Women's Roles in 1930's Ireland

In 1930s Ireland Housewives Immigration The typical Irish women had a traditional role of caring for small livestock e.g the poultry, pigs and calves. She would also attend to the vegetable garden and to the growing of fruit. Usually there was no running water or electricity, sanitation was poor and there were few modern conveniences.

Due to De Valera's strict Catholic presidency there was also pressure placed by Catholic teaching on the role of the mother.

The reality of how many women were 'stay at home' domestic wives and mothers is seen by the most popular female magazines of the time 'Model Housekeeping' (first appeared in 1927) and 'Everyday Housekeeping' which survived until well into the nineteen sixties Employment Most women only went to primary school with only a small % having a higher education = already limited.

Very few women had careers outside the home and if they did they were nearly always paid less than men for the same work. Instead most rural women stayed at home yet they had a very important role selling eggs, knitting, packing fish etc to make extra money in difficult times.

In 1932 the Fianna Fáil (De Valera) government imposed a public service marriage ban whereby women civil servants and national school teachers would lose their jobs on marriage.

The government also sought to protect male employment when new opportunities for women and men were opening up in manufacturing in the 1930s. The Conditions of Employment Act (1935) gave the Minister for Industry and Commerce the right to limit the number of women working in any industry. Therefore the government played a huge role in limiting employment for women at the time. The intention of restricting employment for women was especially harsh on the very many women who were single at the time. The marriage rate in Ireland was particularly low, and in 1926 about a quarter of women in the age-group 45-54 had never been married.
Taking all the circumstances into account, many women voted with their feet and left the country. The proportion of women emigrating in the years 1926-36 was the highest so far, with an average of 1,298 females emigrating for every 1,000 males.
'The rate of emigration, especially for single women, remained high during the 1930s and 1940s, with England the main destination' (Agnes and Rose) Birth Rates De Valera, an open advocate of domesticity and also a devout Catholic, was in power for the 1930's. His obsession with moral issues, especially in relation to sexuality, was heightened by the religious fervour of the time. As a result it reinforced the traditional view that a woman's place was in the home,also an act of 1935 prohibited the importation or sale of contraceptives. The most rigorous censorship laws in western Europe complete the picture.

Ireland had such a strong Catholic foundation, heavy emphasis was layed on both the Virgin Mary and Mother Ireland as representatives of the female Irish population.This resulted in women occupying a unique position in Irish society; women have been recognised, not as subjects with their own identity, but have instead “been reduced to symbols of the nation”.

Context of Ireland

• Situated within the 1930s Irish Republic
• Focuses on the difficulties facing women struggling to realise themselves in a society whose revolution produced not greater opportunities but a codification of secular and religious paternalism
• Presents an awareness of the past as connected to the present.
• Women had unequal rights to men- legislative paternalism
• Women were only usually seen as being and mother and/or a wife
• Only in 1936 the Public Dance Hall Act had been passed before dancing was frowned upon by the church
• Alliance between church and state produced legislation and cultural expectations particularly oppressive to women
• The play is set mainly in the Munday rural Western kitchen stereotypical locale of of Irish plays
• Kate assumes authority on the basis of her income and dismisses the value of unpaid household work
• Presents a sympathetic domestic story of women, emphasising its significance for both private and public life
• The opening tableau provides a visual emphasis on gender differences: the sisters "drab" clothing contrasts with the "magnificent" uniform of father Jack and with he "splendid" plumage of Gerry's hat.
• Visually the women are fully recognisable in the naturalistic kitchen setting
• The men are visitors from other, exotic world
• Radio arrives just as Ireland severs ties with Britain
• Church-state focus on focus on sexual behaviour and religious Orthodox
• Arrival of the industrial industry- opening of the glove factory
• Employment possibilities for women were limited
• Women were paid less than men
• Sisters are isolated mentally and physically
• New Irish free- even just seemingly innocent traditional celti activities came to be frowned upon by an increasingly conservative state and church

