The Split Personality Of Mary Tyrone In Long Day’s Journey Into Night

Eugene O’Neill is a monument in the history of American theater. His masterpiece Long Day’s Journey into Night has long been the focus of attention from the critical world as well as the general readers. I hold that a thorough and sound understanding of Eugene O’Neill needs to have the psychoanalytic perspective. Based on Sigmund Freud’s tripartite model of human psyche, the id, ego, and superego, and the theory of the split personality, I will analyze the psychological factors of the fate of Mary Tyrone. And the conclusion is that her marriage starts her unfortunate fate, and her own weak character is the real cause of her tragic life.This paper falls into three chapters. Introduction is about Eugene O’Neill’s life and his literary achievement, focusing on the related research at home and abroad. In the end, it expounds the subject and purpose of this study. Chapter one "The Restless Id" analyzes the desire of pleasure in Mary’s unconsciousness. It consists of "The Pleasure of the Past","The Desire of the Drug" and "The Lost of the Faith". Mary would like to talk about the past "when she was happy". In order to satisfy the desire, she has indulged herself in the morphine. In the end, she has lost her faith, even herself. Chapter two "The Immature Superego" explores in details the relationships between Mary Tyrone and other family members. It also consists three parts:"The Failure of Womanly Responsibility","The Denial of Motherly Responsibility" and "The Guiltiness of Mary". Her multi-identity made Mary let go of herself. Mary always expresses her love in a twisted way. She often escapes from the reality and is indifferent to others. Because of Mary’s strange and changeable behaviors, the whole family is plunged into despair. Chapter three "The Weak Ego" explores the real Mary in the present. She is always afraid of the present and relies on the past. She only relieves her stress by taking morphine. The marriage and family drove her into despair, and she is confused about the future. As a result, Mary finally has come to the edge of the mental breakdown. Finally, I conclude that Mary has become a mad woman from a beautiful and lovely girl. It is caused not so much by the tragic fate as by her weak character and the split personality.