Long Day's Journey into Night is a play in four acts written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill in 1939–1941 and first published posthumously in 1956. It is widely regarded as his magnum opus and one of the great American plays of the 20th century. It premiered in Sweden in February 1956 and then opened on Broadway in November 1956, winning the Tony Award for Best Play. O'Neill received the 1957 Pulitzer Prize for Drama posthumously for Long Day's Journey into Night. The work is openly autobiographical in nature. The "long day" in the title refers to the setting of the play, which takes place during one day.
It has been called the finest work of American theater, by critic Pauline Kael.
A Moon for the Misbegotten is a sequel to the play.
Summary The play takes place on a single day in August 1912. The setting is Monte Cristo Cottage, the seaside home of the Tyrones in Connecticut. The four main characters are the semi-autobiographical representations of O'Neill, his older brother, and their parents, including his father, actor James O'Neill.
The play portrays a family struggling to grapple with the realities and consequences of each member's failings. The parents and two sons blame and resent each other for various reasons; bitterness and jealousy serve as proxies for ultimately failed attempts at tenderness and compassion. The family's enduring emotional and psychological stress is fueled by their shared self-analysis, combined with articulate honesty. The story deals with addiction, unfulfilled dreams, moral flaws, and the struggle of family relationships.
Synopsis
Act I Living-room of the Tyrones' summer home, 8:30 am on a day in August, 1912 James Tyrone is a 65-year-old actor who had long ago bought a "vehicle" play for himself and had established his reputation based on this one role in which he had toured for years. Although that "vehicle" had served him well financially, he is now resentful that his having become so identified with this character has limited his scope and opportunities as a classical actor. He is a wealthy but somewhat miserly man. His money is all tied up in property, which he hangs onto despite impending financial hardship. His dress and appearance are showing signs of his strained financial circumstances, but he retains many of the mixed affectations of a classical actor in spite of his classic attire.
His wife Mary recently returned from treatment for morphine addiction and has put on some much-needed weight as a result. (Mary's troubles are alluded to, but not made clear until much later in the play.) She is looking much healthier than the family has been accustomed to, and they remark frequently on her improved appearance. However, she still retains the haggard facial features of a long-time addict. As a recovering addict, she is restless and anxious. She also suffers from insomnia. When Edmund, her younger son, hears her moving around at night and entering the spare bedroom, he becomes alarmed, thinking she is succumbing to her addiction. He questions her about it indirectly, but she reassures him that she just wanted to get away from her husband's snoring.
In addition to Mary's problems, the family is burdened by Edmund's coughing; they fear that he might have consumption (tuberculosis), and are anxiously awaiting a doctor's diagnosis. Edmund is more concerned about the effect a positive diagnosis might have on his mother than on himself. The constant possibility that she might relapse worries him still further.
Act II The same, around 12:45 pm; and about a half-hour later Jamie and Edmund taunt each other about stealing their father's alcohol and watering it down so he won't notice. They speak about Mary's conduct. Jamie berates Edmund for leaving their mother unsupervised. Edmund berates Jamie for being suspicious. Both, however, are deeply worried that their mother's addiction may have resurfaced. Jamie points out to Edmund that they had concealed their mother's addiction from him for ten years, explaining that his naiveté about the nature of the disease was understandable but deluded. They discuss the upcoming results of Edmund's tests for tuberculosis, and Jamie tells him to prepare for the worst.
Mary appears. She is distraught about Edmund's coughing, which he tries to suppress so as not to alarm her, fearing anything that might trigger her addiction again. When Edmund accepts his mother's excuse that she had been upstairs so long because she had been "lying down", Jamie looks at them both contemptuously. Mary notices and starts becoming defensive and belligerent, berating Jamie for his cynicism and disrespect for his parents. Jamie is quick to point out that the only reason he has survived as an actor is through his father's influence in the business.
Mary speaks of her frustration with their summer home, its impermanence and shabbiness, and her husband's indifference to his surroundings. With irony, she alludes to her belief that this air of detachment might be the very reason he has tolerated her addiction for so long. Finally, unable to tolerate the way Jamie is looking at her, Mary asks him angrily why he is doing it. "You know!", he retorts, and tells her to take a look at her glazed eyes in the mirror.
Act III The same, around 6:30 that evening Mary and the family's maid/housekeeper Cathleen return home from their drive to the drugstore, where Mary has sent Cathleen in to purchase her morphine prescription. Not wanting to be alone, Mary does not allow Cathleen to go to the kitchen to finish making dinner and instead offers her a drink. Mary does most of the talking and discusses her love for fog but her hatred of the foghorn, and her husband's obsession with money. Mary, who has already taken some of her "prescription", talks about her past in a Catholic convent, the promise she had as a pianist, and plans for becoming a nun. She also makes it clear that, while she fell in love with her husband upon meeting him, she had never taken to the theatre crowd. She shows her arthritic hands to Cathleen and explains that the pain is why she needs drugs – an explanation which is untrue and transparent to Cathleen.
