Forgiveness Said to be a Key Theme in O'Neill's Dramas

By Ellen K. Coughlin

The need for forgiveness was a lifelong obsession of the American playwright Eugene O'Neill and a key theme of his dramas, especially his autobiographical works, says a literature scholar at the University of Notre Dame.

O'Neill was born in 1888, the son of two actors, James O'Neill and Ella Quinlan. His family relationships were troubled, as he makes clear in his most autobiographical play, Long Day's Journey Into Night (first produced in 1956), a portrayal of the stormy