The writers of J.M. Synge and James Joyce show authority and the resulting resistance to this authority in their texts ‘The Playboy of the Western World’ and ‘A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man’. Both texts explore the ways in which religion can dominate a person’s life and how they are ultimately limited by this. They also negotiate the authority which parents hold over their children and how one can reap the rewards of overthrowing this authority. This is especially clear in ‘The Playboy of the Western World’. The dominant plot in this play is the oedipal narrative of killing an oppressive father and subsequently benefitting from it. Christy challenges the authority of his abusive father in his two attempted murders of him. He commits the ultimate form of rebellion against authority in these attempts to kill him. There are multiple forms of authoritative father-figures present in this play. One of the central themes is; do you rebel against an oppressive father, or do you submit to him? Christy rebels against his father twice which results in his freedom. Shawn however, never ceases to seek the approval of Father Reilly. Due to this he has no freedom or individuality.
Throughout the play, the all-pervasive control of the church is clear. A Christian moral code is the authority which the people of “the wild coast of mayo” (Synge, preface) live under. The authority which Father Reilly holds is evident, despite the fact that he never even graces the stage. This can be seen when Pegeen is afraid of the dark night and asks Shawn to stay with her. Despite the insistence of Pegeen and Michael James, “If you're that afeard, let Shawn Keogh stop along with you.” (Synge, 102), he declines, fearing the discontent of the priest. He would rather leave Pegeen alone and afraid than disappoint Father Reilly. He worries that it would be improper to stay with a woman before they are wed and that Father Reilly would not approve their request to marry. This shows the power the priest holds. The fact that the audience never sees him but he still asserts power shows his control.
However, despite the fact that Ireland was devoutly religious during this time period, to serve their own self-interest, the villagers will often ignore this Christian moral code. Their attitudes, upon the arrival of Christy Mahon, show a resistance to the authority of the church. They overlook the fact that he is a murderer. and celebrate him; painting him as a hero. The women become enamoured with him and the local girls give him gifts. The worse his tale becomes in a moral sense, the more he is celebrated. They think it is exciting. They disregard their Christian values in favour of entertainment. They even go as far as encouraging a fight between Christy and Old Mahon, regardless of the potential consequences.
Pegeen also displays a lack of regard for the values for the church and for her marriage proposal at the sight of Christy. She acts disloyal to Shawn and conceals the fact that she is to be wed to him. “What would I want wedding so young?" (Synge, 109). Even though at the beginning of Act I she is planning her wedding, she abandons her union with Shawn in favour of Christy for her own self-interest. There is also an idea present throughout the play that ignoring religious authority can lead to experiences of freedom and individuality. This can be seen in Pegeen’s admiration for Christy, in reference to his crime. It can also be seen is Christy’s complete disregard for morality when he murders his father in pursuit of freedom. Shawn never rebels against Father Reilly and by the end of the play he is still under his control, unlike Christy. Pegeen also rebels against the authority of her father in her defiance in marrying Shawn. She goes against Michael James’ wishes and declares that she will marry Christy.
Resistance to authority can also be seen in the land wars. Mayo was at the centre of much of the land wars in the late eighteen-hundredths. This was a time where peasants could be seen to rise up against their landlords. They would attack the landlords and challenge their dubious practices. There is a lot of talk in this play about this subject. The character of Philly suggests that he would not be alarmed that Christy had committed a crime in response to the land wars; “Maybe the land was grabbed from him, and he did what any decent man
would do.” (Synge, 104). There are also many references to the quasi-military police force; the peelers. Their authority is clear in the fear the characters have of them.
Religion can also be seen to operate as an authority in James Joyce’s ‘A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man’. The three main types of authority present in this are text are religious, parental and political. Like in ‘The Playboy of the Western World’, there is an idea present that with the rejection of authority comes freedom for self-expression and identity. Through Joyce’s alter ego and the character of Stephen Dedalus, Joyce displays how these authorities can limit a young boy in his life. “When the soul of a man is born in this country there are nets flung at it to hold it back from flight. You talk to me of nationality, language, religion. I shall try to fly by those nets” (Joyce, 238).
