long day's journey into night summary

Long Day's Journey Into Night

55 pages • 1 hour read

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Act Summaries & Analyses

Act II, Scene 1

Act II, Scene 2

Character Analysis

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Summary and Study Guide

Long Day’s Journey into Night is widely considered Eugene O’Neill’s best play. It was published posthumously under the pseudonym Tyrone and is an autobiographical work about O’Neill’s family. The play was originally published in 1956 with a first showing in Sweden that same year. The play has been adapted into film several times, including productions in 1962 and 1996, as well as television adaptations in 1973, 1982, and 1987. O’Neill was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1936. During his life, O’Neill was awarded two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama, as well as one after his death for Long Day’s Journey into Night , which also won a Tony Award for Best Play in 1957.

O’Neill’s writing fits within the movement of American Modernism, which sought to explore new ways of viewing and portraying life and experience. O’Neill was known for using Modernist techniques to explore outcasts and those operating outside the social norm. O’Neill saw himself as an outcast, and his character in the play, Edmund, shows his own perspectives on his family and life in general.

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The play is a tragedy , following the decline of O’Neill’s parents and brother in the early 20th century. Though the play only covers a single day in the summer of 1912, it encapsulates years of trauma and neglect that O’Neill and his family experienced. Following the events of the play, both O’Neill’s parents and his brother Jamie passed away in the early 1920s. Long Day’s Journey into Night explores themes of Deflection and the Challenge of Confronting Problems , The Importance of Love and Support , and Inebriation as a Form of Escape and Denial as the Tyrone family tries to cope with Mary Tyrone’s addiction to morphine amid their familial issues and resentment.

This guide uses the second edition of the play, published by Yale University Press New Haven & London , from the original provided by Charlotte O’Neill in 1955.

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Content Warning: This guide includes discussions of addictions to drugs and alcohol as well as references to attempted suicide, suicidal ideation, and child loss, which feature in the source text.

Plot Summary

The play opens on the morning of a day in August 1912, and it takes place in the Tyrones’ summer home in New London, CT. The family has just finished breakfast, and they move into the living room, which is the setting of the entirety of the play. Mary and Tyrone are in love, but they are avoiding an argument. Tyrone suspects their sons, Edmund and Jamie, are making fun of him in the other room. As Jamie and Edmund enter, it becomes clear that Edmund is ill, and his parents are concerned about him. Contrasting Edmund, Jamie draws the ire of his parents, who both think he is lazy. Jamie agrees to help Tyrone with yardwork, and Edmund decides to read. Though the reason is not clear yet, all three men are concerned for Mary’s well-being, noting that she spent time in their spare bedroom last night when she could not sleep.

Later in the day, Jamie comes in from the yardwork and he and Edmund sneak some of their father’s whiskey. They discuss their mother’s problem, but neither will address the nature of that problem. Mary comes down for lunch, and the three discuss how Tyrone spends too much time and money on his social appearances, noting his frugality with the family. Tyrone comes back inside, and an argument breaks out as Mary goes upstairs to take morphine, and it is revealed that Mary has been struggling with a morphine addiction for years. The men continue to drink, and Mary pleads with Tyrone not to be angry with her. Later, all three men leave for different purposes, with Edmund going to the doctor and Jamie accompanying him, while Tyrone goes to the Club to drink with his friends. Mary is left alone, though she begs Tyrone not to leave her. He suggests that she take a drive, though she does not know where to go.

That evening, Mary and Cathleen, their servant, return from the drugstore, where Cathleen got Mary more morphine, which she claims she takes for her rheumatism in her hands. Mary reminisces about her childhood but eventually allows Cathleen to leave as Tyrone and Edmund return home. They can tell that she has been taking morphine, and they argue about Jamie instead of the issue at hand. Tyrone goes outside to get more whiskey, and Edmund tells Mary that he has tuberculosis to snap her out of her hazy demeanor. Edmund insults Mary for her addiction when his attempt does not work, and he leaves. Mary wishes she could overdose on morphine, and, when Tyrone returns, she tells him that she does not think Edmund loves her. Mary laments having a third child, as their second child died in infancy. Tyrone tries to console Mary, but she leaves to go upstairs, implying that she will take more morphine, while Tyrone goes into another room to eat dinner alone.

