English Literature: Write a note on the theme of passion in Desire Under the Elms

Friday 9 February 2018

Write a note on the theme of passion in Desire Under the Elms

Theme of Passion in Desire Under  the Elms


Passion is the leading theme of the play. Both Abbie and Eben fall in love with each other because of their passion for each other. But at the end of the play, their passion turns into genuine love as she kills her child to prove her love for Eben and Eben shares the punishment of the murder with her. 
 
the theme of passion in Desire Under  the Elms

Eben is a young man of twenty-five and Abbie is his step-mother. His father Cabot married her when he is seventy-five years old and Abbie is thirty-seven. When Abbie arrives at the Cabot farm-house and sees Eben, they are attracted to each other. Abbie is attracted to Eben the moment she sees him and endlessly tries to make him fall in love with her. Eben at first tries to control his passion but ultimately fails. Abbie wants to produce a son by him in order to become the sole Owner of the farm and Eben wants to take revenge on his father by having sex with Abbie. 

After making love to Abbie and begetting a son by her, Eben is in a sense of triumph over his father. In a moment of exultation, he claims the ownership of the farm, but his father says that his farm will now pass to his youngest son, his son by Abbie. His father then reveals that Abbie had told him that Eben had tried to make love to her in order to possess the farm. He also reveals that he had promised to give her entire farm to Abbie if she produces any son by Cabot. Eben now misunderstands Abbie. He thinks that she has fallen in love with him in order to produce a son by him, not for her love for him. By producing a son by him, she wants to become the sole owner of the farm. He considers her making love to him as a cunning game.

As Eben misunderstands her, he threatens to leave her. At that time her passion turns into genuine love and kills her child to prove her love for him. Eben reports the murder to the Sheriff. Sheriff asks him to wait till he gets dressed. While waiting for the Sheriff, Eben feels a kind of ache in his heart and realizes that he loves her sincerely. He runs back home and tells her to run away before the Sheriff arrives. But Abbie does not agree to run away because she wants to take her punishment for her sin. Eben thereupon says that if she is determined to stay, he himself wants to share the punishment with her because he feels equally responsible for the murder of the child as he had expressed his wish that the child were dead. But Abbie says that she is alone responsible for the murder. Eben then says that the child was the product of their mutual sin of adultery and that he is as guilty in this as she is. Then both of them are taken into custody. Thus, the ending of the play produces a cathartic effect because both Abbie and Eben have risen to tragic heights by proving their love for each other and sharing the punishment for their sin of adultery.

Thus, Eben and Abbie simply become the victims of their passion.  Them doom themselves by their incestuous sin and suffer the terrible consequence. So, the play is termed the tragedy of passion.

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