Are Eben and Abbie the victims or winners of both of love and passion? Discuss.

Answer

Are Eben and Abbie the victims or winners of both of love and passion? Discuss. [2021] ✪✪✪ Or, How did the feelings of mother fixation influence Eben in his youth? [2018]Or, Discuss Eben-Abbie relationship. [2016]

Eugene O’Neill (1888–1953), in his play “Desire Under the Elms” (1924), presents love as both creative and destructive. Eben Cabot and Abbie Putnam are the main victims of this conflict. Their love begins with desire and ends in tragedy. O’Neill shows how passion can mix with guilt, revenge, and motherhood. Eben’s mother fixation and Abbie’s hunger for love make them suffer deeply. Their story turns from pleasure to pain, and from sin to sacrifice.

Love Mixed with Revenge:  Eben’s love for Abbie begins with hate, not affection. He hates his father for working his mother to death. To hurt him, he loves Abbie, his father’s young wife. He says, 

“She may’ve been his’n—but she’s mine now.” 

These words show his revengeful heart. Abbie also desires Eben as a way to gain power in the house. Their passion begins as revenge and greed, not pure emotion. Yet soon, love replaces revenge and binds them with guilt.

Mother Fixation in Eben’s Heart: Eben cannot forget his mother. He feels her spirit in the house. When Abbie comes near him, he sees his mother’s image in her. Abbie says to him, 

“I’ll take yer Maw’s place! I’ll be everything she was t’ ye.” 

Her words awaken both his love and his mother-fixation. This mix of motherly care and sexual desire makes their relationship painful and confusing.

Abbie’s Desire and Sacrifice: Abbie’s love for Eben grows strong and sincere.  She tells him, 

“Let me kiss ye, Eben! I’ll be everythin’ she was t’ ye!” 

When Eben doubts her, she becomes desperate to prove her love. In madness, she kills their baby to show her loyalty. She cries, 

“I killed him, Eben.”

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