Treatment of Escapism in The Playboy of the Western World

Examine Synge's Treatment of the Theme of Escapism in, The Playboy of

the Western World

Ireland, during the nineteenth century was ruled by the British, which

created resentment with the Irish people feeling they were oppressed

by the British authorities. These bitter feelings were not helped by

the British government's laissez-faire policy, especially as Ireland

was in a period of depression- only Northern Ireland (Ulster) had

industrialised, the rest of Ireland was still agriculturally based and

mainly rural (except for large cities such as Dublin) This was

highlighted after the potato famine which saw Ireland lose a quarter

of its population through death and emigration.

In the West of Ireland, in the remote village where the play is set,

the villagers lead simple, farming-based lives which are boring and

monotonous. Naturally then, the people will seek an escape from

boredom- escape from life. The villagers in the play are not

particularly intelligent, as otherwise they would have left the

village to seek employment in the cities or abroad, and they have

strange ways of entertaining themselves; Philly, for example would put

together the skeleton of a man buried in his yard for fun.

"Many a fine Sunday I'd put him together for fun, and he with shiny

bones"

This seems to be a bizarre practice, but it shows the lengths Philly

had to go to find entertainment.

Pegeen, with her tedious life working on a farm and in a remote pub,

finds her escapism through Christy- she idolises him, although she

barely knows him; she builds up an image of Christy as a brave,

courageous, warrior, and an eloquent poet and storyteller.

"Any girl would walk her heart out before she'd meet a young man was

your like ...

... middle of paper ...

...y like the

ideals but not always the actions, as Pegeen says:

"There is a great gap between a gallous story and a dirty deed"

In short, the people only really fell in love with Christy's stories

and when the witnessed the violence first hand, they were appalled.

Robin Skelton suggests that Pegeen:

"represents an Ireland dreaming of independence cannot accept the

consequences of the dream becoming a reality."

He is implying that while most Irish dreamt of independence from

Britain, but in reality they could not accept the consequences.

Finally, with Synge linking Christy to Christ, he is ridiculing

Catholic Ireland by suggesting that when a Saviour actually does come

to them, they are too stuck in their ways (as Synge believed the

Church was) to accept him and end up trying to kill him, and finally

the saviour leaves them, worse off than before.