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.
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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