The Nostalgia and Sufferings of Mary Tyrone: Psychoanalytical Analysis of O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night

Abstract

  This study investigates the hidden personality traits and sufferings of Mary Tyrone in Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night through the lens of Sigmund Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis. This research explores Mary Tyrone's life journey, tracing her transformation from a respectable lady to a drug addict. The research aims to illustrate how her behaviour is influenced by her ID and the subsequent consequences she faces due to her stubbornness. As a researcher, I employ the qualitative method, utilizing Catherine Belsey’s textual analysis to uncover the psychological issues affecting Mary Tyrone and their effects on her. Catherine Belsey claims that there is no pure reading and interpretation always involves extra-textual knowledge. She opines that a deeper understanding always arises from looking beyond the text itself, suggesting that interpretation goes beyond surface meaning; it is about uncovering profound internal meanings within the text. The paper highlights Mary Tyrone's hidden personality traits, such as inherent anxieties and unresolved trauma, shaping her behaviour. It examines her emotional connections, particularly with her sons, uncovering patterns of overprotectiveness and manipulation. Mary's dependence on escapism and nostalgia, through drug abuse and retreat into the past, serves to avoid facing present realities. The future implications of the study include enriched clinical approaches to addiction treatment, a deeper understanding of literature-psychology connections for literary analysis, and promoting interdisciplinary dialogue between fields, and impacts of parental addiction and parental neglect on child personality and experiences.