Although each of these authorities have a profound effect on Stephen, nothing controls his life more than religion. Faith heavily influenced him as a young boy. Religious authority was present in his community and all around him. The restrictions that came with Catholicism were deeply embedded in his community and his family. “Joyce believed that the individuality of the inhabitants of Dublin had been subsumed in a religion whose moral, political and cultural influence denied them any opportunity to make choices for themselves” (Akca). This continued into his school life. It governed every aspect of his early life;
“Stephen Dedalus is my name,
Ireland is my nation,
Clongowes is my dwelling place
And heaven my expectation.” (Joyce, 12)
He was sent to the incredibly strict Catholic all-boy boarding school of Clongowes Wood College. Due to this, he was not able to mature properly. He could not grow sexually and experience the desires which come with adolescence. Religion and school repressed this part of him. Subsequently, part of him was awakened with his experience with the prostitute. With this sexual and intellectual awakening came his realisation that he had a deep love for emotion and art. In order to come into his age and grow into the person he was meant to become, he had to reject the strict religious teachings which surrounded him. If he had not given into temptation and encountered the prostitute, he may not have realised his deep love for art. He also may not have fully realised just how much the church and its teachings were truly restricting him. He grew to the understanding that in order to have full freedom in art and life and to be the man he wishes to be; “his destiny was to be elusive of social or religious orders” (Joyce, 188).
He also is deeply repressed by the authority of his parents. He learns opposing moral lessons from them. The fact that they both hold authority in his life must have created immense confusion at which opinion to follow. Both of his parents were devoutly religious which further instilled the religious moral code into Stephen. When Stephen was offered the role of becoming a priest his mother was overjoyed. She did not like the idea of Stephen going to college and she held the belief that the church was the best future for him. However, though it interested him at first, Stephen grew more and more distant to the idea as he imagined how hollow his life would be in the priesthood. “The wisdom of the priest’s appeal did not touch him to the quick.” (Joyce, 188). He knew that it was not the life for him. He went against his mother’s desires as he knew the best way for him to learn was out in the real world. “He was destined to learn his own wisdom apart from others or to learn the wisdom of others himself wandering among the snares of the world.” (Joyce, 188). He rejected the authority of his mother in favour of a richer and freer life.
His father, a fierce nationalist, instilled his beliefs unto Stephen. The differing views on politics within his family and peers affected him and limited him greatly. The Irish political climate serves as a backdrop throughout the text. This is very clear in the continuous impassioned mentions of Charles Parnell, in how he was praised and then denounced after his affair with Kitty O’Shea. This is very clear in the character of Dante. From Stephen finding Dante’s “brush with the green velvet back was for Parnell” (Joyce, 2) to when “Dante had ripped the green velvet back off the brush that was for Parnell one day with her scissors and had told him that Parnell was a bad man” (Joyce, 13). Her belief and subsequent denouncement of him was of great confusion to Stephen as Parnell was akin to his childhood hero. The ever-changing and contrasting political beliefs around him affected him greatly from a young age. “It was his first Christmas dinner”, where he was allowed to sit with the adults, in which he witnessed the fierce row between Dante and John Casey over Parnell. This debate is a powerful example of how central the idea of politics was in his life. As he grew up he began to grow more and more dissatisfied at the political climate in Ireland. This ultimately resulting in him moving away as he knew he could not develop fully or have artistic freedom in a country so governed by political authority.
“I will not serve that in which I no longer believe whether it call itself my home, my fatherland or my church: and I will try to express myself in some mode of life or art as freely as I can and wholly as I can, using for my defense the only arms I allow myself to use- silence, exile and cunning.” (Joyce, 291).
It is clear in this quote how Stephen, or Joyce, was only truly liberated upon his refusal to adhere to the parental and religious authority which dictated so much of his life. This text mirrors Synge’s ‘The Playboy of the Western World’ in this way. The characters of Christy and Stephen both had to stand up to the oppressive authorities which dominated their freedom. These two texts can provide lessons to their readership on how disobeying unfair command can allow a person to achieve more than they could ever imagine. In Christy’s resistance to his father, he was able to start a new life and in Joyce’s resistance to religious and familial expectations, he was able to begin his artistic journey and achieve greatness as one of the most influential voices in Irish literature.