Sex and the Senex: The Weight of Tradition in Desire under the Elms

This chapter examines an early-twentieth-century play that manipulates long-standing conventions of age and aging. Desire under the Elms (1924), often considered Eugene O’Neill’s first masterpiece, is a staple of the American dramatic canon. Its plot focuses on 75-year-old Ephraim Cabot and his new 35-year-old wife, Abbie, who commits adultery with Ephraim’s 25-year-old son, Eben. Abbie then gives birth to a son, whom Ephraim claims as heir, but all other characters assume that Eben fathered the child. Ephraim’s characterization draws on the senex tradition of ancient Greek and Roman comedy, both the foolish older man who courts a younger woman and the father who blocks his offspring from a desired marriage. I argue that tradition limits interpretation of the play, both in the script and in production, as critics have assumed Ephraim’s age-related sterility despite abundant evidence of his continued virility. From an age-studies perspective, continuity theory offers an alternative approach to Ephraim, who demonstrates self-continuity in word and deed. More than 2000 years of dramatic heritage weighs heavily against recognizing that the dynamic, vital, embodied performance of Ephraim Cabot strikes a blow against ageist cultural attitudes.