The Lughnasa Festival

Frieda understands Donna’s sacrifice as loyal for taking care of Liam’s child although he is absent from their lives. Josie’s definition of loyalty is described by her loyalty to the IRA until the end of the story when Conan leaves her alone and pregnant. These sisters are at constant odds because it is not an easy task for Josie to accept people pass their political views. In the Irish society woman are held accountable for the home and anything that happens inside or outside the home that does not follow the views and rules of the community must be hidden from others. Women seem to hold all the responsibility with no respect or power. Anne Devlin has carefully written her female characters to represent the oppression of woman in society …show more content…
This festival starts the first day in August and celebrates harvest. The name of the festival is a hidden yet important aspect in understanding the play. Lugh is considered a Celtic God of Harvest and serves to show the connection the Irish and their pagan past with their culture and the land they live on before the Catholic Church took over. One of Michael’s memories of that summer is the return of his Uncle Jack, who has contracted Malaria in Uganda where he has been on a missionary trip for the past twenty plus years and has come home to live out his remaining days. Uncle Jack is an important figure because not only does his return impact the Mundy sisters who hope that he can help around the house yet only to find out they will have to take care of him because he is too sick. He also represents the old pagan traditions, something that makes the Catholic Church fear him. In the play Kate represents the Catholic Church and it’s morality and belief that faith is keeping the family together. The struggle between wanting to be free and the actual reality of the world is a constant struggle that Lughnasa representsA difference between Ourselves Alone and Dancing at Lughnasa is the role of the “breadwinner.” In Ourselves Alone the women are struggling to be free and gain power while in Friel’s, Dancing at Lughnasa, Kate, the oldest, has the responsibility of being the primary breadwinner while Uncle Jack is away. When Uncle Jack returns he explains to his sisters the change of faith he had and how the Church banished him. This banishment not only affects Jack but Kate because she is fired from her teaching position. The return of Jack not only brings disgrace but also conflict and loss to the sisters which leads to the fall of the Mundy