid speaking to the infant
saints, and now she'll be turning again, and speaking hard words to me, like an old woman with a
spavindy ass she'd have, urging on a hill.
Widow Quin. There's poetry talk for a girl you'd see itching and scratching, and she with a stale
stink of poteen on her by selling in the shop.
Here, Christy's romantic words are counter-balanced by Widow Quin's com- ment in a stinging
realistic tone, suggesting the irony beneath it.
The Playboy of the Western World is a farce in the sense that it does not evoke gentle smile but peels
of laughter by the exaggeration and absurdity of situations. T.R. Henn has rightly commented that
this absurdity or incongruity is the foundation of Synge's irony. The murderous act by Christy
becomes heroic deed by the sheer magic of poetic narration. The Mayo people do not feel the beat
of conscience in protecting an outlaw even Michael supports the view of Pegeen that Christy is the
ideal protector of her when she is left alone. "Is his reported valour a sufficient counterweight to the
impropriety of his being left alone with her?" These absurdities also appear slanderous for which the
Irish people raised their voice against the play's performance.
At the end of the play, everybody seems to be happy except Pegeen. Christy's romance also affects
Pegeen and along with him, her character also develops. However, the moment she experiences the
disillusionment she sev- ers herself from Christy. In spite of the shattering illusion Christy evolves and
attains the status of a hero- 'The Playboy of the Western World'. Christy departs showing a total
indifference towards Pegeen. It can be seen as the counter-part of Pegeen's role in tormenting
Christy. The bitter irony lies in Pegeen's perception of the greatness that Christy attains but she
herself fails to attain that level. She is "Weighed down by the 'society' within them-can neither live in
the lonesome west playing out their days, nor be happy in the little world of daily occupations". It is
the only tragic implication of the play.
The Playboy of the Western World is basically a farcical comedy that intends to evoke laughter
despite of the fact that the irony too has its greater share. In the fantastic atmosphere, where illusion
flourishes with its full potentiality and wild imaginations play in full swing, the outrageous becomes
logical, hyperbole becomes credible. The irony issues from the clash between illusion and reality
provides us with some ludicrous situations but does not arouse any acrimonious feelings at the end.
Q5)ILLUSION VS REALITY
The Playboy seems a work which is destined to be forever misinterpreted. From the very first show
on stage in 1907 it caused riot because of its alleged immorality. Since then it keeps on producing
more bafflement in the minds of audience. Synge himself insisted that he had written "an
extravaganza”-only to add later that the source of the Playboy lay in his understanding of Irish psyche
and Irish speech as they actually existed, thus claiming to work for an ultimate realism.
Though viewed as a realistic drama, the treatment of the subject seems implausible. A stranger in
Mayo becomes a hero by the sheer power of his poetic narration of his murderous act and at the end
becomes masterful for no readily apparent reason in which rationality of the real world comes to
little help in interpreting these events. On the other hand if one reckon with the play as fantasy, the
elements of reality will surely hamper his assessment.
The critic T.R. Henn views the play as "Dionysiac comedy, in which the instincts are, within Synge's
conventions, given uninhibited play, this in keeping with his demand for what is 'superb and wild in
reality." In doing so, Synge hurts the Irish sentimentality. Apart from the protest raised against the
use of some offensive words especially 'shift', the Irish people found the over all treatment of the
play is outrageous. The very idea of protecting an outlaw on the basis of his capability of narrating his
crime poetically, maybe is the product of queer mindset of fantasy-makers, but in reality it seems
absurd, creating an uneasiness in the mind of the people of Ireland.
When Christy first arrives in Mayo he was a man in wretched condition who 'killed' his father out of
his agitated instinct. He was on run to evade the law and yet nervous to recover from the shock. This
guilty of serious crime, in the conducive atmosphere of Mayo where the people with their unique
power of generating myth and fantasy is looked up to him and elevate him to heroic status. It is all
the work of fantasy. However, in Act III when disillusion oc- curs, all the fantasy-makers of Mayo turn
hostile to Christy. In his attempt to make the fantasy and reality coincide, Christy strikes his father
again.
But the act, stripped of fantasy, does not appeal the mind of Mayo people. Free of any illusion, they
now identify the gap between a 'gallous story' and a 'dirty deed.' It is not the horrible sight of murder
but out of the instinct of self-preservation, Mayoites decide to hand over Christy to the policemen.
They gave a hero's welcome to Christy as a defender of law but now fear of law overpowers them. By
committing the third 'murder', which is the symbolic one, Christy emerges as a new personality. A
weakling now proves his strength in actuality. He alters the previous order by establishing his
supremacy over father. The curtain of fantasy goes up but the hero arises in different light, asserting
his individuality. In this context, we can quote Patricia Meyer Spacks's valuable comment: "One
aspect of The Playboy that seems disturbing is the curious tone with which it treats the theme of
patricide. To be sure, the second time Christy strikes his father the spectators on stage feel that he
should be hanged for his deed. But they are in no way horrified by it: they believe Christy to be
potentially dangerous to them and they fear legal involvement in his crime; self-preservation
motivates them. Nor, for that matter, does the revived father appear to think that there is anything
extraordinary about a son who has twice tried to kill him. He resents the attempts in a per- sonal
way-as well he might-but he does not find them unnatural. The emotional weight of The Playboy of
the Western World is on patricide as a noble deed, not as an abhorrent one.
Oedipus kills his father, and the crime brings a plague on his city. Orestes kills his mother and is
pursued by furies. Patricide and matricide were for sophisticated Greeks the most dreadful of sins;
Freud has brought modern readers to consciousness of the roots of the horror which the Greeks felt,
and which twentieth-century audiences of Greek tragedy continue to feel. Yet Synge somehow
manages to treat so dreadful a theme with apparent lightness. For to this sort of treatment, one
must go to the folk tale. The pages of parallels Grimm are full of violence: giants who eat their
victims, blood and bones; enchanters who turn the unwary to stone; kings who demand the
impossible and cut off the heads of those who fail to achieve it. Irish folk tales, of course. deal with
the same sort of material; their heroes wade through blood to prove themselves. To be sure, this
violence has a somewhat factitious quality: one is always aware that those who are turned to stone
will become flesh and blood again at the end; that the frog, once its head is cut off, will turn into a
prince: that however many anonymous warriors are slaughtered along the way, the true hero will
accomplish the impossible and not be slaughtered himself."
The farcical elements in the play or the exaggeration of situations or improbabilities of situations are
incorporated in an atmosphere steeped in fantasy. Pegeen describes Jimmy Farrell's hanging of his
dog, Pegeen's description of Christy's imaginary hanging and also Sara Tansey driving ten miles to set
her eyes on 'The man bit the yellow lady's nostril on the northern shore'-are all farce and also a form
of 'romantic cruelty'. The absurdity in Jimmy's statement, when Widow Quin informs that Old Mahon
is raving, is farcical by nature: "I knew a party was killed in the head by a red mare, and he went
killing horses a great while, till he eat the insides of a clock and died after." Such wildness and
absurdity heighten the effect of fantasy.
The entire idea of the glorification of Christy's murderous act is an outcome of fantasy. The shaky,
nervous Christy, as he lands up in Mayo, develops into a heroic figure under the influence of the
fantasy-loving Mayo people. It is not his patricide but their approbation of his act fosters Christy's
self-ego and self-confidence, thereby triggering off the process of development. Beside his act of
bravery, his rhetorical power also appeals the Mayoites. In the company of the village girls, Christy
narrates his story expanding it to heroic proportion and Honor Blake comments-"He tells it lovely."
Pegeen's association and admiration helps him to shake off his sexual timidity. The romantic in
Christy, which so far has been lying dormant, comes out in full bloom. Pegeen exclaims : .any girl
would walk her heart out before she'd meet a young man was your like for eloquence, or talk at all."
Hence, romanticism and illusion play the main part in bringing about the change in Christy's
personality.
Christy meets his father and the bare truth comes out. He is indicted with a lie. The revelation makes
the Mayo people at once virulent. They now sympathize with Old Mahon. The harsh reality also
shatters Pegeen's romantic illusion and she now dissociates herself from Christy. Christy, to make
himself acceptable to Pegeen and also to the society that fosters him as a hero, strikes Old Mahon. A
critic sees it as his last attempt to coincide fantasy and reality. Unlike the first 'murder' this time it is
deliberate but he is not aware of the consequence. Without the coating of fantasy the act becomes
'a dirty deed.' To save their skin Mayo villagers decide to take the help of the legal authorities. In
order to do so, they bind Christy and also inflict physical torture to drag him out, but to everybody's
surprise Old Mahon reappears once again. The third encounter between Christy and Old Mahon is
significant. It blatantly shows the foolishness and gullibility of the Mayo people, on the other hand it
shows Christy-the victim at the hands of Mayoites-in different perspective. This encounter actuates
the third murder, a symbolic one. Through this 'murder', Christy not only kills his prior-self and
emerges as a new personality but also crushes his father's authority. He is now independent,
dreaming to live a life to the hilt on his own term. The disillusionment cannot cower down Christy
but raises him and it also makes Pegeen to perceive Christy in a different light. She perceives his
greatness but cannot raise herself to that level. The burden of society weighs down upon her who is
consigned to live in a society with the likes of Shawn. That is why she breaks down into wild wailing
"I've lost the only Playboy of the Western World." Her lamentation is the underscore of Christy's
triumph.
Patricia Meyer Spacks identifies some events in the play which more or less bring the play closer to
some elementary situation in folk tales. In The Playboy the murders take place off stage to emphasise
its symbolic importance. Like the symbolic violence in folk tales that shapes the story, here too it is
applied to engineer Christy's evolution to maturity. The hero in fairy tale commits the violence which
is unreal to win the heroine, in the play Christy commits it to attain his manhood.
"Characteristically in the folk tales, actions, tests, come in groups of three. Old Mahon describes
Christy as a lazy, fool and a good for nothing. He calls him "a dirty, stuttering lout", "a liar on walls, a
talker of folly, a man you'd see stretched the half of the day in the brown ferns with his belly to the
sun." He is the laughing stock-"The looney of Mahon's". Such characters are abundant in folk tales.
They are the female counterparts of Cinderella. However, these fools in the folk tales ultimately
triumph. The same happens to Christy.
There is intermingling of fantasy and reality. When Mayo people reject Christy, he understands how
illusive is his success. But in the light of reality he emerges victorious as 'The Playboy of the Western
World'. The conjunction of fantasy and reality also highlights the undercurrent of irony that lies
beneath the play. To uphold the truth Synge deftly uses the elements of fantasy. So the play is
realistic as well as fantastic.
Q6) IMPORTANCE OF THREE MURDERS
Synge's The Playboy of the Western World is a work of art. Yeats called it "The strangest, the most
beautiful expression in drama of that Irish fantasy which......... is the unbroken character of Irish
genius." The critic P. P. Howe writes"It brought to the contemporary stage the most rich and copious
store of character since Shakespeare." The plot of the play develops on the basis of a "myth of
rebellion against the father."
The Significance of the First Murder
Christy commits the first murder because firstly, he was an object of humiliation, exasperated for
being "goaded on the score of his physical and sexual timidity, and, more immediately, he refuses to
marry the old woman who had nursed him as a baby." Christy 'kills' him for self-defense. It is also an
outburst of his agitated instinct.
The primitive people of Mayo not only give shelter to him but also make him hero. The atmosphere
is perfectly set for the growth of Christy's manhood 'with full command of his physical and sexual
powers.' It is interesting to note that there is another murderer present in the play. Like Christy,
Widow Quin is also the guilty of murdering his husband and she also escapes the clutch of police but
hers "was a sneaky kind of murder did win small glory with the boys itself."
In this context it is relevant to quote Norman Podhoretz: "The Mayoites are primitive people who live
almost entirely in an imaginative world of their own creation. They are all poets manqués; their life is
all language, and it is only what they can make poetry out of that is important to them. Pegeen's
complaint that there is no material in 'this place' for her imagination to work on is revealing: 'It's a
wonder, Shaneen, the Holy Father'd be taking notice of the likes of you; for if I was him, I wouldn't
bother with this place where you'll meet none but Red Linahan, has a squint in his eye, and Patcheen
is lame in his heel, or the mad Mulrannies were driven from California and they lost in their wits.'
It is no accident, then, Christy who is, as will be seen, the undeveloped poet coming to consciousness
of himself as man and as artist, should he accepted with such fervour. This was no ordinary, everyday
murder he had committed, but an act of great 'daring' such as the Mayoites have never had before
their very eyes until this day. Moreover, they recognize that there was something heroic, something
necessary about the deed, which makes the question of crime irrelevant. 'Up to the day I killed my
father', says Christy, there wasn't a person in Ireland knew the kind I was, and I there drinking,
waking, eating, sleeping, a quiet, simple poor fellow with no man giving me heed.' And Pegeen
answers: 'It's near time a fine lad like you should have your good share of the earth.' Consciousness,
maturity, self-realization were bound up with revolt against the father, and Pegeen, with her sure
earthy instinct, senses this." The forces have been set in motion but the moral consciousness still