The use of the Characters

• Friel gives specific stage directions for the characters e.g. [Jack shuffles about]
• All have their own distinctive tone of voice but collectively through expression and accent they have a Donegal sound.
• Distinguishes from Jack who barely has an Irish accent left
• The sisters have dignity but their sense of fun, appetite for life and sexuality have been muted by their circumstances- they no longer have any expectations.
• The Muday's sisters' suppressed sexual and political energies break out in frenzied dance that engages audience
• They live out their lives in mean circumstances
• Humour, mutual support and refusal to break allow this play to fulfil what Friel had early identified as the function of a dramatist: to make us 'recognise that even in confusion and disillusion, strength and courage can exist, and that out of them can come a redemption of the human spirit'

 

 

The theme of Change

• The acquisition of the radio represents a turning point for the family as well as in rural Irish culture History
• The radio was a newfangled technology that brings mass produced popular culture into the home
• The entry of this variety of music unleashes repressed urges in the five women
• Represents the industrial revolution which essentially costs Agnes and Rose their lives
• Kate notices this change
• '...suddenly you realise that hair cracks are appearing everywhere; that control is slipping away...whole thing is so fragile it can't be held together much longer. Its all about to collapse.'
• Pagan practises arise in the Munday home
• Radio was a new experience for Ireland
• Radio brings new voices ideas and music into their lives

 

The theme of Religion

Religion

• The play is set during the festival of Lughnasa- a local Pagan harvest
• Jack was the community's source of pride as Ballybeg's 'own leper priest'
• Father Jack has gone 'native' he has come to embrace and accept the traditional rituals for the Ryangan villagers
• Kate classifies it as his 'own destinctive search'
• Jacks rituals link to the Pagan Lughnasa festival
• Father Jack brings back a wealth of experiences with non-Christian ceremonies and rituals including native dances
• Kate thinks that the radio has 'killed all Christian conversation'
• Kate is a strict Roman Catholic- resists progress
• All characters are shocked by Uncle Jacks new beliefs but all ignore it apart from Kate who tries to convert him back
• Father Jack is a symbol of Paganism
• Family is seen as shameful because of Jacks conversion as well as Michael being a love child
• Festival of Lughnasa- reckless and madness associating with he devil
• Gerry doesn't consider any religious tradition- has two families
• Michael is a symbol of hope and progress within the family
• The radio comes to symbolise the threat to paganism to the Irish Catholic values- a central concern of the play
• Homecoming of Jack brings with it alien and challenging behaviour
• Friel- 'Dancing at Lughnasa is about the necessity for paganism not as disrupting Christianity but as disrupting civility.'
• 'Ever since Father Jack came home he [head priest] can hardly look me in the eye'

Overview of Lughnasa

• Dancing at Lughnasa opens with a monologue from Michael as an adult, he introduces his nostalgic memories of the summer of 1936, when he was seven years old being brought up by his four Aunts and his mother (the five Munday sisters) in rural Ireland and have acquired their first radio.
• The sisters older brother Father Jack, has just returned from twenty-five years spent as a missionary in a leper colony in Uganda.
• Michael was born out of wedlock to Chris and Gerry Evans, who deserted them and only returns every couple of years t see them.
• The radio which breaks down more than it works, unleashes unarticulated emotions in the five women, who spontaneously break into song and dance, with or without its aid.
• By the end of the year, Michael explains in another monologue Agnes and Rose have left the family to find work and never return and Father Jack has died.

Character Analysis: Kate

Kate

• Only one who had proper job
• Mother figure
• Reputation as 'The Gander' 
• Eldest and the breadwinner- supports the family
• Lost her job because of Father Jack turning into a pagan
• Most resistant to changes
• Critical of the 'pagan' singing and dancing
• Strict Catholic, upholds the faith
• Others jokingly mock her '"Do you want to make a pagan of yourself?"'
• Spoils Michael, although she is the most disgraced by the fact Chris had a love child
• Secret crush on Austen Morgan- does not like to admit it
• Loses her temper easily especially with Rose [sudden anger]
• Sisters ignore her when they're talking about going to the dance
• Gives in sometimes 'Oh God Agnes, what do you think?'
• Quickly changes her mind when she sees Rose make a fool of herself
• Proud of religion and family
• Sensitive although tries to be strong
• Was 'inconsolable' for months after Jack died
• Thoroughly disapproves of Gerry yet she tolerates him for Chris' sake
• Lets loose occasionally, lets lose the most when she does
• In charge although Maggie takes charge of her/for her sometimes
• Associates with Maggie the most
• Fiercely protective of her loved ones
• Sensitive-suppressed her emotions through her sense of priority and duty
• Tormented and worried as the prospects of a scandal within the family
• Fears for the future, losing her job, losing family's livelihood.

