"The Family Reunion" by T.S.Eliot

INTRODUCTION :

Hello Everyone, so today we are going to talk about one of the Famous Work written by T.S.Eliot i.e. " The Family Reunion". It is a famous work in English Literature. Although we are not going through the whole play but we are going to talk little about the Author , Characters, Summary and Themes used in the play. A this points would be useful for you to write in exams too. I hope you would like this points. So, Lets begin with our topic.

 ABOUT AUTHOR:

Thomas Stearns Eliot born on 26 September 1888.  in St. Louis, Missouri, to a prominent Boston Brahmin family. His father, Henry Ware Eliot (1843–1919), was a successful businessman, president and treasurer of the Hydraulic-Press Brick Company in St Louis. His mother, Charlotte Champe Stearns (1843–1929), wrote poetry and was a social worker, a new profession in the early 20th century. Eliot was the last of six surviving children. Known to family and friends as Tom, he was the namesake of his maternal grandfather, Thomas Stearns.

T.S.Eliot was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor. From 1898 to 1905, Eliot attended Smith Academy, the boys college preparatory division of Washington University, where his studies included Latin, Ancient Greek, French, and German. Following graduation, Eliot attended Milton Academy in Massachusetts for a preparatory year, where he met Scofield Thayer who later published The Waste Land. He studied philosophy at Harvard College from 1906 to 1909, earning a B.A. in 1909 and a M.A. the following year. he moved to England in 1914 at the age of 25 and went on to settle, work and marry there. He became a British subject in 1927 at the age of 39, subsequently renouncing his American citizenship. Eliot died of emphysema at his home in Kensington in London, on 4 January 1965.

ü WRITING SKILLS:

 Eliot seems to have nostalgia for the medieval tradition linked with his interest in modern life. In his poetry, Eliot combines both, concern with religious issues (medieval theme) and a trend towards contemporary issues (modern theme). So as critics observed, Eliot seeks some sort of “integration” between the two aspects. Eliot's writings aim to touch people’s lives and try to connect with them. His intentions were to demonstrate real life by bringing out true emotion. He did this by using real life scenarios that people could be more familiar with, rather than romance and adventure. He was part of the anti- romantic revolution; therefore his poems have a deeper meaning. His poems are more of a combination of mythical, philosophical and Christian imagery in order to find a poetic way to poetically describe a modern dilemma.

What stands out from the beginning in Eliot's poetry is his unique style and cunning. He uses his own form of language that appeals to the reader at the moment. He describes ideas and gives vivid images that seem almost realistic to the person reading it and he makes one feel as if part of the poem. He is particularly fond of using phrases and verse quoted from works in language other than English. The flow of prose is of paramount importance in Eliot’s prose because its length of its work makes them extremely clumsy: and he goes through a great deal of effort to maintain this flow even between verses.

WORKS:

Ø Poetry :

Ø  Prufrock and other observations (1917)

Ø  Portrait of a lady (1917)

Ø  Whispers of Immorality (1920)

Ø  The Waste Land (1922)

Ø  The Hollow Men (1925)

Ø  A Song For Simeon (1928)

·       Plays :

·       The Rock (1934)

·       Murder In Cathedral (1935)

·       The Family Reunion (1939)

·       The Cocktail Party (1949)

Awards:

§  Nobel Prize in Literature "for his outstanding, pioneer contribution to present-day poetry" (1948)^[6]

§  Hanseatic Goethe Prize (of Hamburg) (1955)

§  Dante Medal (of Florence) (1959)

§  1950 Tony Award for Best Play for the Broadway production of The Cocktail Party

§  Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically for his poems used in the song "Memory" (1982)

ABOUT PLAY:

 The Family Reunion is a poetic drama by T.S.Eliot. it was written in 1939. It has contemporary setting, characters and speech. The dramatist has tried to appeal to all the people by this play. It has the setting of a parlor.

TITLE:

The title of the play is Ironical. Here each character is isolated spiritually and emotionally. As the family gathering is artificial. The uncles and aunts have cross purposes. The two younger sons Arthur and Jones fail to come because of some accident. Harry comes but leaves the home after a short stay of some hours. The dreams of Amy (the mother) are broken. She is badly shocked and dies by the shock as soon as harry leaves the house.

