PDF file: Drama - Higher - Lovers - Education Scotland

OVERALL DIRECTORIAL INTERPRETATION AND DRAMATIC COMMENTARY
Joe. They both have a totally zany sense of humour and together form
a hysterically comic double act. This is one of the reasons why Mag
loves Joe.
• Mag’s dissatisfaction with her parents as role models emerges.
• We hear about Mag’s parents’ reaction to her pregnancy. ‘My God, the
things they said to me – they seared my soul forever.’
• The Commentators reveal the huge class differences between the
Brennans and the Enwrights.
• We discover that Mag’s twin brother Peter died in his cot five days
after he was born.
• We learn that Mag’s mother has suffered from clinical depression ever
since the tragedy of Peter’s death. The revelation of Mrs Enwright’s
depression and the relationship between Mag and her mother brings
us naturally to the relationship between Mag and her father. It is
obvious he wants to help her as much as possible and that she adores
him. ‘It’s only that Papa’ll be lonely without me.’ ‘. . . the first time
he’ll ever have been separated from me, even for a night.’ ‘Besides, I
can wheel the pram over every afternoon.’
• We learn that Peter’s death has had consequences for Mag.
• Mag pretends to go into labour. The false pains are used deliberately
to control Joe and gain his sympathy. This reveals Mag’s insecurity.
• We gradually see that Mag is not as confident about the future as her
early dialogue indicates.
• By the end of the scene we clearly see the tensions between Mag and
Joe. Joe feels he has been ‘trapped’.
• We learn of Mag and Joe’s disappearance. We are encouraged to
speculate about what happened in the hours after they left
Ardnageeha. This heightens the dramatic tension of the scene. Mag
and Joe’s deaths are shrouded in mystery.
Develops characters and relationships
Mag
• Mag is one of the four ‘Lovers’. Friel’s notes at the start of the play
describe her clearly: ‘Mag is seventeen, bubbling with life, inclined to
be extreme in her enthusiasms. Although she is not beautiful, her
vivacity gives her a distinct attraction. Whatever she likes, she loves;
whatever she dislikes she hates – momentarily. She is either very
elated or very depressed, but no emotion is ever permanent.’
• The scene establishes her flighty, romantic, witty, comical, energetic,
effervescent, angst-ridden nature.
• She is full of doubts now that she is pregnant and persona non grata
in the eyes of the church and the community.
• She is worried about the future. How will her father cope without
her? She believes that her marriage will not be like that of her own
DRAMA 5