Key Quotes

A very proper woman

Sinful to christian an inanimate object with any kind of name, not to talk of a pagan god.

Snatched if from me before I could study it in any detail Each new revelation startled- shocked- stunned poor Aunt Kate But for months Kate was inconsolable

Maggie: 

As long as Kate's not around, "Do you want to make a pagan of yourself?"

Agnes: 

Kate forgets nothing
Rose: [Rose grimaces behind Kate's back]

Kate: 

[...kisses the crown of his head]

[Pretend horror]

God bless us, those are sacrificing! 

[sudden anger] For God's sake. Rose, shut up I am going to learn

You're far too pale
You'd think it was heaven she was talking about
You're not serious, Agnes-are you?
How can we?
Oh God Agnes, what do you think?
Are we?
Maybe we're mad-are we mad?
[At this Kate panics]
We're going nowhere!
Just look at yourselves!
Mature women, dancing?
Laughing at us?
[Very angry almost shouting]
Dozens of people were asking for you
[Sharply] you've offered that cheap wisdom already, Rose.

['Oh, Christina!' but her protest is drowned
Watching the scene with unease, with alarm, suddenly leaps to her feet, flinging her head back
Kate dances alone, totally concentrated, totally private
Controlled and frantic
Kate makes no sound
Then Kate notices-and stops]

No welcome for that creature
You are looking beautiful and what you're going to do is this.
[Kate now takes her in her arms]
[Firm again]
God forgive you!
The animal!
He's leading her astray again Maggie.
And look at her the fool! [pause]... They're such a beautiful couple
Those aul pagan songs!... She's right: I am a righteous bitch, aren't I?
Suddenly you realise that hair cracks are appearing everywhere; that control is slipping away...so fragile it can't be held together much longer. It's all about to collapse Maggie.
[She now cries, Maggie puts her arm around her]
What worries me most of all is Rose
I must put my trust in God

[Stands still watching him]
So you'll soon begin saying Mass again? repeated
[Kate and Maggie stare at each other in concern, in alarm]
Hes changed Maggie...completely changed
He's not our Jack at all, and its what hes changed into that frightens me
Stop sniveling , Agnes!
I want to know where you've been Rose
What has happened to this house, Mother of God, will we be able to lift our heads ever again...?
Killed all Christian conversation in this country

Character Analysis: Rose

Rose

• 'Special'/childlike (developmental disability)
• Agnes is her 'special protector'
• Stubborn- won't listen when her sisters tell her 'Danny Bradly is a scut'
• Blunt- says what she thinks
• Almost always happy- optimistic
• Always up for fun, singing dancing etc.
• Knows what shes talking about strongly sometimes 'Who are you to talk, Christina Munday!'
• Knows Agnes sympathises with her 'He calls me his Rose bud'
• Vulnerable, easily influenced, gets upset easily
• Cares for Michael 'I wish he was mine'
• Chris has little patience for her
• Happy when one of the sisters is singing or dancing, joins in
• Sudden disappearance causes panic
• Convinced Danny Bradly loves her- could be exploiting her
• Unpredictable
• Boisterous
• Indiscreet
• Crafty/ innocent- sneaks off to meet Danny
• Leaves with Agnes and dies of destitution 

Character Analysis: Maggie

Maggie

• The joker of the family
• Lightens the mood
• Confident
• Chief family homemaker
• Cheekily challenges Kate's authority
• Keeps everyone together and happy 
• Wishes she had her own family like Bernie
• First one to get up and dance-wild [untied boots]
• Not as elegant as the other sisters
• Changes the subject when arguments are beginning
• Blunt when talking about men
• Treats Michael as if hes older but is protective of him
• Calms and looks after Kate, closest to her
• Seems to like Gerry 'He's a beautiful dancer'
• Never loses her temper
• Very patient with Father Jack as well as everyone else
• Takes charge at moments of crisis e.g. when Rose goes missing
• Vulnerable and compassionate
• Deep down hides pain at lost opportunities, contrast with her joyfulness  [Maggie stands motionless]
• Ebullient manner
• Cheerful pragmatism and generosity of spirit makes her attractive
• Leads the pagan dance & names the radio
• Earth wit and jokey songs punctuate the action in the play

