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Eugene O'Neill

ユージン・グラッドストン・オニール

Eugene O'Neill

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1888-10-16 （New York City, U.S. (then Longacre Square / near Times Square)）
Died
1953-11-27 （Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. (at the Sheraton Hotel)） age 65
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Catholic (childhood)
Residence History
New London (Monte Cristo Cottage), Connecticut → Loire Valley (Saint-Antoine-du-Rocher), France → Sea Island, Georgia (Casa Genotta) → Danville, California (Tao House) → Boston (final days)

Career

Occupations
Playwright, Dramatist
Active Years
1913-1943
Affiliations
Provincetown Players, Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) — Marine Transport Workers Union association
Memberships
American Philosophical Society, The Lambs (theater club), American Theater Hall of Fame (member)
Influenced By
August Strindberg, Anton Chekhov, Henrik Ibsen
Influenced
Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Many later 20th-century American playwrights

Education

St. Aloysius Academy for Boys (boarding school)
Period: 1895頃 - 不明
Country: United States
Catholic boarding school in childhood; exact dates vary by source.
De La Salle Institute (Manhattan)
Period: 1900頃 - 不明
Country: United States
Day-school attendance; approximate dates.
Princeton University (attended one year)
Period: 入学 ~ 1年在籍（年不確定）
Country: United States
Attended one year then left; reasons vary in sources (low attendance, conduct, etc.).
Harvard University (studied with George Pierce Baker)
Playwriting workshop (Workshop 47)
Period: 1914頃 - 1年程度
Country: United States
Short period study under George Pierce Baker to learn playwriting.

Awards

Nobel Prize in Literature
1936
Organization: The Swedish Academy
Result: 受賞
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
1920
Work: Beyond the Horizon
Organization: Pulitzer Prize Board
Result: 受賞
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
1922
Work: Anna Christie
Organization: Pulitzer Prize Board
Result: 受賞
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
1928
Work: Strange Interlude
Organization: Pulitzer Prize Board
Result: 受賞
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
1957
Work: Long Day's Journey into Night
Organization: Pulitzer Prize Board
Result: 受賞（死後）
Tony Award for Best Play
1957
Work: Long Day's Journey into Night
Organization: Tony Awards Committee
Result: 受賞（戯曲としての評価、上演に関連）

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Beyond the Horizon

1918 Play (Realism)

A drama about two brothers and the clash of aspirations; awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1920.

fatefamily conflictdisillusion

Anna Christie

1920 Play (Realism)

Set in a port town, the story of a woman with a past and her family; Pulitzer Prize winner (1922).

redemptionfamilywork and the body

The Emperor Jones

1920 Play (experimental, expressionistic elements)

Charting the downfall of a man who assumes power; one of O'Neill's early major works.

power and isolationrace and imperialismhallucination

Strange Interlude

1928 Play (experimental form)

A long, experimental drama notable for its use of soliloquies; Pulitzer Prize winner (1928).

inner consciousnessmoral dilemmaslove and deceit

Long Day's Journey into Night

1941 Autobiographical play (tragedy)

An autobiographical three-act play based on O'Neill's family, dealing with addiction, family conflict, and failed hopes; published and staged posthumously to great acclaim; Pulitzer Prize (1957, posthumous).

family disintegrationaddictionburden of the past
Adaptations
  • [Film] Long Day's Journey into Night (film) / Sidney Lumet (1962)

The Iceman Cometh

1940 Play (tragedy)

Set in a saloon populated by dreamers who sustain themselves on illusions; explores collapse of hope and fantasy. First produced 1946.

illusion vs. realitydespairself-deception
Adaptations
  • [Film] The Iceman Cometh (film) / John Frankenheimer (1973)

Mourning Becomes Electra

1931 Play (tragedy, classical influences)

A major work using techniques from Greek tragedy; a trilogy-like structure focused on fate and revenge.

revengefatefamily ruin

Ah, Wilderness!

1933 Play (comedy / nostalgic)

One of O'Neill's few comedies; a nostalgic play about youth and family warmth.

youthfamily affectionnostalgia

Bibliography

  • Bound East for Cardiff
  • Beyond the Horizon
  • Anna Christie
  • The Emperor Jones
  • Strange Interlude
  • The Iceman Cometh
  • Long Day's Journey into Night
  • Mourning Becomes Electra
  • Ah, Wilderness!

Adaptations

  • The Long Voyage Home (film adaptation combining Glencairn plays; John Ford)
  • The Iceman Cometh (1973 film; John Frankenheimer)
  • Long Day's Journey into Night (1962 film; Sidney Lumet)

Translations of Works

  • Works translated into many languages (including Japanese)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Realism blended with poetic and symbolic elementsExperimental use of soliloquy and interior monologue
Recurring Motifs
family breakdownalcoholism and drug dependencethe sea and seafaring lifeburden of the past and irredeemable sorrow

Health

  • Tuberculosis (early adulthood)
    1912頃
    Recovery at a sanatorium marked a turning point; he resolved to devote himself to playwriting.
  • Depression and alcoholism
    生涯を通じて断続的に
    Recurrent themes in his life and work; affected personal life and creativity.
  • Parkinson-like tremor in hands
    晩年（1940年代後半〜）
    Made writing difficult; dictation ineffective, leading to near cessation of creative work.
  • Cerebellar cortical atrophy (concluded cause of death)
    死去時点（2000年の研究で診断）
    Researchers later concluded his death was due to cerebellar cortical atrophy, unrelated to alcohol or Parkinson's disease.

Legacy

A playwright who modernized American theater by introducing realist techniques and psychological depth. Nobel laureate and the only playwright to win four Pulitzer Prizes for Drama; his works continue to be performed and studied worldwide.

Museums

  • Monte Cristo Cottage (O'Neill's birthplace home) New London, Connecticut, United States Opened in 1971
  • Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site (Tao House) Danville, California, United States Opened in 1976
  • Eugene O'Neill Theatre (New York) New York City (Broadway)

Academic Societies

  • American Philosophical Society
  • Subject of numerous theater and literary studies

Archives

  • Yale University (Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library) holds principal O'Neill papers
  • Connecticut College (Louis Sheaffer Collection)
  • Harry Ransom Center and other repositories hold collections

In Popular Culture

  • Portrayed by Jack Nicholson in the film Reds (1981), earning an Academy Award nomination for Nicholson.
  • Long Day's Journey into Night is frequently referenced in film, television, and theater.
  • The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center is known for nurturing new plays.

Quotes

  • "I want to be an artist or nothing."
    Source: Recollection from his time in the sanatorium / autobiographical accounts
  • "I knew it. I knew it. Born in a hotel room and died in a hotel room."
    Source: Reported whisper as he was dying (witness accounts) (1953)

Trivia

  • The only playwright to win four Pulitzer Prizes for Drama.
  • Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1936.
  • Daughter Oona married Charlie Chaplin and became estranged from her father.
  • He instructed that Long Day's Journey into Night not be published for 25 years after his death; it was published/produced in 1956 by his wife Carlotta.