seems grotesque as revealed in Christy's soliloquy: "Well, it's a clean bed and soft with it, and it's
great luck and company I've won me in the end of time-two fine women fighting for the likes of me-
till I'm thinking this night wasn't I foolish fellow not to kill my father in the years gone by." In the
primitive world in Act I, we do not find any trace of morality. Instead Synge, a comic genius, hints at
the paradox that lies in the idea that the individual achievement and communal progress build upon
an act of murder. Synge slowly instills this morality in the course of the action and to understand the
denouement of the play critically one should appreciate Synge's profound sense of the relation
between symbolism and morality.
The total lack of morality is conspicuous in the actions and reactions of the characters. "Christy has
no notion of what he has done to his father; he cannot see the suffering his act has caused and he is
not aware of its brutality, which is only a way of saying that he has no moral consciousness. And so
with Pegeen; she will not allow Shawn to call Christy a "bloody handed murderer." She could not
realize that there could have been blood sheds; because the murder is "a gallous story", a symbolic
event, an expression of what is fine in the human spirit. Christy had a right to kill his father; and
more, it was necessary and good that he should do so. Patricia Meyer Spacks comments that the
frivolity with which “the first murder is treated is justifiable on the ground that it never in actuality
takes place : It is more obviously; unreal than a fantasy of murdered giants. But more importantly,
the attitude of the playwright toward the murder is justifiable-and more than justifiable: even
necessary. It is a ritual murder, a step in the process toward maturity."
The Significance of the Second Murder
The 'murder' has been seen especially in terms of symbolic and imaginative overtones. Old Mahon's
resurrection terrifies Christy and it suggests the first 'murder' is not so emancipating as it seemed.
Still, another violence is necessary to triumph over his father as well as those forces which have
presented the full emergence of his identity. The first 'murder' represented the instinctive stirring of
manhood in Christy. But, he commits the second 'murder' deliberately, out of desire to protect his
newly-found independence. It is of course a moral act, the result of his own choice. But, here the
moral paradox asserts itself-the sight of murder turn on the Mayoites. Now it is no more a "gallous
story" but a 'dirty deed". However, Christy has no other option: "And I must go back into my torment
is it, or run off like a vagabond straying through the unions with the dust of August making mud-
stains in the gullet of my throat; or the winds of March blowing on me till I'd take an oath I felt them
making whistles of my ribs within?"
Christy, though makes a choice, he was not aware of the consequence. "Synge is careful to show that
Christy had not believed his admirers would turn on him. His immediate motive for killing his father
again is that they have taunted him with a lie."
Significance of the Third 'Murder'; Christy Emerging as a Hero
Christy encounters his father for the third time. His immediate reaction is a point to notice: "Are you
coming to be killed a third time, or what ails you now?" His magnificent, absurd willingness to kill his
father third time is the product of a full moral consciousness. He knows what will follow if he raises
his loy once more, "but the necessity of ultimate triumph is more important, is absolute. This finally
establishes Christy as the hero who has the courage to face that paradox on which civilization rests,
who will commit the act of violence which all feel to be necessary and which society cannot afford to
condone. And it is quite proper that Christy's triumph does not entail self-destruction. For Synge
conveys the message that the Hero, the poet who does in fact challenge morality with its own
contradictions will not be destroyed, that he will be saved by a kind of grace. There is, unfortunately,
no other word (unless it be "luck") for the power which saves Christy and which resolves the
dilemma lying at the heart of the play. For a civilized man moral consciousness emanates from
dilemma. Christy commits a symbolic act of murder in place of physical violence by rejecting the
father and his values. "He believes (to borrow a phrase from Henry James) in the salubrity of genius":
Christy is the poet, the playboy, triumphant in games, who will spend his life "romancing" and
"telling stories" now that he has been made "a likely gaffer in the end of all." Society has not been
able to countenance him and all he represents, and in the name of order and peace they have driven
him out into "the lonesome west".
"A few remarks are necessary, finally, to clarify Synge's attitude towards soci- ety and the Hero." "The
Hero and society are incompatible in the sense that they pursue different objectives, but the relation
between them must be understood as one of reciprocal benefit no less than of antagonism: Christy
develops into a Hero only when the superior instinct of society approves what he had done in
ignorance and bewilderment, and the Mayoites, on the other hand, move from a primitive state of
consciousness to a sense of civilization and its values through their contact with him. The west is a
lonesome place, Synge tells us early in the play, but Christy has made his choice: 'It's a poor thing to
be lonesome, it's worse, maybe, go mixing with the fools of earth.' What he has to do, Christy must
do alone, Synge, then, is alive both to the possibilities of the Shawns and the Michael Jameses, and
to the worth of the Christies, and his sympathy is patently divided between those two extremes."
Q7) AS A COMEDY/ TRAGI COMEDY
Una Ellis-Fermor in her discussion on Synge's treatment of nature comments that his comedies are
never wholly free from tragedy or tragic irony. On one hand it is an extravagant comedy as T.R. Henn
calls it with the 'resurrection' of Old Mahon, and disclosure of Christy's hoax claim, on the other, as
Norman Podhoretz points out, the evolution of Christy's character, his rise to a hero in reality
underscores the morality in the play and also Pegeen's severe rejection of Shawn followed by her
final lamentation in fact imply the serious- ness of the play. Even Synge in his letter to the press
writes: "The Playboy is not a play with a 'purpose' in the modern sense of the word,-but, although
parts of it are or are meant to be extravagant comedy, still a great deal that is in it and a great deal
more that is behind it is perfectly serious when looked at in a certain light. This is often the case, I
think, with comedy, and no one is quite sure today whether Shylock or Alceste should be played
seriously or not. There are, it may be hinted, several sides to The Playboy." Considering both the
hilarious and serious elements in the play it can be called semi-tragedy. From one angle the play can
be categorized as the "free" comedy for the "moral issues are reversed, transcended or ignored in
the desire for 'energy."" Again, it can be seen as Dionysiac comedy where the instincts get an
elaborate scope to work on.
The Playboy is a comedy in a sense that there are ample of comic situations and except Pegeen's wild
bewailing, the play ends in a comic note. The protagonist, Christy, lands up in Mayo as a criminal on
run. He himself is terrorized by his own instinctive outburst. He is nervous and cautious in the
beginning but amidst the people of Mayo his personality transforms. These people of Mayo with
their queer quality of wild imagination and romanticism, glorify his act of patricide into a heroic
deed. The entire idea is ludicrous. In the course of action several comic situations are infused. The
cowardice of Shawn, his desperate attempt to flee the shebeen so that not to incite the anger of
Father Reilly, and ultimately managing to do so only leaving his coat in the hands of Michael, make
the audience break into peals of laughter. The fierce verbal exchange between Pegeen and Widow
Quin to establish their claim over Christy is also comic. In the same vein, Susan slipping on Christy's
shoes and feeling happy to have it and Christy holding the mirror behind his back or aghast to
discover Old Mahon is alive and hiding behind the door are all part of Synge's comic design. Even the
last scene where Christy being discovered a liar and subjected to torture, is somehow has been
treated in lighter manner. Christy wreaking his vengeance by biting Shawn's leg only evoke loud
laughter not sympathy for Shawn. The mutual description of father and son also excite laughter.
The character of Shawn has been created in comic fashion. He is a coward and a puritan. His
personality never seems to come out from the strong influence of Father Reilly, the village priest,
who remains in the background but his presence can be felt through Shawn's queer excuses.
There are some implausible situations and exaggerated dialogues that make the drama bordering
upon farce. Behavior of Michael and his riotous gang seem to be farcical. All of them are heavy
drunkard and allurement at wake' where they can indulge themselves in drinking unrestrainedly,
seems too strong to evade the responsibility of a father. One cannot find any plausible reason behind
their strange attitude of leaving Pegeen alone in the company of a murderer and who turns out to be
a hero in their eyes by his sheer poetic narration of the deed. Throughout the play, the theme of
patricide has been treated in lighter vein which only suggests the unreality of the murder and this
fact stops the play to shape into a serious tragedy.
The dialogues are farcical somewhere, keeping in tune with the wild imagination of Mayoites. Sara
Tansey drives ten miles to see the man who bit the yellow lady's nostril, Jimmy narrates how the man
kicked by a red mare starts to slaughter horses till he died for eating inside of a cloak. The cruelty in
its comic treatment becomes "romantic cruelty" as Thomas R. Whitaker terms it-'Marcus Quin's
maiming ewes', Jimmy Farrell's hanging his dog or Pegeen's description of hanging Christy exemplify
this.
The apotheosis of Christy's criminal act, the village girls paying homage to Christy for his valour and
fighting between Pegeen and Widow Quin for Christy's affection all underscore the role of fantasy in
the play. The transformation in Christy's personality is the product of queer mindset of fantasy-loving
villagers of Mayo. It is not the murderous act but the conducive atmosphere in Mayo which has
fostered Christy's ego and confidence, ultimately triggers off the process of transformation. From the
very beginning, Pegeen is shown as a romantic character and Christy's character appeal this romantic
faculty within her. The love scene between Christy and Pegeen is one of intense romantic illusion.
The romantic picture of Christy-Pegeen's married life is more close to illusion than reality. Christy as a
poet-hero blooms full with his all passionate words. Thus, categorizing the play as a simple comedy
will be unjustification of this great work of art. It is a masterpiece that has freely assimilated the
elements of comedy, fantasy as well as reality.
The critic Norman Podhoretz identifies a message of morality in the play. He finds a progress of
primitiveness towards civilization. In a primitive setup and in his ignorance Christy commits a crime,
this crime again elevated to the heroic level by the primitive people of Mayo. Christy commits the
second 'murder' in order to protect his newly-found independence, having the full moral
consciousness though he is not aware of the consequence. But, the sight of murder makes the
Mayoites hostile towards Christy. Their hostility is, as Norman Padhoretz suggests moral paradox of
civilization. To Christy this act of violence is a necessity and he commits it but society, though feels
the necessity, cannot condone. Thus, stripped of illusion Mayoites' primitive consciousness advances
towards the values of civilization. With the third encounter with his father, Christy emerges as a true
hero. Due to his moral progress, now he does not require a physical violence but through a symbolic
act of murder he rejects his father's value.
There is also a development of Pegeen's character as Patricia Meyer Spacks writes: "So The Playboy
of the Western World presents essentially the vision of a man constructing himself before our eyes.
Not only does Christy construct himself: he creates his princess. Pegeen is, after all, a matter-of-fact
girl with a hot temper. But she is not that sort of girl after a conversation with Christy. As Christy's
images grow more and more compelling, Pegeen becomes more and more gentle and eloquent
herself. She, too, seems to be changing before our eyes. Finally, she comments on the phenomenon:
'And to think it's me is talking sweetly, Christy Mahon, and I the fright of seven townlands for But it
seems to be the sheer my biting tongue. Well, the heart's a wonder.' power of language that has won
Pegeen, and she apparently recognizes the fact herself when she says she'd not wed Shawn, "and he
a middling kind of a scarecrow, with no savagery or fine words at all."
The Playboy ends in a comic note where everybody feels happy in their own way except Pegeen.
"She realizes when Christy leaves declaring that 'he is a master of all fights now' what she has lost,
what the meaning of his strange salvation is, and she knows that she is consigned to a life in society
with the likes of Shawn Keogh : 'Oh, my grief, I have lost him surely, I've lost the only Playboy of the
Western World. Her lamentation highlights Christy's triumph."
"The west is a lonesome place, Synge tells us early in the play, but Christy has made his choice: .....if
it's a poor thing to be lonesome, it's worse, maybe, go mixing with the fools of earth.' What he has to
do, Christy must do alone. Synge, then, is alive both to the possibilities of the Shawns and Michael
Jameses, and to the worth of the Christies, and his sympathy is patently divided between those two
extremes. His pity, however, Synge reserves for Pegeen, who-to paraphrase Eliot-has been visited by
the vision of greatness for a few days and will forever after be a haunted woman. The tragic
implications of The Playboy of the Western World are that the type represented by Pegeen-those
who can perceive greatness but cannot rise to it, who are weighed down by the! 'society' within
them-can neither live in the lonesome west playing out their days, nor be happy in the little world of
daily preoccupations. The Christies are somehow taken care of, and so are the Shwans; it is the
Pegeens who suffer most from the radical incompatibility of Hero and the society."
Una Ellis-Fermor comments that The Playboy shows his dramatic power at its ripest. It is a
masterpiece in which there is a intermingling of serious and ludicrous. The development of a man's
personality towards manhood has been expounded by means of comical treatment of unreal
patricide. There is comic portrayal of some characters like Philly, Jimmy and the village girls and also
the action of the play evokes some comic situations. However, the play cannot be categorized as a
comedy as a whole because of the serious undercurrent that runs throughout the play. There is a
message of morality and the illusion and fantasy in the play ultimately give way to the reality. Unlike
comedy, here the hero and heroine drift apart implying a tragic note. From this point of view it is
better to call the play a tragi-comedy.