 

 

Character Analysis: Agnes

Agnes

• Rose's 'special protector'
• Has a thing for Gerry
• Shy- hides her secret longings
• Suggests going to the dance
• Inner strength- knows her and Rose must leave in order for the family to survive
• Introspective- seems least likely to leave
• Worries about Rose
• Quiet and contemplative
• Does most of the housework

 

 

 

Character Analysis: Chris

Chris

• Had a child out of wedlock- disgrace to family
• Constantly abandoned by Gerry
• Falls for Gerry every time he comes back
• Gerry makes her laugh, dances with her
• Repeatedly taken in my Gerry's unreliable promises
• Wants to look good- youngest
• Tells Rose bluntly what she thinks of Danny
• Gets annoyed easily, using Lords name in vain 'For Gods sake'
• Hides her desire to go to the dance 'We couldn't Aggie- could we?'
• Last to get up and dance, other than Kate- this convinces Kate
• Defencive of the upbringing of Michael
• Only sister with real emotional connections outside of the family
• Less strict about social etiquette rules and approvals
• Blunt language
• Life-loving, free spirit
• Suffers depressions because of Gerry but bares no grudges
• Good mother
• Trusting

 

 

 

Character Analysis: Father Jack

Father Jack

• Just got back from a missionary in Africa for 25 years
• Abandoned his Roman Catholic religion for the African religion- he doesn't realise
• Brought shame to the family- they don't mention this
• Kate tries too steer him back to the Catholic religion
• Sick with malaria
• Mentally confused- mixes up names
• Has trouble remembering English words
• Represents paganism
• Frequently refers to local spiritual practises in Uganda
• Was Michael's 'hero' in pictures
• Wireless and Father jacks return- linked to change
• Michael's shock at Jack's appearance 'shrunken and jaundiced'
• Scarcely any trace of an Irish accent
• Caesura, breaks in speech show his disjointed mind
• His mother didn't love him 'And mothers face...showed nothing'
• Has memories of his sisters
• Is now an 'Irish outcast'
• Was once hugely admired and respected by the village and his sisters
• 'Translated' in African
• Has a deep love for the African people
• He is in disgrace having 'gone native'
• Causes Kate to lose her job-shame on the family
• Creates a 'structured beat whose rhythum gives him pleasure'
• His dance is a 'shuffle'
• His singing is 'imcomprehensible and almost inaudiable

 

 

 

Character Analysis: Gerry

Gerry

Gerry returns to see Chris 24-35
Gerry talking to Chris about going away 50-54 
Gerry and Agnes 64-67
Hat Exchange 68-70

• Chris is his 'bit on the side'
• Careers aren't successful
• Talented dancer
• Anges has a thing for him
• He teases Agnes
• He's a player
• Gets through life with charm
• 'Tinker...loafer...waster'
• Visits infrequently- unreliable
• Charms the sisters
• Secretly has a family in Wales
• Tells tales to impress Chris
• Breaks promises
• Sisters flustered on his arrival 'the news throws the sisters into chaos'
• Rose: 'I hate him!'
• Kate: 'How dare Mr Evans show his face here!'
• Chris: 'Look at my hands Kate, I'm shaking'
• Doesn't even realise he's been gone long
• Chris replies in monosyllables 'yes'
• Likes to talk about himself but only positive
• [Chris} 'She laughs all the time with him'
• Kate: 'He's leading her astray again maggie'
• Spirit of adventure
• Undeniably attractive

  

 

Character Analysis: Michael

Michael

• The storyteller as an adult
• Distances the memory from the audience and himself
• Observe memories of his childhood through him
• Trusts his father
• Stands outside the action and also participates in it as a defined character, represented as a voice
• His kites symbolise strong emotions, lack of freedom. paganism. change
• Maggie teases him and he teases her back
• Wants a male role model
• Expected more of Father Jack
• Thought a lot of Gerry of his Aunts
• Shy around his father
• Surprised when his Aunts started dancing
• Notices a change
• Agnes suggests hes lonely
• Older Michael responds as young Michael
• Uses adult words 'pathetic'
• Copies his mother 'Get out of my road'
• Maggie treats him like an adult
• Kate treats him like a baby [Pretend horror]
• Acts uninterested in his father
• In the scene yet absent from it
• Surrounded by maternal love
• Reveals the future for the other characters

