Strange Interlude -- by Eugene O'Neill (1928)

Description

Eugene O'Neill's third Pulitzer Prize-winning play is broken into 9 acts which are split into two parts. It would easily take over four hours to perform the work (and it took me forever to read it). The number of soliloquies and ellipses in the play would be astronomical to chart (if anyone wants to do a Ctrl+F count of ellipses in the play in digital form and get back to me, that'd be incredible). O'Neill relies upon revealing the characters' thoughts through dialogue throughout every scene. The only comparison I could think of while reading was "Malcolm in the Middle," except in this play the asides and revelations are hardly comical and are often given the stage direction of "torturedly." And did I mention that the play is LONG?

Here is Playbill.com's summary of the play: "A professor's daughter, haunted by the loss of her fiancé in World War I, embarks on a series of affairs and a placid marriage, becoming a mother under murky circumstances and ignoring the novelist who truly loves her. She and other characters in Eugene O'Neill's Pulitzer Prize-winning play communicate their private thoughts to the audience." 

That's right: Nina Leeds' lover, Gordon, dies in WWI. The entire play unwraps how this death has psychologically and emotionally harmed Nina. Her father, Professor Henry Leeds, urged Gordon to not marry Nina prior to the war so that she wouldn't be left widowed with the potential of having a child. Nina and her father have a rough relationship because of this. 

Nina eventually marries Sam Evans, an immature fanboy of Gordon who loves her unconditionally. Sam impregnates her, but his mother, Mrs. Amos Evans, warns Nina that the child will end up "crazy" like all of the men in their family. Nina decides to abort the baby. However, she feels guilty for Sam's unhappiness, so she decides to be impregnated by the doctor, Edmund Darrell. What a soap opera this is! 

Oh, and I haven't even mentioned how a guy named Charles Marsden, a writer, is always seeking Nina's love. 

The love triangle(/rhombus/diamond?)  fuels the drama for the majority of the show as secrets are concealed, revealed, and falsified. Their lives are flooded with discomfort and plotting. I won't explain how it ends, who dies, who ends up with who, but it is essentially a soap opera.    

Candid Reaction

• What does "sedulously" mean? Here's the definition. 
• O'Neill seems to love the inclusion of a library as a means to develop character and themes. 
• Do directors use his physical directions to inform their costuming and casting?
• Guilt guilt guilt. This is hard to read. 
• The director and actors have such a challenge set up with performing this play!
• Nina compares her dad's voice to "a fatiguing dying tune droned on a beggar's organ" (72). OUCH!
• How many people in the audience would have understood the Latin recited at the end of this act? 
• Nina's feeling of "nothing" reminds me of "Nothing" from A Chorus Line. 
• They are all so selfish. 
• The line "That species of dead is so invulnerably alive" reminds me of Gabe's presence in Next to Normal. 
• Pretty controversial, I imagine, to have Nina embrace the concept of God as a woman. 
• Marsden classifies thoughts as "mosquitoes of the soul" (101). I don't know if this poetic line is appropriate or just wrong. 
• In 1928, I wonder how an audience would respond to hearing a pro-abortion argument?
• Kinda getting Shakespearean vibes as Nina believes Gordon is speaking through various characters. 
• How would I describe the POV of this show? 
• This affair is kinda Waitress-esque. 
• This plot is so messed up. 
• How kind for the doctor to think, "I prescribed a child for them" (137). 
• Did these actors get fat suits or stuff their clothes?
• The oddest/funniest line of the play has to come from Marsden: "I've simply never cared to degrade myself" (154). 
• I am also getting some Phantom of the Opera vibes. 
• Classic dramatic irony, O'Neill when the doctor talks with his biological son.
• Gotta love a good zinger. 
• Why did he spell "lounge" l-o-n-g-u-e?
• Now that is a magnificent soliloquy, Nina-- only had to get to the penultimate act to deliver it!
• Why is Marsden always interrupting crucial moments?
• Poor Sam.  

Top Two Aspects/Reasons for Winning

1. Soliloquy Heaven

The asides and soliloquies definitely distinguish this play from others. The means by which O'Neill develops his characters thoughtfully (pun most definitely intended) is unique. O'Neill examines the human condition through an nontraditional lens.

2. Love, Abortion, Science, and Religion 

The topics O'Neill tackles in this play are complicated and controversial. He presents views which are discomforting and furthest from ideal. His courage to explore these topics in an immersive play inspires the reader to assess their own beliefs.

Classroom Implications

There is no way on God's green earth that I would use this text in high school. The only way I would use this play, perhaps, is by selecting passages/soliloquies to dissect. However, the context of the play would be important to set up, and I fear the amount of time this would require would be too much than what I would want.

Personal Takeaway

Playwrights have played with style in extreme ways for generations.

Ranking

	Dialogue	Characters	Plot/Conflict	Symbol/Literary Devices	Overall Enjoyment	TOTAL SCORE 6.5
0	Unfollowable; unrealistic; diction does not match character	Undeveloped; does not reflect humanity	Not engaging; predictable; reader can step away from text because it isn’t gripping	Devices are apparent for cleverness and do not enhance the story	Reader has no interest in re-reading play (.75)
1	Not consistently realistic (1)	Well-developed; most depictions reflect humanity	Semi-engaging; some unnecessary plot-points (1.5)	Devices somewhat enhance story  (1.5)	Reader would re-read with pleasure and reminded of work
2	Realistic; connotative; diction matches characters	Fully-developed; depictions reflect humanity (1.75)	Engaging; unique; reader finds it impossible to put down text because the conflict is so gripping!	Devices seamlessly enhance the story and provide rich interpretation	Reader would re-read the play on own volition, enthusiastically