Anna Christie: Analysis of Major Characters
"Anna Christie" is a play by Eugene O'Neill that explores themes of identity, love, and the struggle for redemption through the lives of its major characters. The titular character, Anna Christopherson, is a strong and resilient woman who faces the harsh realities of life after being abandoned by her seafaring father and raised in a rural environment. Her experiences lead her to become a prostitute in St. Louis before she travels to New York to reconnect with her father, Chris Christopherson, a man deeply marked by tragedy and loss related to the sea. Chris harbors a disdain for steamships and the men who operate them, which complicates Anna's relationship with Mat Burke, her Irish lover who is drawn to the sea. Mat's initial reaction to Anna’s past creates tension, but ultimately, their love prevails. The character Marthy Owen, an older woman who shares a history with Chris, adds another layer to the narrative, illustrating the complexities of their interrelated lives. The interactions among these characters highlight the broader societal perceptions of women and the nature of love, ultimately leading to Anna's reconciliation with her past and her father's acceptance of her future.
Anna Christie: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Eugene O'Neill
First published: 1923
Genre: Play
Locale: Johnny the Priest's saloon, New York City, and Provincetown harbor
Plot: Social realism
Time: Early twentieth century
Anna Christopherson, a girl abandoned by her seagoing father and, after the death of her mother, reared by farmer relatives in Minnesota. She is a buxom, attractive girl who learns from farm boys the facts of life. In St. Louis, she becomes a prostitute. She goes to New York to join her father, who now is skipper of a coal barge. When her father fights a man who has resolved to get Anna for his own, Anna realizes that men regard women as their property. At the end, Anna, her father, and her lover are reconciled, and Anna is to be married at last.
Chris Christopherson, Anna's father, a man whose family has paid a dreadful toll in lives to the sea. Chris loves his daughter and sailing ships; he hates steam vessels and especially hates the men who stoke the furnaces in them. He opposes Anna's lover because he follows the sea in a steamship.
Mat Burke, Anna's lover, who is rescued from the sea one night when the Simeon Winthrop rides at anchor in the outer harbor of Provincetown, Massachusetts. Burke's Irish glibness both attracts Anna and makes her suspicious. When Burke, one night after a fight with Chris, learns that Anna has been a prostitute, he calls her names and storms out of her life. When he returns and talks with Anna, however, they realize that they are in love.
Marthy Owen, an old prostitute who lives on the coal barge with Chris. When Chris learns that Anna is leaving St. Louis for New York, he asks Marthy to leave. She consents to move on to someone else because, as she says, Chris had always been good to her.