 

 

 
 

Themes in Dancing at Lughnasa

Changes and Developments in society

• Sexual freedom
• Technology (Marconi, factory, gramophone)
• Domestication
• Industrial revolution
• Opportunities (Bernie O'Donnell)
• Dance (The Dance Hall act)
•  Family

Technology

The radio (Marconi) is supposed to provide a window into the modern world and a release from the strict Catholic attitudes they are subjected to. It symbolises inspiring change and revolution which mirrors the conflict occurring in the 20th century.

The attempted introduction of gramophones by Gerry, juxtaposes the imposition of the new technologies and change such as the 'new factory started up in Donegal town.' It fails to take hold and affect the lives of the sisters lives whereas the factory is a catalyst in causing Rose and Agnes to run away which ruins their lives. This also links to the industrial revolution which was a huge destruction to Ballybeg.

Dance and Paganism

The theme of dance is very significant in the play. Dance is used as a symbol in a variety of ways. The main symbolism of Dance is that dance is used for freedom. For the sisters, dancing is a way to escape their restricted Catholic lifestyle. The sisters are aware that participating in Dance goes against their religion. When they start to dance it is clear they are hesitant and aware that they are sinning. However, we see them slowly giving in to dance and expressing emotions and feelings through their dancing which are withheld and buried deep within the sisters. The sisters being drawn to pagan practices is a mirror image of the changing values and ideas going on inside Ireland, due to the appeal of pagan practices. 

For Kate, we see dance as a very intimate and private moment. Through dance Kate's separation and isolation within the family is illustrated as she always dances alone. Kate is the strongest Catholic in the family and through her giving in to pagan practices is symbolises the appeal and way that the population of Ireland were drawn to the Pagan lifestyle. 

 Maggie is seen as the most wild and most subjective to pagan ways in the family. Whenever music is played we see Maggie's release build up to depression and disappointment, caused from her restricted and still way of life.

Father Jack, whose ideas and beliefs changed when he went away and lived in a Ryangan tribe (in the tribe, dance was a major part of religious festivals and everyday life) represents the changing world and how due to the changing world, Ireland and it's strict Catholic views are being left behind. Father Jack is therefore a symbol of modern ideas, freedom and equality of women.

Overall, dance is a key theme in the play. It mainly symbolises the rebellion that the isolated sisters act upon due to the built up depression resulting from the still and repetitive lifestyle they live.

Family

Maggie is affectionate towards her nephew Michael, she mocks him, but with affection. She dances and sings, and the songs she sings link to love, something she will never have. The only men in her life are the boy and Jack (she is not 'respectable' enough in Catholic society to get married). She loves the boy even though he was born out of Wedlock- this situation has led to the family being disgraced and shunned by the community. Michael is sharp when responding to Maggie, however he may just be acting as a 'typical child' would. This foreshadows that he will leave Ballybeg and the sisters, as the male characters in the play have the ability to leave, whilst the female characters are trapped by society's expectations.

Boy Michael discusses his father, he trusts that Gerry will get him a bike. Maggie feels sorry for him as she knows this is an empty promise and she wants to protect him.

Kate gets concerned about Rose, this foreshadows when Rose goes missing and Rose and Agnes then run away as a result of the effects of the industrial revolution.

Kate attempts to pretend everything is normal with Jack, this is part of her attempt to keep up appearances.

The Tableaux in the opening and end of the play suggest unity of family (especially against the community from which they are excluded.)

The sisters are a close knit family, they bicker lots, but real love is always conveyed. Also the sisters are very protective over Rose, as there was less understanding of mental health issues at this time and Rose was seen as 'simple'.

The family is broken up due to industrialisation, the knitting factory means Agnes and Rose have no work which leads to them leaving; without a family around them they die in poverty.

Chris is jealous of Agnes and Gerry, conveying how men could get in between the sisters.