At night, Tyrone stays up late, drunk, playing cards alone, as he does not want to see Mary upstairs. Edmund comes home and admits that he, too, has been drinking and walking in the fog . They argue over the cost of electricity, and Edmund tells Tyrone that he knows the hospital Tyrone is sending him to for tuberculosis treatment is cheap. Tyrone admits that he is a miser, and he agrees to send Edmund to a nicer hospital. When Jamie comes home, Tyrone steps outside to avoid him, and Edmund and Jamie argue about their parents. Jamie admits that he has been a bad influence on Edmund, and he cries when he realizes Mary may not be able to overcome her addiction. Tyrone returns and argues briefly with Jamie. Mary comes downstairs in a stupor, and she acts as though she is living in the past before realizing that it is the present and that she and her family are miserable.

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Long Day's Journey Into Night

By eugene o'neill.

• Long Day's Journey Into Night Summary

The entire play takes place in the family room of the Tyrones' summer home. The year is 1912, the time is one August morning, and Mary and James enter after breakfast. We soon learn that Mary has recently returned from treatment at a sanatorium for her morphine addiction. In Act One's opening, we also learn that Edmund has been away traveling, and that recently his health has been deteriorating. He's developed a terrible cough. Jamie and Edmund enter, and James and Tyrone can't seem to resist fighting. A bit of teasing becomes bitter arguing, but Edmund and Mary intercede and calm them down. Edmund tries to tell a humorous story about one of their tenants, but Tyrone doesn't appreciate and Edmund's interpretation of events. Tyrone calls him a socialist and an anarchist, and Edmund, sick of being criticized, goes upstairs coughing. Mary is worried but refuses to hear talk that Edmund might be truly sick. She goes into the kitchen to supervise the help. With her gone, Jamie and Tyrone talk frankly about Edmund: he might have consumption. The two men fight bitterly, going through a series of arguments we will hear many times before the end of the play: Tyrone accuses Jamie of being without direction, and Jamie accuses Tyrone of being miserly. He blames Mary's morphine addiction on his father's bargain hunting and the consequent shoddy medical care. Mary returns, and the two men shut up. They go out to work on the lawn. Edmund comes down, and he tries to talk to Mary. She's concerned about his health, and he's concerned about hers. He tries to talk frankly about her problems with morphine, because he feels she should confront her past. She seems to prefer to avoid the topic. She complains about Tyrone's miserliness, and how because of it she has never had a real home. He goes out to the lawn to lie in the shade while the other two men work, and Mary is left alone.

Act Two, Scene One. Just before lunchtime. Edmund chats with Cathleen , the hired girl. Jamie comes in and sneaks a drink; Mary has been upstairs all morning, and Jamie fears that Mary is taking morphine. Edmund denies it, but when Mary comes downstairs her strange, detached manner confirms Jamie's suspicions. Later, Tyrone enters and sees soon what has happened. Finally, even Edmund can no longer deny that Mary has slipped back into use of the drug.

Act Two, Scene Two. Just after lunch. Mary criticizes Tyrone for being addicted to bad real estate investments. They receive a phone call from Dr. Hardy, and Tyrone takes it. From his manner when he returns, we know that it is not good news. Mary goes upstairs to shoot up again, and the three men start to fight. Edmund goes upstairs to try to speak to her, and while he is gone Tyrone confirms with Jamie that Edmund does, in fact, have consumption. Jamie worries that Tyrone, miser that he is, will send Edmund to a cheap sanatorium. Jamie goes out, waiting for Edmund so that he can accompany him to town. Mary comes down, and the Tyrone parents talk. We learn about their past: she had Edmund in part for the death of an older son, whose name was Eugene. Edmund comes downstairs. He urges his mother to fight the morphine addiction, but she pretends to have no idea what he's talking about. Edmund leaves, and then Tyrone, leaving Mary alone. First she is relieved, and then she is achingly lonely.

Act Three. Half past six in the evening, same day. Mary sits in the family room, waited on by Cathleen; again and again, she treats Cathleen to whiskey. She muses about her youth, and her childhood dreams of being a nun or a concert pianist. Mary also remembers meeting Mr. Tyrone, and how in love she once was. Cathleen is trying to focus, but she is not terribly sharp and she has become a bit drunk. Edmund and Tyrone come home. Mary receives the men happily, but they see quickly that she is lost in the dope. Mary warns Edmund that Jamie wants to make him a failure, like he is. She thinks about their childhood, and worries that Tyrone's habits have started them on the path to alcoholism. Mary reminds Tyrone of the first night when they met. There is a brief, touching moment of tenderness. And then she returns to criticizing him. She then speaks nostalgically about her wedding dress, and how she fussed over it. She doesn't know where the dress is now; it must be in the attic somewhere. Tyrone goes down into the cellar to get more whiskey, and Edmund and Mary are alone. Edmund tries to tell Mary how sick he is, but she refuses to listen. They talk about her problems with morphine, but talking so directly about the past hurts Mary, so they stop. Edmund leaves. Tyrone returns and asks her to have dinner with him. She decides to go upstairs instead, presumably to shoot up yet again.

