Purple Dust: Analysis of Major Characters
"Purple Dust: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the dynamics between four central characters—Cyril Poges, Basil Stoke, Souhaun, and Avril—set against the backdrop of a decaying Irish estate. Cyril and Basil, two English gentlemen enamored with the romanticized past, seek escape to a simpler, idyllic life in the countryside. However, their aspirations are continually thwarted by practical challenges, discord with their staff, and the reality of rural living, which contrasts sharply with their idealistic dreams. The two women, Souhaun and Avril, initially eager participants in this pastoral fantasy, quickly become disillusioned by the hardships they encounter. Their dissatisfaction leads them to abandon Cyril and Basil for O'Killigain, a charismatic foreman who represents a more present-focused worldview. This shift highlights a tension between nostalgia and reality, as the characters grapple with their desires and the complexities of their circumstances. The narrative culminates in a moment of defeat for Cyril and Basil as they take refuge on the roof during a storm, longing for the comforts of England. Overall, the interplay between the characters captures themes of idealism, disillusionment, and the allure of both past and present.
Purple Dust: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Sean O'Casey
First published: 1940
Genre: Play
Locale: Clune na Geera, Ireland
Plot: Satire
Time: The present
Cyril Poges and Basil Stoke, two English gentlemen in love with the past. With a firm conviction that life's real glories all exist in times gone by, and filled with a longing for the joys of country living, they arrive in Ireland with their mistresses, Souhaun and Avril, to take up residence in a decaying old house in the process of being renovated. Their romantic dreams of escape into the pastoral life of bygone days is interrupted constantly by a series of prosaic household crises, un-romantic arguments with servants and workmen, misadventures with farm animals and machinery, and the seduction of their mistresses by O'Killigain and one of his fellow workers. Finally, as the river rises during a storm, the two gentlemen, cold, wet, and defeated, take to the roof, longing for good old England.
Souhaun and Avril, mistresses of Cyril and Basil. Accompanying the two gentlemen to Ireland to live the country life in a decayed ruin, the ladies are soon disgusted with the discomforts of pastoral living. Beguiled by the poetic Irish charms of O'Killigain and one of his workmen, they run away with the pair.
O'Killigain, the handsome foreman of the workmen engaged in renovating the ancient ruin occupied by Cyril Poges and Basil Stoke. He is a great believer in the glories of the present. He and one of his workmen exert their Irish charms on Souhaun and Avril and run away with them.
Barney and Cloyne, the butler and the maid to Cyril Poges and Basil Stoke.