When Mary dozes off, Cathleen exits to prepare dinner. Mary wakes up and begins to have haunting memories about life before marriage. She decides that her prayers as an addict are not being heard by the Virgin Mary and decides to go upstairs to get more drugs. Before she can do so, Edmund and James Sr. return home.
The men are drunk, but they realize that Mary is back on morphine. Jamie has not returned home, but has elected instead to continue drinking and to visit prostitutes. After calling Jamie a "hopeless failure", Mary warns that his bad influence will drag his brother down as well. After seeing the condition that his wife is in, James wishes he hadn't bothered to come home, and tries to ignore her as she continues her remarks, which include blaming him for Jamie's drinking. Then, as often happens in the play, Mary and James try to get over their animosity and attempt to express their love for one another by remembering happier days. When James goes to the basement to get another bottle of whiskey, Mary continues to talk with Edmund.
When Edmund reveals that he has consumption, Mary refuses to believe it, and attempts to discredit Dr. Hardy, due to her inability to face the reality and severity of the situation. She accuses Edmund of attention-seeking. In retaliation, Edmund reminds his mother that her own father died of consumption, and then, before exiting, he adds how difficult it is to have a "dope fiend for a mother." Alone, Mary admits that she needs more morphine and hopes that someday she will "accidentally" overdose, because she knows that if she did so on purpose, the Virgin never would forgive her. When James comes back with more alcohol he notes that there was evidence that Jamie had attempted to pick the locks to the whiskey cabinet in the cellar, as he has done before. Mary ignores this and bursts out that she is afraid that Edmund is going to die. She also confides to James that Edmund does not love her because of her drug problem. When James attempts to console her, Mary again rues having given birth to Edmund, who appears to have been conceived to replace a baby they had lost before Edmund's birth. When Cathleen announces dinner, Mary indicates that she is not hungry and is going to bed. James goes in to dinner all alone, knowing that Mary is really going upstairs to get more drugs.
Act IV The same, around midnight Edmund returns home to find his father playing solitaire. While the two argue and drink, they also have an intimate, tender conversation. James explains his stinginess, and also reveals that he ruined his career by staying in an acting job for money. After so many years playing the same part, he lost his talent for versatility. Edmund talks to his father about sailing and of his failure to become a poet. They hear Jamie coming home drunk, and James leaves to avoid fighting. Jamie and Edmund converse, and Jamie confesses that although he loves Edmund more than anyone else, he wants him to fail. Jamie passes out. When James returns, Jamie wakes up, and they quarrel anew. Mary, lost in her drug-laden dreams of the past, comes downstairs. Holding her wedding gown, she talks about her convent days and how she lost her vocation by falling in love with James, while her husband and sons silently watch her.
Cast and characters CharacterStockholm premiere (1956) Broadway debut (1956) West End debut (1962) Broadway revival (1986) West End revival (2000) Broadway revival (2003) Broadway revival (2016) West End revival (2018) West End revival (2024) James Tyrone Sr.Lars HansonFredric MarchLaurence OlivierJack LemmonCharles Dance Brian Dennehy Gabriel Byrne Jeremy Irons Brian CoxMary Tyrone Inga TidbladFlorence EldridgeConstance CummingsBethel Leslie Jessica Lange Vanessa Redgrave Jessica Lange Lesley Manville Patricia Clarkson Jamie Tyrone Jr.Ulf PalmeJason RobardsDennis QuilleyKevin Spacey Paul Rudd Philip Seymour Hoffman Michael Shannon Rory Keenan Daryl McCormackEdmund Tyrone Jarl KulleBradford DillmanRonald PickupPeter Gallagher Paul Nicholls Robert Sean LeonardJohn Gallagher Jr. Matthew Beard Laurie Kynaston CathleenCatrin WesterlundKatherine RossJodie Lynne McClintockJodie Lynne McClintockOlivia ColmanFiana ToinbinColby MinifieJessica ReganLouisa Harland
James Tyrone Sr. – 65 years old. He looks ten years younger and is about five feet eight inches tall but appears taller due to his military-like posture and bearing. He is broad-shouldered and deep-chested and remarkably good-looking for his age with light brown eyes. His speech and movement are those of a classical actor with a studied technique, but he is unpretentious and not temperamental at all with "inclinations still close to his humble beginnings and Irish farmer forebears". His attire is somewhat threadbare and shabby. He wears his clothing to the limit of usefulness. He has been a healthy man his entire life and is free of hang ups and anxieties except for fear of "dying in the poorhouse" and obsession with having money. He has "streaks of sentimental melancholy and rare flashes of intuitive sensibility". He smokes cigars and dislikes being referred to as the "Old Man" by his sons.