MARY TYRONE (ELLA QUINLAN)

Question 1

Who was the character of Mary based on?

Answer 1

• Ella Quinlan (O’Neill’s mother)

Question 2

The EDUCATION of Ella Quinlan. Where was she educated? Did this affect her character/personality?

Answer 2

• Educated in a CONVENT school.
• Developed into a innocent, unwordly woman.

Question 3

Ella Quinlan and Morphine addiction. How did she get addicted to morphine? Did she overcome the addiction? What effect did the addiction on the family?

Answer 3

• The DR who delivered O’Neill prescribed morphine for childbirth pain.
• Carmelite Nuns helped Ella break her drug addiction eventually.
• O’Neill was convinced his birth caused her addiction.

Question 4

Where did James O’Neill meet the doctor who delivered O’Neill?

Answer 4

• A bar (thus it can be infered he was cheap)

Question 5

Ella as a widow. How was she like as a widow?

Answer 5

• She blossomed. Handling all her late husbands financial affairs.

Question 6

How did Ella die? How did this effect O’Neill?

Answer 6

• Brain tumor.
• “I was just beginning to enjoy her”

Question 7

How did Ella’s parent view her marriage to James?

Answer 7

• Dissapproved as they looked down on the theatre as improper.
• They believed their sheltered/refined daughter wouldn’t be happy as the wife of a touring actor.

Question 8

How was the concerns of Ella’s family over her marriage confirmed? How did this effect Ella?

Answer 8

• Their was a lawsuit against James from his former mistress.
• She claimed James was the father of her son.
• The scandal devastated her, disengaging from the world and her husband.

Question 9

How many children did she have?

Answer 9

1. James JR
2. Edmund (died in infancy)
3. Eugene

Question 10

Which of her children died in infancy? How did this effect the family?

Answer 10

• James jr and Edmund contracted measles, however Edmund died from it.
• Ella blamed James Jr of purposely exposing his brother to the disease. He was sent to boarding school. She vowed never to have another child.