PLOT:

The main action of the play takes place at the residents of the family of the Monchensey. It is in Wishwood, A country house in north England. Various members of his family have gathered here to celebrate the birthday of Amy, the owner of this family. They are here to receive harry, her eldest son, who has been returning home after 8 years.

  

CHARACTERS:

v Amy “Lady” Monchensey:-

Amy, Dowager Lady Monchensey, an old member of the English aristocracy. She is determined to preserve the family estate, Wishwood, as it has always been and use it as a means to keep the family together. Like most people who are used to giving orders, she believes that her desires eventually will be fulfilled, in this case her wish that her oldest son will return to take over the estate and marry her ward. As she dies, she begins to see that she has been living in an unreal world; some of the things happening around her then begin to make sense.

v Violet, Ivy, Charles and Gerald:

They are the brothers and sisters of Lady Monchensey. Violet and Ivy are similarly conservative and proper. They suggest that the new generation is becoming decadent, and they value propriety. Charles, too, is quite conservative. His brother, Gerald is more progressive.

v Agatha:

Agatha, the oldest sibling, is occasionally antagonistic to Amy, for the reason (discovered at the end of the play) that Agatha took Amy's husband. Amy accuses Agatha of convincing her son, Harry, to leave, though he in fact chooses to leave of her own volition.

v Harry :

Harry, the oldest son, lost his wife (whom his mother never liked) at sea, and reveals to his family at the birthday party that he pushed her over. He is haunted by the Eumenides (creatures from Greek tragedy. who haunt those who have committed murder). He has been absent for eight years, and has no interest in taking over Wishwood, as his existence is haunted and unsettled.

v Mary:

Mary, the distant relation of Amy Monchensey, is an age-mate of Harry's. Though the two used to play together as children in the trees around Wishwood, they do not becoming romantically involved (despite the fact that Harry's mother thinks she would be a suitable daughter-in-law). Mary is nearly thirty years of age, unmarried, and socially self-effacing.

   

v Dr. Warburton:

He is the family doctor of the Monchensey family. He is an expert doctor who has good knowledge of psychiatry.  He is invited to the birthday party of Amy and also to consult harry who suffered from the illusion that he had killed his wife. He says that harry case was a psychic case.

v The Eumenides:

They are actually Greek Goddesses more commonly known as Furies. They are infernal goddesses who are responsible for vengeance. They are often portrayed as monstrous elderly crones or sometimes as snakes. In ‘The Family Reunion’ Eliot invokes the play by Aeschylus. The play revolves around the guilt of murder within the family.

SUMMARY:

The play is in two acts set in Wishwood, stately home in the north of England. At the beginning of the play, the lady Monchensey is preparing for her birthday party. She is waiting for her family members to attend her both birthday parties. She explains her wish to keep her family united and alive. Lady Monchensey has two brothers and 3 sisters available at the party. Her cousin’s daughter Mary is also present but still her 3 sons are not there. Her younger sons do not come to attend the birthday party as they meet with an unknown accident. But soon harry arrives there. It was his first to visit to Wishwood after eight years.

 He is haunted by the belief that he had pushed off his wife off the ship and killed her. He suffered from a profound sense of guilt.

In fact, harry wasn’t present there when his wife fell into the sea. The feeling of guilt keeps him tormented his entire life. He was not sure but he felt that he had pushed his wife off the ship into the sea. He did not like his wife and wanted to get rid of his wife. He could not distinguish between reality and illusion; psychologically he became the victim of hallucination. He feels that Eumenides are feasting upon his dead self. He had suppressed many of his desires and thoughts.

 Lady Monchensey thinks that harry needed the consultation of the family doctor Dr. Warburton. The doctor joins the party as a dinner guest. He tells him that he suffering from an illusion that he had killed his wife. He tells him that from his childhood he was deeply attached to his mother Amy. He further says that the sense of guilt was inherited from his own father. He says that harry case is psychic case. He has been self – alienated. He is depressed and nervous because of self division.

 Amy wishes that harry should Mary the daughter of her cousin. Mary wishes to escape from the life at Wishwood but her aunt Agatha tells her that she must wait. Agatha reveals to harry that his father had attempted to kill his mother while harry was in her womb. But Agatha prevented him from committing this crime. Harry’s father love Agatha and wanted to marry her. He wanted his wife Amy removed from his life. When Amy comes to know this, she feels resented instead of being grateful. She still resented Agatha depriving her of her husband. Harry is encouraged to leave Wishwood and hand over the property to her younger brother john.

