Patrick McEvoy-Halston *(1

English 449ls0l
Dr. Rabillard
04 April 2005

Useful Object: A Man as the Means Toward Salvationin TheBeauty Queenof Leenane

MaureenFolan, in Martin McDonagh's TheBeauty Queenof Leenone)is constantly

grumbling about the daily chores sheperforms for a mother she is rarely shown not battling with.

Shedreamsof being comfortedby and of going awaywith a man; but since such imaginings

make her unsure of her desirability to men, they can actually serveto strengthenrather than

loosenher ties to her mother. However, the play arguesthat a man is exactly what sheneedsin

order for her to leave her everyday life behind her. For though Maureen initially tries to make

use of a strong,gentle^unyiltt.r, her life-Pato-as if he werejust anotherobject with

which to wage her ongoing "war" againsther mother, Pato is depicted as the meansby which she

might forget about her mother and begin a new life for herself, abroad.

I do not mean to suggest,however,that Maureenis your typical lady in distress. Indeed,

sheis at times shown to be tyrannical. However, at at leastone point in the play,her domination

of her mother actually servesto strengthenher desire to be united to her. In scenetwo, after

catchingher mother in lie, Maureenmakesuse of her mother's "crime" to justify a coillmanding

stancetoward her. Buoyed by a senseof righteousness,shetells Mag somethingshe

"sometimes"dreamsof to make herself 'happt'' Q4). Shetells Mag that she dreamsof being

"comfort[ed]" (23) by a man while at Mag's wake. The man in her dreamsalso courtsher,

makesher an offer to join him at his place, to which sheremarksto herself, "what's stoppingme

now" (24). We note, however, that anotherperson needn't be intent on preventing her from

going with him, for she stops the day-dreamplot before it explores what it might be like to be

intimately involved with a man. She doesso becausethe idea evidently troublesher, for just

after describing her dream to her mother, sheprompts a conversationclearly designedto result in

both of them repeatedlyagreeingthat Mag will "hang on forever" (24).

 Maureenmight in this particularinstancefind comfort in her mother'svigoroustauntthat

shewill be aroundforever,because,unlike when Maureensrmlmonsher dreamwhile "scraping

the skitter out ofthem hens"(24), shecannotat this momentdiscussher dreamwithout feeling

someof thetrepidationwhichwouldarisefrom anticipatinganoppornmityto soonrealizeit. - a(

:.,
ab\ 't r ' t
Maureenhasjust beeninvited by Patoto a party-a party which would involve "gallivanting

with fellas" (22), that is, the sort ofevent Maureenthinks ofas havingpropelledher sistersinto

marriage. Thereforg shemay suspectthat a man might very soonenterher life. We alsoknow

that Maureenis not urtirely wed to the ideathat shemustwait for her motherto die beforeshe

might leaveher. In expressingher dreamto her mother,sheworks her way to proclaimingthat

shemight leavewith a man "[a]t [her mother's] [. . .] bloody wake,sure! Is evensooner!"(24).

But leavingher mothercannotbut be terrifying for Maureen: not only is shea virgin whoseone

experienceawayfrom homeis associatedwith a mentalcollapse,sheis someonewho is

accustomedto, andfinds self-validationin, taking careofher mother.

Theplay directsus to understandMaureenassomeonewhoseidenti$ comescloseto

beinginextricablylinked to her participationin routine daily choresandhouseholdrituals. More

specifically,it comescloseto suggestingthat her purposein life is to makeuseofthe objects

involved in theserituals to engagein an ongoing,spiritedbattlewith her mother. Complanand

porridgeseemto be their'Veapons" of choice-that is, they arethe primary objectsusedby

MaureenandMag in their perpetualdisputeover who is masterof whom in their household,a

"title" neitherof thernhasmadea secureclaim to. WhenMaureencaughtMag in a lie, for

instance,Maureenutilized the preparationof Complanto forceher motherto demonstrateher

acknowledgernent
ofher guilt by drinking it, despiteher ill-stomach. But earlierwe observed

how Mag usedthepreparationof Complanasthe meansby which to forceMaureento

dernonstrate
her acknowledgement
ofher culpability anderror in havingoncesearedMag's hand
 3

(5). And given her familiarity with this way of life, and given sheknows that masteringher

mother offers guaranteedrewards(i.e., feelingsof elation and self-validation),it is not surprising

that Maureen seemsmore comfortable conceiving of a man that entersher life-Pato-as an

ideal object she can use to humiliate her mother than as someonewho might take her away "from ,, 1
,
1 t
I

l.;'o L1
all of that."

