Theme

Revenge
Revenge serves as a primary motivation for the play's actions. Seeking to revenge the
death of his mother, Marie Brantome, Adam hopes to destroy the Mannon family,
especially Ezra.
The Mannon family is a complex web of revenge scenarios: Christine wants revenge on
her husband for her unhappy marriage; Lavinia wants revenge on her mother for killing
her father; Orin wants revenge on Brant for sleeping with his mother.
Paradise
Paradise is an obsession for many of the play's characters. As a seafaring family, early
generations of Mannons had sailed to beautiful South Pacific isles. Orin wants to run
away with his mother Christine an attempt to escape societal norms so that he can sleep
with his mother. Christine wants to go with her lover, Adam.
Style
Chorus
Traditionally in Greek tragedies, the chorus consists of masked actors who dance and
chant. Generally, they do not participate in the action itself, which allows them to remain
objective and offer advice or commentary. They often present background information
and represent the community's position or traditional values. In the Mourning Becomes
Electra trilogy, the groups of local people whose conversations and actions open the plays
serve as the chorus.
Expressionism
Expressionism is a style of art that expresses internal experiences and psychological
truth. Such art does not present a realistic image of world, but instead tries to create in the
viewer a powerful "true" experience of a particular emotion, feeling, or state of mind.
Many of O'Neill's plays have expressionistic elements: masks, which conceal the actor's
faces