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Eugene O'Neill: Beyond Mourning and Tragedy

stephen a. black

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Within little more than three years of the opening of his first successful play on Broadway, Eugene O'Neill endured the deaths of his father, mother, and brother. These devastating losses plunged the young playwright into a period of guilt and profound mourning that consumed two decades of his life. In this enlightening critical biography, deeply informed by the insights of psychoanalysis, Stephen Black presents a new understanding of Eugene O'Neill's life (1888-1953), from his troubled childhood and adolescence through a glacially slow period of mourning for his family to his ultimate emergence from the preoccupation with grief and loss that had pervaded his life and his writings. Black argues that O'Neill consciously and deliberately used playwriting as a medium of self-psychoanalysis—an endeavor that led to the creation of some of the finest American plays ever written and, eventually, to a successful therapeutic outcome.

Through close analysis of O'Neill's plays and literary writings, some five thousand surviving letters, other personal documents, and accounts of people who knew him, Black reaches new conclusions about important aspects of the playwright's life and work. He follows the slow course of O'Neill's mourning by studying the many grieving characters in O'Neill's plays, and when at last the playwright accepts his losses and moves on, his characters do likewise. The changed tone and form of O'Neill's final plays, including Hughie and A Moon for the Misbegotten, reflect the playwright's psychological and artistic growth and his hard-won victory over mourning and tragedy.

600 pages, Paperback

First published November 10,1999

This edition

Format
600 pages, Paperback
Published
March 1, 2002 by Yale University Press
ISBN
9780300093995
ASIN
0300093993
Language
English

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stephen a. black

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Profile Image for Kimberly .
Bookworm86
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
July 15,2025
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This is the absolute best biography of Eugene O'Neill that I have ever had the pleasure of reading.

Even though it could potentially be a bit on the heavy side for those who are simply casual readers.

However, for the readers of "LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT", they will be completely and utterly fascinated by the incredibly exhausting detail that is provided about every single member of O'Neill's family.

It goes right down to the early report cards of poor Jamie!

This level of detail really brings the O'Neill family to life and allows the readers to gain a much deeper understanding and appreciation of the man and his works.

It is truly a remarkable piece of work that should not be missed by any fan of Eugene O'Neill or those interested in the history of American literature.

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Profile Image for Kimberly .
takudoti
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
July 15,2025
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I was websurfing after watching "The Iceman Cometh" at BAM and found an excerpt. I then ordered the book from the library and read the section on "Iceman." The approach in this section is detailed, psychoanalytical, thoughtful, and insightful. However, at this moment, I'm not entirely sure if I'm interested enough in O'Neill's life to delve deeply into the rest of this long book.

Maybe I'll come back to it if I have the opportunity to see another one of his plays. It's possible that after experiencing more of his works, my curiosity about his life will be piqued, and I'll be more inclined to explore this book further.

For now, I'll keep it on my radar and see where my journey with O'Neill's plays takes me.
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