Q8) TRANSFORMATION CHRISTY

Ans. The Playboy of the Western World presents a remarkable parabolic action. The shy and lonely
farm-boy threatened by an Oedipal fate has erupted in panicky violence against the father whom he
ears. Now, finding himself among those who shelter him and drawing his story, he gradually lends
himself to the role of glorious parricide-whereupon. through the ups and downs of exploratory
prevarication, he discovers his poetic power, his ability to love and be loved, his strength and
courage. After surviving the appropriate ordeals (exposure as a liar, confrontation with the
repeatedly resurrected Old Mahon, rejection by society as a murderer), Christy leaves the stage as a
new man, independent, and reconciled with the father-indeed, having gaily swapped places with
him, though calling himself "master of all fights from now", he no longer seems tempted to maintain
an insecure ego by violence and deceit. In fact, he now invokes blessings upon those who had
seemed fools or worse a moment before in their adulation and their rejection they have made him "a
likely gaffer in the end of all".
The play is steeped in irony, notably through the glorification of an alleged murder. Christy Mahon's
arrival at a shebeen initially instills fear, particularly in Shawn, who perceives him as a dangerous
figure. However, when Christy reveals he has killed his father, Pegeen and others admire him, seeing
his act as a courageous deed that makes him a suitable protector and a figure of valor. Christy's
violent act stems from a self-defense situation after a disagreement over his arranged marriage to a
wealthy widow, desired by his father. Initially, Christy shares his story out of wounded pride, but as
he observes the villagers' reactions, he gradually begins to view himself as a poet and hero. Pegeen's
description of poets as passionate and fiery resonates with Christy, reshaping his self-image from a
disregarded "quiet, simple poor fellow" to a "fine, fiery fellow."Christy’s newfound confidence
empowers him, enabling him to excel in local games, even when his father reappears. He relies on
the villagers’ belief in his patricide, seeing it as equivalent to reality. The Mayo villagers, living in a
world fueled by imagination and poetry, refuse to surrender him to the authorities and instead
elevate him to hero status. This admiration nurtures Christy's growth into manhood and the full
realization of his physical and sexual prowess.
The Mayoites, who see their mundane reality as lacking poetic material, find in Christy a figure
worthy of their idealized world. Pegeen laments the dullness of their lives and yearns for imaginative
stimulation, which Christy's tale provides. Thus, Christy, an undeveloped poet, gains fervent
acceptance from the villagers because his act of killing his father transcends mere crime; it
represents a bold, heroic action unlike anything they have encountered. Pegeen’s acknowledgment
of the act's necessity underscores the villagers' perspective that true consciousness and self-
realization involve rebelling against paternal authority.
The play embodies the classic elements of recognition and reversal. In Act II Christy enjoys the
company of the village girls and boastfully narrates the story of his murderous deed expanding it to
heroic proportion. But the moments after this ego, which the adulation of the village girls and their
homage to his bravery has fostered, deflates with the arrival of his dead father. The recognition of
self-confidence and independence begins but it suffers a set back with the 'resurrection' of Old
Mahon. However, such reversal of situation lasts for few moments since he gets the assurance from
Widow Quin who will protect him from any adverse circumstance on the basis of certain terms and
conditions.
Widow Quin's encounter with Old Mahon is important in the respect that we get a picture of Christy
Mahon before his development of personality trigerrs off. Old Mahon describes him as a lazy boy, 'a
talker of folly,' a good-for-nothing, a laughing stock whom everybody calls 'looney of Mahon'. This
description is also important from the point of understanding the significance of development.
Christy emerges victorious in the play. He proves himself a real playboy, a sportsman of great
capability, an excellent athlete. It is another recognition of his talent. This new identity also baffles
Old Mahon which is revealed in his speech; ".....but I never till this day confused that dribbling idiot
with a likely man. I'm de- stroyed surely." For the time being this confusion saves Christy from being
disclosed as a liar.
Christy commits the first murder in self-defense when his instinct of manhood gets agitated. There is
no moral consciousness related to it. He was not aware of what he was doing to his father and how
much brutality is associated to his murderous act. In the conducive atmosphere of Mayo this act
expands into a heroic deed. The proc- ess of development also starts. The myth-generator, fantasy-
loving Mayo people elevates Christy to a legendary hero.
The appearance of Old Mahon reveals Christy as a liar. The rejection of the Mayoites also shows
Christy how illusive is his achievement. The second 'murder' Christy commits to preserve his newly-
found identity and to make himself acceptable to Pegeen. Patricia Meyer Spacks finds it as Christy's
attempt to coincide the reality with his projected image developed by fantasy. This time he is morally
conscious and chooses it the only option left to him: "And I must go back into my torment as it, or
run off like a vagabond straying through the unions with the dust of August making mud- stains in the
gullet of my throat; or the winds of March blowing on me till I'd take an oath I felt them making
whistles of my ribs within." Though morally he was conscious, he was not aware of the consequence.
After the third encounter with his father, he emerges a true hero. This time he commits a symbolic
murder, instead of physical violence to reject his father's value."The third 'murder' takes place before
our eyes, and is entirely verbal and symbolic in its enactment: Christy discovers he can give his father
orders, shove him out of the door, tell him that their relation now is to be that of a gallant captain
and his heathen slave'. Having achieved, as a result of experience, genuine self-confidence, he can
manage a triumph, without violence, and one not based on a lie or motivated by desire for approval,
Christy has yearned to escape the domination of his father and others, he fulfils his wish at last in
appropriate terms, freeing himself not by physical murder, but by asserting his own power to
dominate. The stupid son has become a hero, has inherited the kingdom and claimed his rights as
ruler. It is Pegeen, indeed, who underscores his triumph, breaking into lamentations for her loss of
one who, she realizes at last, is after all "the only Playboy of the Western World."
In "The Playboy of the Western World," the concept of Christy as a poet, introduced by Pegeen,
becomes crucial to his transformation into a hero. Initially, Christy's speech, marked by folk rhythm
and occasional imaginative flashes, is predominantly practical and prosaic. His initial reaction to the
tavern reflects a practical mindset. However, when Pegeen suggests he is a poet, his language begins
to shift, reflecting his emerging self-image.Christy's transformation is marked by increasingly
elaborate metaphors. He describes his father’s actions in poetic terms, comparing his nakedness to
an ash tree and his clod-throwing to an assault on the stars. This metaphorical language symbolizes
Christy's own aspirations and the dissonance between his dreams and his mundane reality. His
speech becomes more extravagant, particularly in his interactions with Pegeen, whom he elevates
with celestial imagery, depicting her as superior even to the divine.As Christy's confidence grows, his
metaphors become grander. He speaks of wooing Pegeen under the stars and expresses a pity for
God, who lacks such earthly joys. This transformation reaches a peak when Pegeen's father relays
Father Reilly's concern that Christy might "capsize the stars," acknowledging Christy's growing power
and potential. This symbolic language suggests Christy’s capacity to transcend his father’s mundane
existence, marked by futile attempts to reach the stars that only agitate farm animals.Christy's
development from prose to poetic extravagance recurs in the play's structure. After being humiliated
by his father and attempting a second "murder," his language and self-realization evolve further. With
each transformation, Christy's speech gains a new freedom and joy, independent of others' opinions.
By the end, his metaphors lose their earlier sense of unreality, blending joy and reality.
Christy's final vision of a "romping lifetime," expressed in exuberant language, embodies Synge's goal
of fusing joy and reality. His journey from practical speech to poetic expression mirrors his growth
from a simple, overlooked man to a confident, imaginative hero. This transformation is facilitated by
the villagers' perception of him as a heroic figure, encouraging him to embrace his poetic nature fully.
Christy's evolution highlights the play's exploration of identity, imagination, and the power of
language in shaping self-perception and reality.With the development of Christy, the character of
Pegeen also develops. Christy's passion and eloquence also appeal the romantic faculty of Pegeen's
mind. She is romantic like Christy who dreamt of marrying a rich "Jew-man." Christy's fine words also
have the effect upon Pegeen's speech which she herself acknowledges : "And to think it's me is
talking sweetly, Christy Mahon and I the fright of seven townlands for my biting tongue." Her passion
for fine words, that has made her to yield to Christy's passionate wooing, is revealed when she
ridicules Shawn not only for his cowardice but also his ineptness of the mastery in fine words: "Aye
wouldn't it be bitter thing for a girl to go marrying the like of Shaneen, and he a middling kind or a
scarecrow, with no savagery or fine words in him at all?”
Christy is a myth-generating hero whose action had been blown into heroic magnitude by the
fantasy-loving Mayo villagers. Till his encounter with his supposed murdered father, he plays the role
of his projected image quite well but then, the disillusion follows. The Mayoites, the myth-generator
now cast him away. However, the hero re-surfaces though beyond the understanding of the Mayo
villagers except Pegeen. He changes the order, asserts himself with his new-identity. "If it can be said
that Christy is created as a man by his successive 'murders' of his father, it can be said with equal
truth that he is created by force of language.....As Christy develops self- command, he develops also
command of language; his increasingly poetic speech - reflects his increasingly imaginative
perception, and with the final subduing of his father comes a final control of language."

