Abstract

The paper is concerned with the mythical theme of Oresteia as it has been reworked in Eugene O'Neill's play Mourning Becomes Electra. After juxtaposing the key elements in the story as they appear in Aeschylus and Sophocles on the one hand, and Eugene O' Neill on the other, the analysis moves on to consider the significance of the changes introduced in O'Neill's version of this ancient story. The focal point of the analysis is the brief comparison of two disparate models of reading – the Freudian and the Jungian model – and the relevance of their different implications for the patriarchal culture of reason