The play begins with the stage directions, which give the impression that this is a house where money is scarce.
We see that the older woman in this scene is hiding the fact that she is smoking a pipe, by trying to conceal the pipe when the other woman enters. Nanna Galvin is the mother of Mike, who is described as the man of the house, while the younger woman is Mena, who is Mike’s wife. There is clearly tension between the two in the opening scene as they argue about the smoking. Nanna tells Mena, ’twas a sore day to me my son took you for a wife.’ She goes on to criticise her for not having any children and tells her that she came from a poor family and was lucky to be living with them. ‘We all know what you could do girl , and the stock you came from.’
We are introduced to Sive, who is described as a young girl as a pretty young girl of eighteen. We see the tension between Mena and Sive immediately, as she criticises her for being at school at her age, saying, ‘out working with a farmer you should be, my girl.’ This highlights the cultural context of the play, showing that women were not expected to be in education but instead, serving men or getting married. There is also a reference to Sive’s mother when Mena says, ‘you’ll come to no good either, like the one went before you.’
When Mena leaves, the dialogue between Sive and Nanna reveals that Sive knows nothing about her mother, who died when she was a baby. She also knows nothing about her father, who she was told drowned days after she was born. It is clear from the exchange that Nanna does not want to reveal the truth about Sive’s parents and that there is more to the story.
Mena comes back in and again we see her harsh treatment of both Sive and Nanna. We also find out that Sive’s uncle Mike is the man of the house and looks after Sive and Nanna. She is very mean to both Sive and Nanna but Nanna is quick to respond, telling her, ‘every woman of your age in the parish has a child of her own and nothing to show by you.‘ This is a clear example of the expectations in relation to Gender Roles in the world of this text.
Sive is sent to her room with the threat of reporting her to ‘the nuns’ if she doesn’t do as she is told and another bitter exchange between Mena and Nanna plays out. It is clear that Mena resents Sive and is jealous of the fact Sive is at school when she had to work day and night from a very young age. There is also another hint about Sive’s past when Mena says, ‘Enough that had children in their time.’
Questions:
- Describe the relationship between Mena and Nanna in the opening sequence of the play.
- What have you learned about the role of women from what you have read so far?
- Do you think Sive is treated well by Mena? Use examples to back up your points.
- The playwright has created a sense of mystery around Sive’s parents. Why do you think he does this and what effect does it have?
Enda's English Notes 