Expressionism in O’Neill’s Mourning Becomes Electra

Abstract

Expressionism, in a way, symbolizes the post-World War I disillusionment. One of the symptomatic features of this disillusionment is the protest against the stultifying patriarchal concept of a family. The protest is invariably directed against family relationships and the way in which these relationships prevent the youth from developing their individuality. Another important theme of the expressionistic plays is the castigation of the parents by their children. The present paper takes a close look at the expressionistic elements present in Eugene O’Neill’s Mourning Becomes Electra, where Orin rebels against his father and is in love with his mother, with the love-relationship suggesting a Freudian urge. Through this play, O’Neill tries to place before the audience the calamities that haunted the post-World War I household.