Act Four. Midnight, that night. Edmund comes home to find his father playing solitaire. The two have the normal quota of fights and drinking, but they also manage to have an intimate, tender conversation. Tyrone explains his stinginess, and he also reveals to Edmund that he ruined his career by staying in an acting job for money. After so many years playing the same part, he lost the talent he'd once had. Edmund understands his father now better than he ever has. He talks to his father about his days sailing, and talks indirectly about his hopes to be a great writer. They hear Jamie coming home drunk, and Tyrone leaves to avoid fighting. Jamie and Edmund have their own conversation, and Jamie confesses something: although he loves Edmund more than anyone else in the world, he wants Edmund to fail. And he'll try to make Edmund fail. Then Jamie passes out, dead drunk. When Tyrone returns, he wakes up, and then they start to fight again. Mary comes downstairs, by now so doped up she can barely recognize them. She is carrying her wedding gown, lost completely in her past. The men watch in horror. She does not even know they are there.

Long Day’s Journey Into Night Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Long Day’s Journey Into Night is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Does the family in the play ever really talk?

Breakdown of communication is a very apparent theme in the play. We are forced to listen to the same arguments again and again because nothing ever gets resolved. The Tyrones fight, but often hide the most important feelings. There is a deep...

Long Day's Journey into Night.

Mary is addicted to morphine.

James Tyrone is described by his family as

Study Guide for Long Day’s Journey Into Night

Long Day's Journey Into Night study guide contains a biography of Eugene O'Neill, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Long Day's Journey Into Night
• Character List
• Act I, Scene One Summary and Analysis

Essays for Long Day’s Journey Into Night

Long Day's Journey Into Night literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Long Day's Journey Into Night.

• Ephiphanies in "Long Day's Journey into Night"
• Fog and the Foghorn in Long Day’s Journey into Night
• Jamie Tyrone: The Foghorn Personified
• Introductory Acts of Othello and Long Day's Journey Into Night
• The Real Addicts

Lesson Plan for Long Day’s Journey Into Night

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Long Day's Journey Into Night
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Long Day's Journey Into Night Bibliography

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Long Day’s Journey into Night

Eugene o’neill.

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Eugene O’Neill's Long Day’s Journey into Night . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

Long Day’s Journey into Night: Introduction

Long day’s journey into night: plot summary, long day’s journey into night: detailed summary & analysis, long day’s journey into night: themes, long day’s journey into night: quotes, long day’s journey into night: characters, long day’s journey into night: symbols, long day’s journey into night: literary devices, long day’s journey into night: theme wheel, brief biography of eugene o’neill.

Historical Context of Long Day’s Journey into Night

Other books related to long day’s journey into night.

• Full Title: Long Day’s Journey into Night
• When Written: 1940-41
• Where Written: Tao House in Danville, California
• When Published: 1956
• Literary Period: Modernism/Postmodernism
• Genre: Drama, Realism
• Setting: The Tyrones’ summer house
• Climax: Long Day’s Journey into Night relies upon the back-and-forth of the Tyrone family’s many arguments. As such, there is no singular climactic moment. Having said that, the drunken altercation between Jamie and Edmund—in which Edmund punches his brother in the face for insulting their mother—signifies a breaking point in the play, where the tension becomes too much for the family to handle.
• Antagonist: Apathy and addiction are the primary antagonistic forces threatening to undo the Tyrone family.

Extra Credit for Long Day’s Journey into Night

The Summer House. The summer house in which Long Day’s Journey into Night takes place still stands in New London, Connecticut. Owned by the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, the house is decorated exactly as specified in the play.

Loss. Within a three-year period, all of O’Neill’s family members died. First, his father succumbed to a longstanding illness. Shortly thereafter, his mother died of a brain tumor (after eight years of sobriety). Having a hard time coping with these losses, his brother, Jamie, drank himself to death. 

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