MaureenbringsPatobackto nel andPatoendsup stayingovernight. Thoughthey

fgme,
areshownflirting with oneanother,,tobe genuinelyinterestedin oneanother,we havereasonto
i

suspectthat Maureen may have brought him home primarily as part of a plot to triumphantly

frustrate,humiliate her mother. Maureenknows that her mother is disgustedby just the idea of

her having sex with man: she"laugh[ed]" after her mother called her a "[w]hore" (23) for

imagining herself enjoyng being with two men. Maureen now has the opportunity to experience

how Mag would react to actually seeingher with a man shehad slept with, and shewill not allow

it to slip away. She convinces Pato not to sneakout before her mother awakens,somethinghe

had intendedto do, and wastesno time making use of him in the morning to antagonizeher. She

comesin "wearing only a bra and slip," "goes over to Pato," "sits acrosshis lap" and "kisseshim

at length" (39). Sheobviously wants her mother to believe that they had had sex the night

before: She saysto Pato that he'll "have to be putting that thing of [his] t. . .l in [her] t. . .l again

before too long is past" (39). Maureenis of coursereferring to his penis here, and it is no

surprisethat Pato reactsto Maureen's statementby "get[ting] up and idl[ing] around in

embarrassment"(40).

Pato begins to feel so uncomfortable that he announcesthat he must very soon be off:

"I'll have to be off now in a minute anyvays. I do have packing to do I do" (40). But Mag,

intent on making full use of him as a meansby which to humiliate her mother, persistsin relating

to him in ways he finds disagreeable.She ordershim into the kitchen to "[s]mell the sink" (41).
 4

He doesso, and he is describedasbeing "disgustfed]"(41) bythe smell of Mag's urine. But

though Maureenhas effectively made use of him to disturb her mother, Maureenis equally able

at making use of the "materials at hand" to manipulate and manageher daughter. Mag responds

by informing Pato of Maureen's stay in a mental hospital. The move is more than effective at

upsettingMaureen,for it causesher to lose the senseof assuredconfidenceshehad heretofore

possessed,and to run over, "fists clenched"(42), to assaultMag. Pato,however,preventsher

from landing blows upon her mother-an act which endshis stancein this sceneas a passive
i" :

tooVobserver.He physically intepeedes

himself betweenthe trvo of them (he "stepsbetweenthe

two" p2l of them), and, in comforting her and reassuringher that she is not abnormal,that she is

sane,makesclaim to the entirety of Maureen's attentionand interest. After Pato says,"[t]hat's

all past and behind you anyways" (44), Maureenrespondsby "look[ing] at him awhile" (44). In

her day-dream she imagined being comforted by a man, a thought apparently scary enoughto

encourageher to immediately thereafterstrengthenher attachmentto her mother. Here now,

perhapsfor the first time, sheactually experiencesbeing comfortedby a man shecaresabout,

and it proves sufficiently compelling and desirablethat shereactsby attendingmore closely to

him.

True, shedoesseemto make use of her renewedintimacy with him to better "sell" her

story that she was not the one who burned Mug, but shemay do so primarily to ensurethat Pato

continuesto find her desirable-the first time that morning she shows this concern. She clearly

beginsto seePato as someonewho might assisther in leaving her current life. She"look[s]

straightat him" and asks,"[d]on't I have to live with it?" (45). Much seemsto dependon how

he respondsto this question,for her dispositionis describedas changinginstantly when shehears

Pato respondby requestingthat sheput someclotheson. We aretold that shebecomes"sombre

again"(45). Shelooks "down at herself' (45), and concludesthat Pato had from the beginning
not found her good looking enoughto excite him sexually.

