Riders to the Sea

The first half of Act I contains the exposition and rising action of the play. The sisters’ conversation introduces the central conflict: the possible loss of their brother Michael to the sea and the possibility that their last living brother, Bartley, will take a boat to the mainland and risk his own death. Bartley’s entry and confirmation that he will take the boat, alongside his mother’s repeated pleas for him to stay, increase the tension during the rising action portion of the play. Maurya establishes herself as the central character of the play throughout this dialogue; the entire tragedy revolves around the loss of her sons, husband, and father-in-law, who died on the sea. Maurya also drives the plot. Although Bartley’s decision to take the boat to Connemara is what puts him in danger, it is Maurya who heightens the tension by pleading with him not to go, introducing further conflict about this decision and creating a sense of suspense surrounding his survival.

The first half of Act I thematically brings The Contrast Between Christianity and Pagan Mysticism into the story through the superstitions of the characters and their perspective on nature. The priest, mentioned by Nora, represents Christian or English/Anglo-Irish influence on the island. He offers a semi-logical explanation for why Maurya and her girls should not worry about Bartley’s own sea crossing, claiming that their Christian God would not leave Maurya without sons to help sustain her and her daughters. Despite his assurances, the women of the family are terrified of what the sea will do to their last remaining son and brother, more god-fearing of the ocean than of the apparent wisdom of the Christian God. Despite the influence of Christianity, which in Victorian English and Anglo-Irish society had shed much of its mysticism, superstition reigns in Maurya’s household. Cathleen strongly feels that a man should be sent off with blessings rather than negative words—so much so that she sends her mother with the bread for Bartley so Maurya can give the man her blessing along with the food.

The first half of Act I also reveals The Role of Place and Nature in Irish Culture. In particular, the first half illustrates the duality inherent in the Irish sense of place and home, since the characters are both terrified of the sea and reliant upon the money men can make by taking the rough sea crossing to Connemara. The interaction between Maurya and Bartley highlights this duality, since Maurya begs him not to risk the danger while Bartley refuses to delay his journey for the sake of their financial well-being. The Irish sense of place complicates the primary conflict, creating a sense of inevitability for the plot while highlighting the inescapable nature of these families’ reliance on a sea that steals many of their sons.