Q9) WOMEN CHARACTER IN THE PLAY

Ans. Pegeen and Widow Quin are the two major characters in The Playboy of the Western World.
Pegeen is the heroine of the play and Widow Quin as the rival of Pegeen has also the significant
share in the play. Pegeen is younger, an unmarried woman of about twenty years, whereas Widow
Quin,as her name suggests, was once married with children is maturer between the two. She is
about thirty years old.
Both the characters in the play have some common traits. They are intelligent and witty and also
wilful.Pegeen is a bold woman and her boldness is no match for the timidity of Shawn, her suitor.
When she comes to know that a stranger is lying wounded, groaning in pain, close to a nearby ditch,
she derides Shawn's cowardice who out of fear could not go near the ditch. She also senses that
keeping the wounded man unattended will not be sensible since if he dies, police will not spare
them. She is bold woman and despises the cowardice of Shawn. Despite Shawn's hope to marry
Pegeen, she doesn't seem to be happy with the idea. She warns Shawn not to foster the hope that
their marriage is surely going to take place. She is also a capable shopkeeper managing her father's
business skilfully. In this regard, we can quote Christy's comment upon Pegeen's role as a bar tender:
"It's her like is fitted to be handling merchandise in the heavens above." In the face of queries Christy
evades to reveal his crime when he first arrives at the tavern. His answers are ambiguous. But, it is
Pegeen's bold intervention that makes him to surrender. Like a typical rustic village belle, she
threatens him to hit him with the butt of a broom and Christy gives in before that threat.
Widow Quin is the only neighbour who resides within the distance of four miles from Michael's
tavern. We know from Pegeen's account her daredevil act. Like Christy, she is also a murderer of her
own husband. She boasts of this act as revealed from her own speech: "...... maybe all knows a
widow woman has buried her children and destroyed her man is wiser comrade for young lad than a
girl, the like of you, who'd go helter-skeltering after any man would let you a wink upon the road."
Also from the speech we understand that she is living all alone and from this we also understand
how much hardship this indigent lady goes through. To meet her basic requirements, she has to
adopt the path of cunningness. Her tricks comes into full view, when she extends her support to
Shawn in bribing Christy, in exchange of some materialistic gain. Then she takes an opposite turn and
becomes the accomplice of Christy to ensure his marriage to Pegeen hassle-free on the same terms
that she had with Shawn. From Pegeen's comment we also know that she can go to any extent to
fulfil her meagre demand. Pegeen cites some instances like her exploitation by a sly French captain
and rearing a black ram and breast-feeding it so that Bishop of Cannaught can have the Christian
elements in his stew prepared from it. The extremity of her materialistic pursuit is expressed when
Pegeen tells that for a bit of tobacco she can also kill the mountain goat by her hands. This also
reveals her strong will to survive alone amidst several impediments.
Both Pegeen and Widow Quin are in love with Christy. However, there is a basic dissimilarity between
the two. Pegeen is a young and unmarried woman and from the very beginning of the play, her
character seems to be romantic, rich in wild imagination. For her inherent romanticism she at once
recognises the murderous act of Christy as something heroic. Christy is the defender of law and in
this respect his appeal is as strong as Daneen Sullivan and Marcus Quin whose courageous feat
Pegeen has already spoken of. To Pegeen, Christy is the epitome of bravery and courage, the qualities
that she misses among the men folk of Mayo. It is through her wild imagination she traces Christy's
wisdom as powerful as King Solomon: "That'd be a lad with the sense of Solomon to have for a pot-
boy, Michael James, if it's the truth you're seeking one at all." Her passionate, romantic mind also
identifies Christy's skill of narration. She imagines Christy's bravery as the subject of his narration is
as mind-blowing as the poetry of Owen Roe O'Sullivan, as impressive like the poetry from Dingle Bay.
The attribution 'poet' she links with Christy's supposed bravery: "...... and I've heard all times it's the
poets are your like-fine, fiery fellows with great rages when their temper's roused." Christy is a "a
fine, handsome young fellow with a nobel brow." Thus, her affection for Christy is tuned in a high
pitch of romanticism.
Unlike Pegeen, Widow Quin is totally free of any illusive notion. Her first idea of Christy is strikingly in
contrast to Pegeen's: "......and you fitter to be saying your catechism than slaying your da." There's no
iota of romanticism about Christy's bravery in her comment but his innocent appearance that
catches her mind at once. She does not associate anykind of lofty sentimentality with her admiration
for Christy. Contrary to Pegeen's notion: "...... he's fit to be holding his head high with the wonders of
the world." Christy to her is a "shy, a fine, gamey; treacherous lad". Her purpose is clear. She wants
Christy as her husband, as Susan tells-"She with a great yearning to be wedded, though all dread her
here" because of her criminal past of killing her husband.
One amusing situation is created when Pegeen and Widow Quin starts to fight to establish their
respective claim over Christy. Both of them use their bitter tongue to disgrace each other but Pegeen
seems more prone to lose her temper than Widow Quin who shows her capability to stay cool.
Widow Quin uses her humour, derision to attack Pegeen, whereas Pegeen becomes scornful and
angry. However, Pegeen has the rightful claim over Christy because she is the first person to give
Michael James the idea of hiring Christy as a pot-boy and it is for her initiative that he gets the
shelter at the shebeen, but now, Widow Quin as usual with her cunningness tries to take away
Christy from Pegeen siding with Shawn and Father Reilly. She is a widow and since dreaded by all for
her criminal past she sees Christy, a stranger in Mayo, as her future husband.
Pegeen is an emotional romantic girl. Upon such mentality illusion can cast its charm easily. She has
the secret romantic yearning to marry a rich Jew-a way to escape the mundane life in Mayo village.
Her affection is guided by illusion. Because of this illusion, enhanced by her wild imaginative mind,
she holds a very lofty view about Christy's calibre. All her extolment for Christy is the product of
illusion: "And what is it I have, Christy Mahon, to make me fitting entertainment for the like of you,
that has such poet's talking, and such bravery of heart."
On the other hand, Widow Quin is practical and cunning, giving no scope to illusion to cast its spell.
She woos Christy for a practical purpose to get one husband. Her romanticism restricts itself to the
household chores. She tells Christy can stay with her doing "gathering shells to make a white-wash
for our hut within, building up a little goosehouse, or stretching a new skin on an old curagh I have,
and if my hut is far from all sides, it's there you'll meet the wisest old men, I tell you, at the corner of
my wheel, and it's there yourself and me will have great times whispering and hugging........". Her
love is deviod of any kind of romantic illusion. How Pegeen and Widow Quin is Affected by the
Disillusionment
Christy's encounter with the Old Mahon initiates his downfall. Now, the truth comes out proving
Christy as a mere hoaxer, a false claimer of killing his father. The revelation turns the Mayoites hostile
towards Christy and they shift their sympathy to Old Mahon and Pegeen is no exception. Disillusion
makes Pegeen malicious. Stripped of illusion, her love loses its significance. She feels cheated by
Christy. To her it is a deceit on his part and this apprehension makes her virulent. Christy in his
desperate attempt to connect the reality with his projected image thus, to win Pegeen's sympathy,
strikes Old Mahon but sight of murder increases mob's fury and Pegeen comments that there is a big
gap between ‘a gallous story' and 'a dirty deed'. Her disdain goes to the ultimate extent so much so
that now she plays the major role to bind Christy to hand him over to the police. Christy is ultimately
saved by his father. He successfully preserves his newly-acquired identity and rejects his father's
value. Now, he emerges as a true hero, counter-balancing Pegeen's animosity with his stern
indifference. Pegeen perceives Christy's rise but her perception is too late which ends up in wild
wailing: "I've lost the only Playboy of the Western World."
Illusion has not affected Widow Quin at any point of her action so it is irrelevant to find out the effect
of disillusionment on her. She tries her best using all her manipulations to ensure Christy's safety but
her scheme fails. Christy is accused of lying. Being the victim of the mob's fury, Christy asks for help
from Widow Quin and she replies: "I've tried a lot, God help me, and my share is done".
Disillusionment does not make her as virulent as Pegeen since she has loved Christy for reality not for
illusion. That is why we see her to make the last attempt to save Christy from the public anger when
he 'kills' Old Mahon second time. Though described in comical vein her attempt is sincere when she
tries to disguise Christy as a woman by forcing him to put on petticoat around himself and in this
mission she also gets the help from Sara, ultimately she surrenders before Christy's defiance to leave
the place. Her departing comment is quite hilarious as she now con- siders Christy a mad fellow and
hopes a doctor can mend him thus saving him from legal punishment.
Pegeen's immaturity and youthfulness is contrasted against the maturity and practical sense of
Widow Quin. Widow Quin is a typical rustic woman with her interest lies in materialistic and
mundane world of Mayo village. But Pegeen's mind had something that craves for something beyond
the limited periphery of her sur- rounding. In this respect, she is greater than Widow Quin, but more
