Editing Mourning Becomes Electra (section)

==Characters and background==
===Main characters===
* Brigadier General Ezra Mannon
* Christine Mannon, ''his wife''
* Lavinia Mannon –  ''their daughter''
* Orin Mannon  –  ''their son, First Lieutenant of Infantry''
* Captain Adam Brant   – ''of the clipper "Flying Trades"''
* Captain Peter Niles   – ''Orin's friend, from the U.S. Artillery''
* Hazel Niles – ''his sister''
* Seth Beckwith  – ''the old family retainer and gardener''

===Chorus of townsfolk – (various chorus members appear in different scenes)===
* Amos Ames – ''a middle-aged carpenter''
* Louisa Ames – ''Amos' wife''
* Minnie – ''Louisa's cousin''
* The Chantyman
* Josiah Bordon – ''manager of the shipping company''
* Emma – ''his wife''
* Everett Hills, D.D. – ''of the First Congregational Church''
* His wife
* Doctor Joseph Blake – ''a family physician''
* Ira Mackel – ''an old farmer''
* Joe Silva  – ''a Portuguese fishing captain''
* Abner Small – ''a little old clerk in a hardware store''

The story is a retelling of the ''[[Oresteia]]'' by [[Aeschylus]]. The characters parallel characters from the ancient Greek plays. For example, [[Agamemnon]] from the ''Oresteia'' becomes General Ezra Mannon. [[Clytemnestra]] becomes Christine, Orestes becomes Orin, [[Electra]] becomes Lavinia, Aegisthus becomes Adam Brant, etc. As a [[Greek tragedy]] made modern, the play features [[murder]], [[adultery]], [[incest|incestuous love]], and [[revenge]], as well as a group of [[townspeople]] who function as a kind of [[Greek chorus]]. Although [[destiny|fate]] alone guides characters' actions in Greek tragedies, O'Neill's characters also have motivations grounded in [[1930s]]-era [[psychology|psychological]] theory. The play can easily be read from a [[Freudian]] perspective, paying attention to various characters' [[Oedipus complex]]es and [[Electra complex]]es.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Meldy |first1=Sania |last2=Junaidi |first2= Junaidi |last3=Syam |first3=Essy |date=October 2020 |title=The Tragic Lives of Oedipus Complex and Electra Complex Sufferers in Eugene O'Neill's ''Mourning Becomes Electra'' |url=https://journal.unilak.ac.id/index.php/elsya/article/download/4940/2372/ |journal=Elsya: Journal of English Language Studies |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=93–100 |doi=10.31849/elsya.v2i3.4940 |access-date=May 30, 2024|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gandouz |first1=Olfa |date=April 16, 2019 |title=A Postmodern Reading of Versatile Writing in Eugene O'Neill's ''Mourning Becomes Electra'' |url=https://dspace.uni.lodz.pl/bitstream/handle/11089/43667/document%20%2811%29.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |journal=Zagadnienia Rodzajów Literackich |volume=61 |issue=1 |pages=115–126 |doi=10.26485/ZRL/2018/61.1/8 |access-date=May 30, 2024}}</ref>

''Mourning Becomes Electra'' is divided into three plays with themes that correspond to the ''Oresteia'' trilogy. Much like the Aeschylus plays ''Agamemnon'', ''The Libation Bearers'', and ''The Eumenides'', these three plays by O'Neill are correspondingly titled ''Homecoming'', ''The Hunted'', and ''The Haunted'', respectively. These plays are normally not produced individually, however, but only as part of the larger trilogy. Each play contains four to five acts, with only the first act of ''The Haunted'' being divided into actual scenes. Thus, ''Mourning Becomes Electra'' is extraordinarily lengthy. In many productions, the length is cut for the sake of practicality, and the chorus of townsfolk cut from productions due to the expense, leaving only the eight main players.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}