 Amy and Agatha confront each other and all the past comes out before them. Amy gets angry at Agatha and tells her that she had taken away her husband thirty five years ago and now she was taking away her son harry in a different way. She accuses Agatha of depriving her son harry making him leave Wishwood. When Amy comes to know that harry had left the Wishwood, she is extremely shocked and feel depressed and dies in shock.

The play ends with the birthday party rituals of Agatha and Mary. They place a cake and candles and on each round, they blow a few candles. At the end, they hope that the curse would end forever.

THEMES:

o   Sins and expiation:

The major theme of the play is sin, suffering and redemption. Harry’s father wanted to kill his mother when harry was in her mother’s womb. Harry too did not like to live with his wife anymore and wanted her to die. As Harry’s wife also falls off from the ship. There is no easy solution of the problem. Therefore, he felt that he should live Wishwood the accursed place.

  

o   Oneness of time:

The play relates with the oneness of time. We talk of the past, the present and the future. The divisions are temporary. We live in present with determines of the past and our present determines our future. The past and the future mingle with the present. In this play Amy tries to arrest the movement of time. She tells all to behave as if nothing has happened during the last 8 years. But it is wrong. Harry has changed a lot. His behavior shows that past is not dead. He lives in its memory. So ‘Time’ cannot be arrested.

o   Utter loneliness:

Today man suffers from utter loneliness. He is spiritually empty. He fails to communicate even with his family members. He has only one way that is to escape from his family.

o   Elements of spirituality:

Mary and Agatha have some spirituality. They do not seek salvation. Agatha understands harry and inspires him from the right choice. Then there is Harry, he gains spiritual insight by suffering and he goes out for salvation.

o   Supernatural elements:

The furies and Eumendies are supernatural characters. The dramatist says that everything is predefined. One cannot escape from ‘destiny’. It only has the minimum of choice. He selects something and that is also predefined. The furies indicate Harry’s progress form ignorance Christianity in this play.

o   Waiting:

The play begins where all members are at Amy birthday party and all are waiting for harry. They wanted harry to take over the Wishwood as the head of the estate. Her younger brothers are not at the party due to some unknown accident. Amy is eagerly waiting for all three but only one is present but she is happy to his son harry after 8 years.

o   Unchanged home:

Harry returns home and finds that the home is unchanged. There are unchanged pictures, unchanged hangings, and unchanged furniture. Harry expected some changes but it was not possible. Harry does not prefer to live in Wishwood and at the end decides to leave it forever.

o   Childhood memory:

Harry returns to his childhood memory home and feels that he had returned to his childhood. He remembered his childhood days but he feels that the days of his childhood were not memorable and sweet. He remembers the loss of his father and his mother’s dominating attitude. Her strict attitude make young harry depressed and unhappy. He talks Mary about his childhood with bitter memory.

o   Reunion of the Family:

Te Monchensey family is broken and disintegrated. Amy’s husband did not love and wanted to kill her. He was in love with Agatha Amy’s youngest sister. As the same way harry also don’t love her wife and wanted her to die and she fell off from the ship. It was an illusion that he plagued him. On the birthday party of Amy, Harry goes to Wishwood but his brother’s Arthur and John are unable to reach there. All the members of the family are expected to b reunited but the reunion is not achieved. As harry gets knows from Agatha that the guilt is inherited from his father who wanted to kill her mother , when he was in her womb. Harry decided to leave Wishwood forever like his father gets frustrated from my leaves the house and dies at some unknown place. Amy gets knows the news of harry leaving and get depressed and shocked and dies as the hope and dream for the family reunion fails.

Conclusion:

We can also find chorus in the play. As the chorus tells about the future turns of events. T.S.Eliot has given its imitating the Greek writers. The play has some defeats also s the hero homes stays for sometimes and leaves without telling clearly about the reasons. It is a mystery. His departure is unsatisfactory. It is forced and hurried. It keeps the readers confused. And at last the dramatist has proved that even in modern age a poetic drama can be successful.

QUESTIONS:

• Critical appreciation of the play “The Family Reunion”
• Write on the themes of the play “the Family Reunion”?
• Describe about the Character Sketch of Harry?
• Short note on the title of the play “The Family Reunion”