vulnerable. As T.S. Eliot says that she has the vision of greatness for few days and the vision will
haunt her ever after. Widow Quin enhances the comic effect but audiences' pity will always remain
with Pegeen-the only tragic import of the play.

Q10) IRSIH LIFE POTRAYED IN THE PLAY

The action of the play is set against the backdrop of village on the wild coast of Mayo. It is a hilly
region with rocky soil. The place is not fertile and the only crop that has been mentioned in the play
is potato. Due to the rough weather and infertility of the place the peasants have to go through
hardship for their sustenance. Peasantry alone cannot meet their meagre demand. Seafaring is their
another profession to sustain themselves. Rearing poultry and cattles are also part of their
household chores. A compact picture of it can be got from the dialogue of Widow Quin: "I've nice
jobs you could be doing-gathering shells to make a white-wash for our hut within, building up a little
goose house, or stretching a new skin on an old curagh I have"
Synge has himself acknowledged that he has toned down the wildest sayings and ideas which are so
indigenous to the place to make them acceptable to modern. urban audience. Still, Christy's patricide
and consequent apotheosis stir our morality. But, the incident has its root in reality. It is believed that
the play has been founded upon one real incident in the place which W.B. Yeats narrated to the
playwright. Yeats himself writes: "An old man on the Aran Islands told me the very tale on which The
Playboy is founded, beginning with the words: "If any gentleman has done a crime we'll hide him.
There was a gentleman that killed his father, and I had him in my own house six months till he got
away to America." A same story has been narrated by Synge in The Aran Islands: "One of the old
men, whom I often talk with, has some fame as a bone-setter and is said to have done remarkable
cures, both here and on the mainland. Another old man is fond of telling me anecdotes of things that
has happened here in his life-time. He often told me about a man who killed his father with the blow
of a spade when he was in passion, and then fled to this island and threw himself on the mercy of
some of the natives. They hid him in hole and kept him safe for weeks. though the police came and
searched for him. In spite of a reward which was offered, nobody betrayed him; and after much
trouble he was safely shipped to America."
This impulse to protect the criminal is universal in the west. It seems partly due to the association
between justice and the hated English jurisdiction, but more directly to the primitive feeling of these
people that a man will not do wrong unless, he is under the influence of a passion which is as
irresponsible as a storm on the sea. If a man has killed his father, and is already sick and broken with
remorse, they can see no reason why he should be dragged away and killed by the law.
Such a man, they say, will be quiet all the rest of his life, and if you suggest that punishment is
needed as an example, they ask, "Would anyone kill his father if he was able to help it?"Since, the life
is merely dull routine the inhabitants of this region crave for sensational incidents to experience thrill
of life. Their imaginations enriched with wild ideas prompts the glorification of Christy's murderous
act. It also justifies Sara's eagerness to confess before the priest. Sin is something to look up to with
reverence.
Drinking is also another source of entertainment. Synge comically depicted the drunkard characters
of Michael Flaherty, Philly and Jimmy. Their psyche is best summed up by Una Ellis-Fermor: "The
starved imagination have made themselves drunk on fantasy as an alternative (or accompaniment)
to the 'flows of drink' at Kate Cassidy's wake, and when the curtain falls on the dreary public bar and
the dishevelled, half- drunk men, we see what Pegeen and they have lost in the man "who'd capsize
the stars. The life, aspirations and frustration of a whole country-side is in the play......
The idea of glorification of Christy's patricide has been treated in a satiric vein. It is hard to find out
any moral basis behind Michael's queer attitude of leaving behind Pegeen alone with a murderer.
The people here do not have much sexual inhibition. This may be the case for the propriety of Christy
being left alone with Pegeen, Widow Quin shaving the foxy captain or Old Mahon boasting his
lechery with the Limerick girls.
Synge also directs his target at their religious beliefs. His satire focuses upon the peculiar blend of
paganism and Roman Catholicism. The country priest Father Reilly hovers in the background. He is
the father like figure and supporter of Shawn. Shawn is basically coward and a puritan. Whose all
action is dictated by Father Reilly, that is religion. The triviality of his religious beliefs come to light
when we see, he excuses himself from being with Pegeen alone in the name of religion as in another
instance he comically laments he has no father to kill to become a hero like Christy.
There are some elements of farce that has been incorporated in the play: Marcus Quin maiming the
ewes, Jimmy Farrell hanging his dog and it is screeching and wriggling in pain, Sara Tansey driving her
ass-cart ten miles to see the man who bit yellow lady's nostril and Mayo people burning the leg of
Christy are all part of a farce. Cruelty and savagery are associated with their strange attitude. Synge
himself studied this strange behaviour with curiosity. It is interesting to quote what he writes in The
Aran Islands : " although these people are kindly towards each other and their children, they have no
sympathy for the suffering of animals, and little sympathy for pain when the person who feels it is
not in danger." He also cites a real incident that suggests their peculiar cruel nature: "Sometimes
when I go into a cottage, I find all the women of the place down on their knees plucking the feathers
from live ducks and geese."
"When Synge began to draw his material from The Aran Islands he had found, by one of those
accidents of fortune which sometimes save genius from extinction, the people who alone could
stimulate his imagination and offer him something on which this strange combination of dramatist
and nature-mystic could work. They were the human theme which drama must have and yet they
were part at least nature itself." Yeats calls The Playboy of the Western World, "The strangest, the
most beautiful expression in drama of that Irish fantasy which overflowing through all Irish literature
that has come out of Ireland itself (compare the fantastic Irish account of the Battle of Clontarf with
the sober Norse account) is the unbroken character of Irish genius."
Q11) CHARACTER MICHAEL JAMES FLAHERTY
Michael James is the pub owner in a village, on the coast of Mayo. He is a hale and hearty fellow
whose life is one of usual humdrum nothing different from the lives of other villagers. There is a
certain kind of boisterousness in his character that spurs him to find entertainment in the company
of other riotous gang drinking and revelling. For a man like him revelry comes before the security of
his own daughter whom he plans to leave behind all alone at night to attend. Kate Cassidy's wake.
However, he is enough cautious about his own safety when he tells that coming back home
traversing through the jutting-out rocks will be risky since he will not be in stable condition after a
heavy bout of drinking at the wake. The man is fond of drinking and true to his words cannot come
back home travelling by feet, next morning. A cart is sent to bring him back home..
Like some other characters, Michael James also excites our laughter with humorous dialogues and
comical behaviour. His sense of humour gets expressed in his comment upon so called 'God-fearing'
attitude of Shawn when he flees shebeen leaving behind his coat in the hands of Michael
James-"Well, there's the coat of a Christian man. Oh, there's sainted glory this day in the lonesome
west; and by the will of God I've got you a decent man, Pegeen, you'll have no call to be spying after
if you've a score of young girls, may be, weeding in your fields."
His fondness for drinking becomes almost comical when he laments that he did not take Christy
along with him in the wake where they drank till they lose the strength to stand on their feet and lie
down and vomit on the grave stone.
A comic situation is created when Michael James and Shawn pushes each other to combat Christy
and when Shawn evades, sensing the things are going out of his expectation, he happily accepts
Christy as would-be son-in- law. The contrast between 'puny weeds'-the children fathered by Shawn
and 'gallant swearers'-the children fathered by Christy is extremely ludicrous. When Christy is tied up
and people drag him to hand him over to police, Michael comments that Christy must yield without
much resistance to make everything fast since hanging itself is an easy and fast way to meet death.
Apart from providing some hilarious, comical moments, the character of Michael James plays an
important role in certain context. He is the man who, because of his irresponsible nature, as accused
by Pegeen, or because of his over-enthusiasm in attending the wake does not mind Pegeen's
suggestion of keeping Christy as a pot-boy and leaving Pegeen alone in his company despite Shawn's
wild protest. Thus, he is instrumental in allowing Christy and Pegeen to develop intimate
relationship. Like others, he finds Christy's deed awesome but cannot accept him as his son-in-law.
He is a practical man who considers Shawn will make a better son-in-law in terms of material gains
rather an unknown man whose repute solely lies on murderous act. It is he, who after Christy
commits the second murder suggests other to bind him with rope to hand him over to the police in
order to evade the harassment from law. This fear of law we have seen earlier also when he asks
Christy and Shawn to leave his tavern to fight on the shore of the sea so trace of blood will be
washed by huge waves. Unlike Pegeen the charm of gallantry and romanticism cannot cast a spell
upon him who breathes a sigh of relief with the departure of Christy while Pegeen bursts out in loud
wailing losing her hero forever.

