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Kelsa DineResearch Synopsis

Marina Carr’s By the Bog of Cats..., while a powerful theatrical piece in its own

right, remains heavily influenced by its roots. By the Bog of Cats… and Euripides’

Medea share more than just common textual and thematic elements, however; both

pieces respond to and reflect upon social and cultural upheaval, articulate the

difficulty faced by women of power in a male-dominated society, and carefully

explore the damaging effects of ostracism as experienced by the Other. Additionally,

Carr and Euripides share a common sensibility when it comes to dealing with

performance space.

For Athenian citizens, the theater was more than pure entertainment — it

was a form of cultural instruction that provided both an emotional outlet and a

platform for further discussion. Euripides wrote Medea in reaction to the social

changes taking place in Athens and Greece in general at the time. The old belief in

the sanctity of the state was faltering, faith in old theatrical heroes was waning, and

the human psyche was revealing itself to be frighteningly raw and incomplete.

Similarly, By the Bog of Cats... was written during a period of intense

upheaval in Ireland. The years leading up to its publication were rife with politically

and religiously motivated paramilitary violence and rioting, resulting in a dangerous

and fractured world not unlike Euripides’ Athens. By the Bog of Cats… is a dark play

for a darkly changing world.

In addition to the more general cultural change taking place, both Medea and

By the Bog of Cats… address what it means to be a powerful woman fighting to

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maintain her status in a patriarchal society. Carr’s Hester Swane and Euripides’

Medea are strong, clever, and independent, but must face countless obstacles to

gaining recognition, equality, and respect. Neither Hester nor Medea enjoy their

power — it brings them more trouble than it appears to be worth — but neither of

them are willing to yield. Their characters are portrayed with similar delicacy and

tact; although they perform terrible deeds by the end of their respective dramas, the

audience is meant to sympathize with both women.

Hester and Medea are also outsiders — Hester is the daughter of one of

Ireland’s much-reviled Travelling People, and Medea is a barbarian princess who

has no citizenship in Athens. In the case of both By the Bog of Cats… and Medea, the

women are shunned for being different, although the nature of their Otherness is

not something within their control. Hester and Medea eventually come to accept

their outsider status, deriving further power from it. Yet the process of their

Othering is what drives both of them to kill their children; neither woman is left

with anything or anyone to turn to in the end.

Perhaps in homage to the original piece, Carr utilizes conventions of ancient

Greek theater. Action is played in front of, rather than in, the houses. As a result,

characters shine clearly, unhindered many of the more mundane distractions found

in the interiors of houses, allowing the truth and grace of the language to carry the

play.

Both Euripides and Carr wrote in response to a need perceived in their

respective worlds — a need for truth, however painful or difficult it may be. A

Medea who lets her children go does not truthfully represent the fractured state of

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her world. Similarly, Hester must persist to her own tragic end. In this manner,

Carr and Euripides draw the pain extant in their audiences out and allow it to be

released.

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