Eugene O’Neill’s Presence in Long Day’s Journey into Night

Digitally colored and altered picture of our author, Eugene O'Neill (left). Original image (right). I do not know who, why, when, or how the doctored image was made but it amused me.

I was intrigued by the dedication O’Neill wrote to his wife, Carlotta, especially when O’Neill mentioned facing his dead at last and understanding and forgiving “all four haunted Tyrones” (O’Neill 1). So I decided to explore a little bit and look at how and what O’Neill had to face, understand, and forgive in order to complete the play. Turns out, Long Day’s Journey Into Night (henceforth known as “LDJIN” because I’m lazy) is a semi-autobiographical piece based on O’Neill’s own dysfunctional childhood.

Much like Edmund, O'Neill was the son of an Irish immigrant father (James O'Neill) who worked in Broadway and a mother (Ellen Qinlan O'Neill) who disliked the industry and received education in a convent. James, like the character in the play, achieved fame and wealth by playing a single role repeatedly, stunting his artistic growth. In addition, Ellen was also a morphine addict (I figured it was okay to spoil that since someone else already did (: ). O'Neill, like Edmund, lived in Argentina for a time, tried to commit suicide, held a job in the local newspaper, contracted tuberculosis (A.K.A. consumption), and was sent to a private sanatorium. Finally, both Jamie’s, real and fictional, were alcoholics.

Because of its personal nature, the author asked that the play only be published 25 years after his death. His wife, however, decided to completely ignore that request and authorize Yale University Press to publish it just three years after his death. Apparently, she wasn’t a very patient person.