Characterization of Maurya in Riders to the Sea

1661 Words7 Pages
Characterization of Maurya in Riders to the Sea Maurya is the principal character in Synge's play, "Riders to the sea." The whole play is a drama of her sorrows. We are touched by her troubles because we feel that she is a living person. In her life, miseries had piled up one over the other. But these sorrows do not shatter her personality. She has a tremendous power of endurance. We admire her for her courage in the face of the worst disasters which can happen to a mother. Misfortunes do not break down her spirit. She is calm in difficulties. Due to her power of endurance, her determination to carry on in spite of calamities and her cool courage this peasant woman takes her place as the heroine of this play. Maurya is a typical mother who lives entirely for the welfare of her children. She is praying for them all the time. She had a lot of trouble in giving birth to her sons. But they grew to be six sturdy young men. But the sea started wallowing them up and at the end she was left only with her two daughters. The poor mother's prayers could not save them. All that she wants to do now is to give them a decent burial. She has purchased good white boards which we see in the kitchen at the beginning of the play. These are finally used to make a coffin for her last son, Bartley. When the play opens, we find that Maurya is in deep mourning for her fifth son, Michael, who was drowned in the sea nine days back. She is half-crazy with weeping. She cannot sleep and she keeps going to the seashore to see whether Michael's body has been washed ashore. All her life she has been watching the moods of the sea and crying and praying. She has suffered one disaster after another. The sea was the bread-giver of her family and also her worst enemy. Her sons, Stephen and Shawn, were lost in "the great wind" and their bodies were found in the Bay of Gregory of the Golden Mouth.

More about Characterization of Maurya in Riders to the Sea

Open Document