How does Eben take revenge on his father
Question: How does Eben take revenge on his father?
Introduction
“Desire Under the Elms” (1924) is a modern tragedy written by Eugene O’Neill (1888 – 1953). In Part 2 Scene 2 and 3, we get the description of the revenge of Eben. Let us discuss the incident.
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A brief history of revenge
Eben always thinks that his father, Cabot kills her mother through hard work tendency. Besides, he thinks that the owner of the farm is his mother. As she is dead now the owner of the farm is himself. But Cabot does not allow him as the owner of the farm. For that reason, he wants to take revenge upon his father.
Having sex with Abbie
Abbie wants a son for being the permanent owner of the farm. For this reason, she makes sexual relations with Eben. In the parlor, she says to Eben that the spirit of his mother is telling to love her. Then Eben says:
“I now understand. I understand why she is telling me to love you. She wants to take her revenge upon my father in order to be able to sleep peacefully in her grave. She can take her revenge on him by making me love you and possess you as my sweet-heart.”
Thus, he makes an illegal relation with Abbie. In the morning, he says to Cabot that:
“….. She can now sleep in the grave peacefully. She has gone back to her revenge upon you.”
This dialogue makes it clear that he has taken revenge upon his father.
Conclusion
To sum up, it is clear that Eben takes his revenge by making sexual relations with Abbie upon his father.