Q12) CHARACTER PEGEEN MIKE/ MARGARET FLAHERTY

A wild looking girl of twenty, Pegeen Mike is the heroine of the play. She is pretty since Synge
describes him as a 'fine' girl. She is matured, romantic at heart but fiery-tempered. She looks after
father's tavern where she happens to meet Christy. She is also an intelligent girl with a stronger
personality that overshadows the week personality of her suitor Shawn Keogh.
It is believed that Synge has in his mind beloved Molly Allgood, while creating the character of
Pegeen. Robin Skelton comments upon this: "The waywardness, the wildness, the warmth, the
independence, the sudden bursts of temper and the restless, yet ill-informed ambition, are all
characteristics of Molly and these are also the qualities of Pegeen Mike."
Pegeen is supposed to marry Shawn, At the beginning of the play we see Pegeen is ordering her
wedding trousseau and it is followed by Shawn's entry. He is an awkward fellow in contrast to wild-
looking Pegeen and their conversation soon reveals that Pegeen hardly respects this fellow. She
snubs him and jests his sureness about their prospective marriage. She is engaged to Shawn and
there is nothing romantic associated with this relationship. This marriage to her seems to be a
prosaic affair, a social necessity. Her abhorrence towards Shawn and other fellows in the village gets
exposed when she comments that they are not worthy of getting any attention from the higher
authority of the church of Rome. This bitterness against him augments when she comes in contact
with Christy, pitted against whom, Shawn becomes a mere object of humiliation : "Wouldn't it be a
bitter thing for a girl to go marrying the like of Shaneen, and he a middling kind of a scarecrow, with
no savagery as fine words in him at all ?"
Pegeen is an intelligent woman and practical too. She is right in sensing the dangers that may she
face when staying all alone throughout the night while her father is away attending a wake. When
Shawn reports her of groaning Sound that he has heard while passing the road she gauges the
situation correctly and warns him that his callousness and cowardice might lead to the harassment
by police. When Christy appears at the scene, he faces a series of questions and answers them back
quite enigmatically but ultimately it is Pegeen's intervention to which he gives in and reveals the
truth. Pegeen also apprehends the basic nature of Christy whose character is yet to grow to attain
the heroic plane: "A soft lad the like of you wouldn't slit the windpipe of a screeching sow." With her
practical wisdom she alerts Christy not to narrate his act of killing to everybody which may expose
him to police.
Pegeen is fiery-tempered woman that she herself acknowledges in her conversation with Christy.
".....I am the like of yourself with blind rages tearing me within" and "I the fright of seven townlands
for my biting tongue."
Pegeen's contempt is severe against Shawn. She strongly points out Michael James his callousness
for leaving her alone at night to attend Kate Cassidy's wake, and vehemently rejects Widow Quin's
intervention when she appears at the shebeen to take away Christy with her. She feels possessive
about Christy and does not approve the way Christy mixes with the local girls. Pegeen's appearance
mars the congenial atmosphere and the girls do not feel comfortable in her presence. Fearing her
anger, they leave the place. Driven by jealousy, she scares Christy and agrees to keep him on
condition that he should not vex her anymore by getting intimate with Widow Quin and other ladies.
Christy first appears in the play at Michael James's shebeen. He is shaky, tired and famished fellow in
the beginning. He is ambiguous in his response but Pegeen's initiative ultimately brings the truth in
front of us. It is Pegeen who does not hesitate to hire Christy as the pot-boy of the tavern and hopes
that his presence will keep all the dangers away from her home. It is not the deed ('murder' of
Christy's father) itself, but the reaction of the Mayoites including Pegeen herself that fosters Christy's
ego and self-command.
Pegeen is romantic by nature and dreams in spite of knowing that they are unattainable. She dreams
of getting married to a rich Jew and thus, by the means of fantasy she wants to escape the mundane
world of Mayo village. Christy's arrival and the narration of his deed appeal the romantic, fantasy-
loving faculty of her mind. She ushers him as somebody worthy and naturally opposite to her
unromantic, meek suitor Shawn and starts to feel possessive about him. At any cost she resists other
woman's interference in the affair between her and Christy. She defends Widow Quin's cunning plan,
she does not even tolerate Christy's intimate mixing with other local girls and makes Christy to realize
his self-esteem. She is the catalyst in bringing about the change in the personality of Christy. This gets
cleared when at the end of the Act I Christy goes to bed thanking God for the good luck that has
befallen him, for the two fine ladies (Pegeen and Widow Quin) fighting for him, and then laments not
to kill his father earlier.
Pegeen is the stepping stone with whom Christy overcomes sexual immaturity and goes further
towards achieving manhood. In Pegeen's company he is not a stammering, awkward fellow but an
eloquent poet who charms her with his romantic talk. Her romantic heart finds a compatible partner
in him and she reciprocates positively to his poetic wooing.
With the development of Christy's character Pegeen's personality also develops. She mollifies. The
intimate scene with Christy unfolds the romantic side of Pegeen's character, who is 'fright of seven
townlands', talks sweetly for the pleasure of Christy.
The confrontation of Christy with his 'dead' father in Act III prompts the climax of the play causing
the reversal of the situation where Christy is defamed with an indictment of a blatant lie. Pegeen, the
heroine of the play joins the crowd as the bare truth comes out defaming her hero as the most
unheroic hoax-killer. From here she isolates herself from the hero of the play. Christy 'kills' his father
for the second time to make himself acceptable to Pegeen but after witnessing the deed Pegeen feels
the difference between 'gallous story' and a 'dirty deed." She plays the leading role in dropping the
noose over Christy's head and even torments him with a flaming turf.
The transmutation of Christy's character goes on through his action till the end of the drama when
he emerges as a real hero establishing his supremacy over his father. He attains the greatness or the
higher level which Pegeen perceives but cannot raise herself to it. It is the only tragic import of the
drama as she laments when Christy departs, totally indifferent to her: "I've lost the only Playboy of
the Western World.”
A critic comments: "His pity, however Synge reserves for Pegeen, who to paraphrase Eliot - has been
visited by the vision of greatness for a few days and will for ever after be a haunted woman." Pegeen
is imaginative, romantic but ultimately weighed down by society, she is consigned to life with the
likes of Shawn Keogh. Where Christy succeeds, she fails.
Q13) CHARACTER SARA TANSEY, SUSAN BRADY, HONOR BLAKE AND NELLY
These village girls, Sara Tansey, Susan Brady, Honor Blake and Nelly make their entry in the beginning
of Act II. They have come together to meet Christy, a brave hero in their estimate, who has killed his
father. They are eager to meet the hero and does not want to lose the opportunity. His deed seems
to them almost unattainable by a common man. When they come in and do not find Christy, Susan
apprehends that Shawn Keogh might have played a joke on them. Honor laments that such
opportunity will never come again and it is a lifetime experience to have a glimpse of a man, the
killer of his father. With the appearance of Christy they hand over the loads of gift to him as rewards
for his remarkable achievement. Sara heralds him with thousand welcomes and gives him duck's
eggs, Susan gives him butter, Honor, a piece of cake, and Nelly, a boiled chicken.
These village girls basically appear in the play to induce humour. Their appreciation of Christy's
murderous act becomes eulogical thus, turning into a farce, provoking laughter. Their behaviour is
also farcical. They examine the pair of boots of Christy and Sara even smells it. Susan in this context
also narrates an incident about how Sara once drove the ass-cart for ten miles only to have a look at
a man who bit the yellow lady's nostril. The incident itself is comical, farcical and blended with
primitive cruelty. This primitiveness also gets exhibited in Sara's comment when she slips on a men's
pair of boots and tells these boots will come in handy when she will visit Church to confess to the
priest. There is no hint of her sin in the dialogue and in this absurd, farcical situation nothing appears
to be sinful. Like the murder, confessing also becomes a praise-worthy act. A suggestion of simplicity
of their mind can be reckoned in her dialogue; "It's a glass he has. Well, I never seen to this day a
man with a looking-glass held to his back. Them that kills their fathers is a vain of surely." They
eagerly listen to how Christy has killed his father and Susan declares that it's 'a grand story' and
Honour tells: "He tells it lovely." They find a congruity between Christy's deed and Widow Quin's
murdering of her husband. The reaction after listening Christy's narration ends in an occasion to
celebrate as they choose him as a second husband of Widow Quin. The scene is hilarious when
Christy and Widow Quin drink arms-in-arms.
These group of village girls make their entry once again in the end of Act II to escort Christy to the
sports below. Sara alone appears in the end of Act III as an aide of Widow Quin to make Christy
escape but gives up in the face of Christy's defiance. Her comment in the Act III: "Ask Pegeen to aid
you. Her like does often change." suggests her bitterness against Pegeen.
The village girls emphasize the farcical elements in the play. Their overwhelmed appreciation for
Christy's murderous act indicates this. Also, these girls foster Christy's ego and in this way, to some
extent, bring about a change in his personality-a pivotal theme in the play. These girls represent the
common women folk of Mayo among whom Pegeen stands out with her originality.

