Themes in "The Beauty Queen of Leenane"
THEMES IN MARTIN MCDONAGH’S PLAY : THE BEAUTY QUUEN OFLEENANE
Isolation
Maureen and Mag are isolated because of their physical location and their relationship with each other. Maureen dreams of being free of her mother’s house and small town life in Leenane. She blames her mother and her sisters for her circumstances; however, she is faced with the hard truth that men don’t come to call. Farming towns like Leenane were previously communities built on supporting each other, but over time families grew more isolated from one and other, leaving people like Mag and Maureen without the help of friendly neighbours. According to one ciritic; Leenane is not a place to live, it is a place to leave. As the suicidal priest of the parish, Father Welsh, points out in one of the plays, Leenane is a town in which God himself seems to have no jurisdiction
Dysfunctional mother/daughter relationship
In Beauty Queen, though Maureen constantly tries to distinguish herself from her mother, Mag has left an undeniable mark on her and their similarities continue to grow. While there is the external conflict between the two characters, it is exasperated by the frustration that they are so eerily similar. The beauty of the mother/daughter relationship is watching a daughter morph into her mother; however, in Beauty Queen Mag becomes an ever-present mirror for Maureen reminding her that if she cannot change her present self, her destiny is laid out before her. Maureen has stayed in Leenane to care for her mother. However, we find out that Mag is also caring for Maureen when she reveals that Maureen has suffered a mental breakdown in her past and has been released to Mag’s care. Mag depends on Maureen but Maureen also needs her mother to give her a sense of purpose, while Mag sees a daughter that is always trying to run away from her
Exile/Immigration
Pato speaks to Maureen about some of the harsh realities of his work in London and reveals his desire for a
Isolation
Maureen and Mag are isolated because of their physical location and their relationship with each other. Maureen dreams of being free of her mother’s house and small town life in Leenane. She blames her mother and her sisters for her circumstances; however, she is faced with the hard truth that men don’t come to call. Farming towns like Leenane were previously communities built on supporting each other, but over time families grew more isolated from one and other, leaving people like Mag and Maureen without the help of friendly neighbours. According to one ciritic; Leenane is not a place to live, it is a place to leave. As the suicidal priest of the parish, Father Welsh, points out in one of the plays, Leenane is a town in which God himself seems to have no jurisdiction
Dysfunctional mother/daughter relationship
In Beauty Queen, though Maureen constantly tries to distinguish herself from her mother, Mag has left an undeniable mark on her and their similarities continue to grow. While there is the external conflict between the two characters, it is exasperated by the frustration that they are so eerily similar. The beauty of the mother/daughter relationship is watching a daughter morph into her mother; however, in Beauty Queen Mag becomes an ever-present mirror for Maureen reminding her that if she cannot change her present self, her destiny is laid out before her. Maureen has stayed in Leenane to care for her mother. However, we find out that Mag is also caring for Maureen when she reveals that Maureen has suffered a mental breakdown in her past and has been released to Mag’s care. Mag depends on Maureen but Maureen also needs her mother to give her a sense of purpose, while Mag sees a daughter that is always trying to run away from her
Exile/Immigration
Pato speaks to Maureen about some of the harsh realities of his work in London and reveals his desire for a
Cited: : Vanhellemont, Rhea. Martin McDonagh 's freewheeling and slightly surreal Irish national theatre, in-yer-face! . Universitait Gent, 2009