Purgatory

W.B. Yeats

1 Summarize the play/drama Purgatory by WB Yeats. 

There are only two characters in the play: a Boy and an Old Man. The Old Man is the Boy’s father. They are in front of an old house that has been burnt down. It belonged to the Old Man’s mother. She was from a rich family. She married her father’s worker. But he turned out to be a drunkard. She died giving birth to the Old Man. Afterwards the father wasted the property and burnt down the house. This was an honoured house where great people had lived and died in the past.

His son, the Old Man, killed him for destroying his mother’s house. The Old Man believes that his mother’s soul is suffering in purgatory. He often sees her shadow. He also hears the horse hooves and takes it as his father riding to the house. He believes that she is constantly reliving the wedding night, which led to all the sins committed afterwards. He tells this to the Boy. The Boy tries to steal the Old Man’s money. He demands a share in the property. They fight and the Old Man kills the Boy. He does this to stop the Boy from having a son of his own and passing the sin. He believes this will break the cycle of violence and sin and release his mother’s soul from purgatory. But he again hears the horse hooves and thinks his mother’s soul is not released. He prays to God to end her suffering.

2 Why did the old man kill the boy/his own son?

OR, What is the old man’s motive in murdering the boy?

The old man had killed his own son to break the sinful cycle of violence. He had killed his father when he was young because his father was a bad man. He thinks his mother’s soul is suffering in the Purgatory. He kills the boy during a fight over the money. He does this to stop the boy having the son of his own. He does not want the sin to be transmitted to the coming generation. He also believes this will break the cycle of violence and release his mother’s soul from Purgatory.

3 What is the theme of the play?

OR, Explain how the play explores the relation of human life to supernatural forces.

OR, Do you think Yeats believed in life after death?

The play “Purgatory” explores the relation of human life to supernatural forces. When a man dies, his body is separated from the soul which is invisible. Yeats hints that the soul which has just parted from the body has human qualities like greed, passions and pain. The souls of the people with no sin are good and go to heaven. The souls of the people whose sin cannot be forgiven travel to hell. But the souls of those whose sin can be forgiven are sent to Purgatory. The soul must remain there until it is purified to enter the heaven. 

4 Do you think the old man’s mother’s soul is released from the Purgatory?

There is a hint at the end of the play that the old man’s mother’s soul is not released from the Purgatory. The old man had killed his father to punish him. Now he has killed his son to stop the cycle of sin in his family from being passed to the next generation. He thinks this will release his mother’s soul from the Purgatory. But he hears the horse hooves again after killing his son. This indicates that his mother’s soul is still in purgatory and the two murders have been wasted.

5 We are always punished for our sins. Elaborate.

The play “Purgatory” suggests that we are always punished for our sins. Religions also say that our spirit will go to hell after death if we have committed sins on earth. At the symbolic level, hell means suffering and torture we must face as the result of our wrong actions.

The old man’s mother’s spirit has remained in the Purgatory because she shared in the destruction of an honoured house. Her sin was to bring the man who burnt it. The man she married turned out to be a drunkard. He not only wasted the property but also burnt the house. He was then killed by his son. Now this son, the Old Man, often sees her shadow. He also hears the horse hooves and takes it as his father riding to the house. He believes she is constantly reliving the wedding night, which led to all the sins committed afterwards in the family. Her sin has not been forgiven.

There is a hint at the end of the play that the old man’s mother’s soul is not released from the Purgatory. The old man had killed his father to punish him. Now he has killed his son to stop the cycle of sin in his family from being passed to the next generation. He thinks this will release his mother’s soul from the Purgatory. But he hears the horse hooves again after killing his son. This indicates that his mother’s soul is still in purgatory and the two murders have been wasted.

6 Discuss the kind of relationship between the father and son.

The father and son seem to have a conflicting, antagonistic relationship. They fight and one is killed. The Old Man had killed his father for burning his mother’s house. Now his son has grown up. He is after the Old Man’s money. He tries to steal it. The Old Man tries to stop him and they fight. This time the son is killed in the fight. It seems as if criminal attitude is in the blood. To end this cycle of sin and father-son antagonism, the Old Man kills his son. 

7 Sketch the character of the Old Man.

The Old Man is a little educated and a peddler by profession. He has killed his bad father for burning his mother’s honoured house. He seems to be a dutiful son to a mother. He thinks his mother’s soul is suffering in the purgatory for the sin she committed by bringing a man who later destroyed the house. He wants to release her soul from the purgatory. For this he has to break the cycle of violence. He kills his son to stop the boy having a son of his own and transmitting the sin.