14) CHARACTER OLD MAHON

Old Mahon is the tyrannical father of Christy. He is a squatter, and illegal occupier of a piece of land.
Though he makes an entry in the later part of Act II, our idea about this man builds up quite early
through the description by Christy. The character of Old Mahon plays the role of a villainous figure
who has stunted the growth of Christy's personality, whom ultimately Christy overpowers and
eventually establishes his dominance.
When Christy steps in Michael James's shebeen for the first time, being a stranger to the place he
generates the curiosity of the other people present there. He confronts a torrent of questions
directed towards him rather ambiguously and boastfully hints at his father's wealth. Later, cornered
by Pegeen's jest and assault, he divulges the truth. He describes Old Mahon as man pernicious and
cruel who has made his life unbearable. He is always after him, humiliating and thrashing him and
spurring him to marry an ugly old widow. He is a devil, disdained by his own children. He is a
drunkard. A strange description Christy gives to Pegeen that suggests Christy's poetic power as well
as Old Mahon's queer attitude that debases him to an intimidating, ghostly beast: "It's that you'd say
surely if you see him and he after drinking for weeks, rising up in the red dawn, or before it may be,
and going out into the yard as naked as an ash-tree in the moon of May, and shying clods against the
visage of the stars till he'd put the fear of death into the screeching sows." Through Christy's
description we have a look into the animal instinct of Old Mahon who is always fuming, cursing,
abusing when he is awake or snoring loudly when he is asleep.
From Christy's description we also come to know that Old Mahon does lack the mental stability. He
has been sent behind bars and to the asylums for his violent fury. When Widow Quin bewilders him
he admits that for a period of time he suffered from mental instability. He used to have devilish
vision and is haunted by the dreadful images of rats, as big as badgers, sucking his lifeblood from butt
of his ears. He also admits that once he underwent the treatment while seven doctors attending him
and he was raving and screaming in poor-house.
The playwright delineates this character as a gullible fool who is well developed in strength but not
fully grown up in mind. He is a labourer, toiling and going through the mundane hardship of life. He is
physically strong and with that strength only he subdues Christy's personality. Christy, while going
through the process of maturity exhibits his poetic power. He has that subtlety in nature which Old
Mahon completely lacks. His domain is his physical strength with which he batters Christy. Enormity
of his strength is revealed when Christy struck him and assuming it to be fatal, fled the spot in fear
but, he reappears with the deep wound only to wreak vengeance upon his son. When Pegeen is
astonished seeing him, he replies: 'Do you think I look so easy quenched with the tap of a loy?" In the
later half of the Act III he makes a sudden entry and knocks down his son. The immensity of his
strength is contrasted by the lack of his brain. Without facing much resistance Widow Quin easily
befools him twice thus, misguiding him and thwarting his plan to meet Christy. Even when he sees
Christy participating in the sports and coming back jubilantly, Widow Quin some how manages to
baffle the mind of this old man to drive away the impending crisis for time being.
The character of Old Mahon plays a critical role in the context of the theme of the play-Christy's
transformation. He is the factor for whom Christy suffers and remains submissive under his
dominance. Once he 'kills' Old Mahon for the first time and becomes an awesome figure to the
people of Mayo, the process of transformation kicks off.
The entry of Old Mahon in Act II deflates Christy's ego to some extent but he emerges with renewed
confidence after his compelling victory in However, Old Mahon's reappearance in the Act III creates a
situation of anti- climax where Christy crumbles down from the level of a hero to a mock-hero-a
subject to everybody's humiliation. Thus, initiating a peripeteia, a sudden change in the fortune of
Christy. Christy, to make himself acceptable to Mayoites, especially to Pegeen, 'kills' Old Mahon for
the second time. Even then the old man of monstrous strength survives and reappears once again
but now as a saviour. His reappearance saves Christy from being hanged. However, Christy's
personality resurfaces in a heroic proportion-now the role has been changed, Christy being the
'gallant captain' and Old Mahon his 'heathen slave'.
The character of Old Mahon paces up the action of the play, his appearance and reappearance give
the play an intricate twists. Also his conversations with Widow Quin provide the spectators with
some comic situations. He also arouses pity with the genuiness of his anguish and anger at his son
but later accepts his son's supremacy when he calls himself- "I am crazy again" thereby bringing the
play to a happy end.

Q15) CHARACTER WIDOW QUIN

The character of Widow Quin possesses a quality akin to Christy since she is also a murderer and
plays a significant role as the rival of Pegeen in alluring Christy to get him as her second husband.
Pegeen is fresh and immature Widow Quin is cunning and experienced. She does not lose her cool
frequently like fiery-tempered Pegeen and all through the drama, plays the role of an intriguer.
Widow Quin is the only neighbour who lives within the periphery of four miles from Michael James's
house. When Shawn suggests Pegeen to spend the night with her while Pegeen's father is away
attending the wake of Kate Cassidy, she rejects the suggestion at once stating the woman is a
murderer. Strangely enough, like Christy she has not been handed over to the police for her
murderous act rather later Pegeen describes her act as a 'sneaky kind of murder' that has brought
her 'small glory', she struck her husband with rusted axe causing the contamination of his blood. It
was a fatal blow and he died after. This similarity with Christy she herself realises when she says:
"You'll be doing like myself, I'm thinking, when I did destroy my man, for I'm above many's the day,
odd times in great spirits, abroad in the sunshine, darning a stocking or stitching a shift; and odd
times again looking out on the schooners, hookers, trawlers is sailing the sea, and I am thinking on
the gallant hairy fellows are drifting beyond, and myself long years living alone." Even the local girls
in Mayo find her a befitting match for Christy and joke about it, making the pair to drink arms-in-
arms.
With her intelligence and wit Widow Quin is at par with Pegeen. She is the rival of Pegeen. Even her
appearance seems not less attractive as Christy interprets their rivalry rather comically- "two fine
women fighting for the likes of me" so, Widow Quin is no less than 'wild-looking', otherwise 'fine
woman' Pegeen. But Widow Quin is a cool-headed woman who confronts Pegeen's verbal assault in
a composed manner, never giving vent to her anger. This coolness aided by presence of mind make
her a great schemer, as we see her, right from the beginning of the play. She has buried her children
as she boldly states, casts her eyes on Christy and like Pegeen she also falls in love with Christy. To
turn her plan a success she joins Shawn to convince Christy that Pegeen is a pugnacious woman and
should give her up. She does all this in exchange of some material gains that Shawn promises to give
her. She assures Shawn that she will marry Christy to ensure Shawn's marriage to Pegeen an affair
without any hassle. However, Christy turns to be indifferent to their requests and allurements. When
Old Mahon appears in the scene and Christy dreadens at the horrible thought of being disclosed, she
again plays her trick. She tells him that Pegeen will never marry him if she ever comes to know the
truth (ironically, which later proves to be true). Instead, she asks him to marry her to lead a peaceful
and happy life but, Christy does not yield and reiterates his earnest love for Pegeen. Nothing seems
to make Widow Quin lose her temper and with an enormous flexibility of mind to adjust to the
situation she changes her stand and agrees to help him in his mission only, this time she asks for the
same items that she asked from Shawn in exchange of her help.
As an accomplice of Christy's mission to win Pegeen, she tries her best to deter Old Mahon from
facing his son. She baffles him, misguides him and threatens him of a dire consequence that a lunatic
meets with in Mayo.
Widow Quin is a schemer but not a woman without a heart. She has fallen in love with Christy and
till the end of the play never dissociates herself from Christy. When all the people in Mayo turn
hostile she is the only lady, apart from Sara, desperately tries in helping Christy to come out of the
crisis. Pegeen, as Widow Quin predicted earlier, isolates herself from Christy and even goes to the
extent to bind him and burn him. The genuineness of her sympathy is treated in a comic light when
she declares Christy has gone mad, thereby needs doctor to attend. But, like a cunning, rustic woman
even her sympathy seeks some gain from it; 'Well, if the worst comes in the end of all, it will be great
game to see there's none to pity him but a widow woman, the like of me, has buried her children and
destroyed her man."
In spite of her slyness and wit, Widow Quin basically represents the constricted sphere of the women
folk of Mayo. We get a glimpse of her poverty stricken, low life-style from Pegeen's description. To
meet her meagre demand she has to degrade herself to entertain a sailor from abroad or even, as
Pegeen's scandalous description suggests, breast-feed a black ram so that Bishop of Connaught can
get some Christian elements in the kidney stew. Her demands are essentially basic and natural
against the backdrop of rural Mayo. Her greed is marked by a stark simplicity of a rural woman who
only can dream of a healthy cow, a mountainy ram, an access to the road or loads of dung.