But though Pato failed to supply the reassuranceshe neededfor her to brave the

continuanceof their courtship, the sceneoffers unintemrpted evidenceof how much he affects

her. Mag re-entersthe room "waving papers,"she even "stopp[s] Pato's approach"(46), but

neither of them seemto notice her-something she is shown to be cognizantof by asking "Eh?"

(46), after allowing time for them to respondto her discoveryof the Difford Hall papers. But

Pato "look[s] [only] at Maureen," and Maureenwill "look at her a moment" (47),but only after

Pato has left her home. Maureenwill again speakto Mag, but shehas lost all interestin

combatingher. After "linger[ing]" (47) over her dress,she saysin "passing [to] her mother,"

"Why? Why? Why do you . . .?" (47), but doesnot attendto her response.Mag is left "holding

[the] t. . .l papersrather dumbly'' (47); and though she subsequentlytries to make use of a more

familiar object-her porridge-to engageher daughter's attention (something shemanagedto do

at the end of sceneone), the sceneendswith her all alone,speakingto no one but herself.

After she concludesthat Pato is not interestedin her, Maureen returns to her habitual

meansof engagingwith her mother, but Mag knows that her daughterwould be doing otherwise

had shenot interceptedPato's letterto her. Though Maureentries to persuadeherselfthat she

and Pato are incompatible with one another,Mag remarks that sheknows that her daughter

attendsto her only becausePato did "not invit[e] [her] t. . .] to his oul going-awaydo" (61).

And, indeed,whereasit was once the only relationship Maureen was comfortable being involved

in, their relationship now servesas compensationfor the one Maureen failed to securewith Pato.

Maureenhas proven herself to be just like her sistersin that shetoo can lose herself "in a mar,"

and she will once again show how quickly she can forget about Mag when she learnsthat Pato

had not rejected her but had in fact invited her "to go to America with him" (68). After hearing

this, Maureen is describedas being "in a daze" and as "barely noticing her" mother, even though
her mother lies on the floor, "convulsing" and "screaming" (68). And we note this sceneis also

one which endswith Maureen talking only to herself.

Pato endsup marrying someoneelse, ffid once Matreen is made aware of this
ut
development,we arepd to believe, her fate is sealed: shewill forever after be "a dried up oul"

(23)bitty. While shestill believedit possiblethat shewouldjoin him in America,she

aggressively
removedfrom her kitchenshelvesthoseobjects-Complanandporridge-most

clearlyassociated
with her life with hermother. But without a manto leadher out of her

previousexistence,sheevenmorecloselyfusesher own identitywith that of her mother\H ,n"

BeautyQueenof Leenane,therefore,thougha contanporaryplay, is very muchopento the

chargethat it perpetuates
the very old fashionedideathatwomenrequirethe assistance
of mento

haveany chanceof living happilyeverafter.

 Work Cited

McDonagh,Martin. TheBeautyQueenof Leenaneand OtherPlays. New York:

VintageBooks,1998.
Patrick McEvoy-Halston

This is a very fine pieceof closereading Detail by detailyou track the rhythms,ofengagement
and disengagement amongstthe charactersby attendingwith careandtact to the contentof the
dialogue,the st4gedirections,the natureof the speech&8, the waysin which topics are raisedor
dropped. By thesemeansyou renewandrefreshthe reader'sunderstanding of Maureen's
potentialrescueby Pato. As you show,thereis an elementof stereotlpe;but if the stereotlpical
fairy-tale roman@presentsan externalaction(therescuingmanridesup on a white horseto
sweepthe girl offher feet andcarry her away)your analysisshowsttrat McDonaghis muchmore
concernedto showus the internaldnma-the painful yet satisfyingplay of dependence and
masterybetweenMag andMaureen,andMaur@n'sfearful, tentative,turning away from this
consumingS & M dramato the possibilityof somethingelse.

A thoroughlyenjoyablepaper.

Grade:A