Q16) CHARACTER SHAWN KEOGH

Shawn Keogh is the local young farmer engaged to Pegeen. The character is introduced at the very
beginning of the play when he visits Michael James's shebeen to meet Pegeen. He is described as a
fat and fair man whose looks are awkward in contrary to Pegeen's aggressive wild-looking demeanor.
Shawn is the suitor of Pegeen but, not much liked by her. Pegeen is a bold woman with a secret liking
for gallantry and romanticism and both of these qualities are lacking in Shawn. He is a timid fellow
with practical sense who has nothing to do with wild imagination and too wary of exhibiting any kind
of courage. When he comes to the shebeen he hears the groaning sound of a man near the ditch but
avoids going there fearing the danger he may face. Even the idea of attending Kate Cassidy's wake is
unacceptable to him for the journey in the darkness. He comes back soon after departing the
shebeen scared by seeing Christy is coming towards Michael James's house. He fears that the man is
following him to take life, finding him alone on the way in darkness.
His cowardice also gets exposed when he confronts Christy. Even Widow Quin derides his cowardly
attitude: "It's true all girls are fond of courage and do hate the like of you." He himself finds excuse
for his cowardly nature and his puritanical belief: "I'd inform again him, but he'd burst from
Kilmainham and he'd be sure and certain to destroy me. If I wasn't so God fearing, I'd never have
courage to come behind him and run a pike into his side.". In Act III, in face of Christy's threat Shawn
gives up his claim over Pegeen and haplessly declares his unrequited love for Pegeen and his
preference to a secured bachelor life rather than being a prey to a wild savage. This fear lingers on
even when Christy is cornered by the people of the village after bare truth is discovered. Shawn
considers himself as the worst enemy of Christy and refuses to drop the noose over Christy's head
though supported by the entire lot of villagers. What Shawn fears to do is ultimately done by others
led by Pegeen.
A man like him always seek the opportunity to use other as the agents for wreaking his vengeance,
keeping himself in distance from the spot of violence.. He is most comically clamorous when he
advises others to wring Christy's neck or ask Pegeen to burn Christy's leg with flaming turf. His fear
proves true when Christy bites him. At the end he consoles Pegeen telling that he will soon marry her
after he recovers from 'vicious bite' and thereby receives a blow from Pegeen on his ear.
Shawn's character is just the contrary to the character of Christy - the hero of the play. Apart from
being both in love with Pegeen, they do not have any similarities. Christy, whose first appearance
does not represent him as a gallant hero, evolves through the action of the drama and ultimately
emerges as a true hero. Whereas, through out the play the character of Shawn remains the same-a
comically coward fellow whose interest lies in the materialistic gain. Thus, he is a flat character,
showing no promise of change. His lack of boldness and imagination is abhorred by Pegeen and both
the qualities she finds in immense in the character of Christy: Well, it 'd be a poor thing to go
marrying your like, I'm seeing there's a world of peril for an orphan girl, and isn't it a great blessing I
didn't wed you before himself came walking from the west or south".
In Act II Shawn calls himself a God-fearing fellow. He is an orphan but there is an invisible father
figure Father Reilly, a clergy-man, who exerts a great influence over Shawn. He refuses to stay alone
with Pegeen at night fearing Father Reilly's admonition. Even his marriage with Pegeen depends
upon dispensation from the bishops of the Court of Rome through Father Reilly, it is for the
suggestion from Father Reilly that he sends his cousin Widow Quin to take away Christy from
Pegeen's company. It is an irony that the character of Shawn never seems to grow away from the
compelling influence of Father Reilly. But, on the other hand Christy defies his father and subdues
him to establish his dominance. This irony becomes intense when Shawn laments : "Oh, it's a hard
case to be an orphan and to have your father that you're used to, and you'd easy kill and make
yourself a hero in the sight of all."
Though Shawn's activities do not suggest of his courage, it sometimes hint at his slyness. When
Pegeen cordially gives shelter to Christy, he feels jealous and sends Widow Quin, in an attempt to foil
the intimacy that may develop in between Christy and Pegeen. He tries to bribe Christy in absence of
Pegeen, whom he sends away from the spot by cunning means. Infact, he tries his best to encounter
Christy by his own way - slyness backed by his own riches.
The character of Shawn Keogh is one of the sources of comedy. His cowardice and awkwardness; his
being subject of humiliation by Pegeen, Christy and later even by Michael James and sometimes his
craftiness provoke our laughter. Even the end of the play comes with Pegeen, giving vent to her anger
with a blow on Shawn's ear. Christy's suffering makes him a hero but Shawn's harassment only
creates some comic situations.

Q17) PHILLY CULLEN AND JIMMY FARRELL

Philly Cullen and Jimmy Farrell are the two members of the boisterous gang that includes Michael
James also. They represent the men folk of Mayo and like Michael, drinking and revelry is the part
and parcel of their life and these are the only source of their entertainment. Since the treatment of
the play is farcical their revelry also takes farcical shape. Attending Kate Cassidy's wake is, for them
an opportunity to indulge in heavy drinking, free of cost. The attraction of the event is too much for
them and that is why Jimmy cajoles Pegeen's spirit, commenting upon her boldness and Philly, bit
contemptuously, suggests to lock Shawn in the west room to serve the purpose and clude Father
Reilly's denouncement. Christy's entry at the spot eliminates all the possible hindrances, as they
think, and they declare in unison, after knowing of his murderous act, that this man is the perfect
man to guard Pegeen from all sorts of mishap. The farcical overtone of their activity gets highlighted
when Pegeen describes how Jimmy Farrell hanged his dog in order to evade the punishment by the
police.
Along with Michael James both Philly and Jimmy take an active part in interrogating Christy. This
process of interrogation lends the play with some comic moments. Their queries show the extensive,
wild imagination of the men of primitive mindset which range from forging fake coins to polygamy,
from assaulting a young woman to taking part in Boer War. Their immediate reaction after hearing
that Christy has killed his father is quite patronizing. They show their reverence to Christy's deed, a
deed which has made Christy distinguished from 'a common weekday kind of murderer.'
The Act III starts with the entry of Philly and Jimmy. They are bit tipsy that suggests the revelry they
have indulged in. What is striking is that their thirst for drinking seems to be insatiable and they still
look for Pegeen in Michael James's shebeen and condemns Pegeen after being unable to get the
drink. Gossiping is a common kind of engagement in rural society and here in the play these two
characters gossip about Pegeen-Christy affairs. However, Philly seems to be bit critical about Christy
when he tells: "If he has, he'll be rightly hobbled yet, and he not able to say ten words without
making a brag of the way he killed his father, and the great blow he hit with the loy."
Their chatting borders on the sphere of fantasy where exaggeration is a common trait tickling our
senses to laugh at the weirdness. These elements of fantasy might not be totally stripped of reality
but their wackiness catches our mind and so, in their conversation skulls of different colours come in
as a general topic, Philly as a young lad playing with skeleton does not strike a note of incongruity.
In the later part of Act III, Philly and Jimmy's involvement in the action is negligible. Like all other
minor characters they gradually subside and fade into background.
These two riotous accomplices of Michael James, Philly and Jimmy, play some minute yet significant
role in the play. The playwright introduces these characters to highlight the overall mentality of the
Mayoites their dirty activities, their follies and their own set of rules. Their activities too lend some
significance in the action of the play. In Act III through their dialogues accompanied by Old Mahon's
and Widow Quin's we get a vivid description of the mule race in which Christy takes part. The
paciness of their speech complies with the fast-moving mule race and the spectators enjoy it as if
they are physically present at the sports.
Their encounter with Mahon throws light on both the character in different ways. It shows Philly less
gullible than Jimmy. In the beginning of Act III he has been bit critical about Christy and after meeting
Old Mahon his suspicion and senses something tricky in Widow Quin's statement. Whereas, grows
Jimmy seems to be totally convinced by Widow Quin and in support of her, narrates a farcical story of
a man hit by a mare.
In the punishment episode of Christy, these two characters do not have much role to play. As part of
the mob they too take part in tormenting Christy. In this context Philly has only three dialogues and
Jimmy has only one.
Though the purpose of introduction of the characters of Philly and Jimmy is common and their
activities resemble with each other, the playwright adroitly infuses some subtle difference in their
characteristics. Philly appears intelligent between the two. Jimmy seems to be more gullible with the
contentions that are farcical. They are minor characters, mainly, contributing to the comical elements
of the play.