Short Plays · Chapter
Act II explained
Early morning, Sarah Casey prepares for her wedding to Michael, washing and dressing with new handkerchiefs.
What happens
Early morning, Sarah Casey prepares for her wedding to Michael, washing and dressing with new handkerchiefs. Mary Byrne wakes and tries to interfere, hiding the tin can meant as a payment. Sarah threatens Mary with a hammer. Mary argues against marriage, claiming it brings no relief from life's hardships. The priest arrives, and Sarah gives him the gold, but when he opens the bundle, three empty bottles fall out instead of the can. The priest refuses to marry them, accusing them of deceit. Sarah blames Mary, who hides behind the priest, and a violent confrontation ensues.
Themes in this chapter
Deception and Appearance
Sarah and Michael attempt to present a respectable front for their wedding, but Mary's theft of the tin can and substitution with empty bottles exposes their deceit, leading to the priest's refusal.
Gender Roles and Marriage
Sarah's desire for a formal marriage is challenged by Mary's cynical view that marriage brings no relief from women's suffering, highlighting tensions between traditional expectations and practical realities.
Characters to notice
- Sarah Casey
Anxious and excited about her wedding, she washes and dresses with new handkerchiefs, threatens Mary with a hammer, and desperately pleads with the priest to marry them after the can is missing.
- Mary Byrne
Wakes from sleep, tries to interfere with the wedding preparations, hides the tin can, and later blames Sarah for the deceit, hiding behind the priest for protection.
- Micheal Dara
Tidies himself for the wedding, expresses concern about spending money, and supports Mary's argument against marriage, but ultimately follows Sarah's lead.
- Priest
Arrives in surplice, impatient and hungry, accepts the gold but discovers the empty bottles, angrily refuses to marry the couple, and accuses them of lying and thieving.
Key passages
“Let you go over, now, to the bundle beyond, and you'll find a kind of a red handkerchief to put upon your neck, and a green one for myself.”
Go to that bundle and get the red handkerchief for your neck and the green one for me.
Sarah instructs Michael to fetch the handkerchiefs she bought for their wedding attire.
“Is it putting that ring on your finger will keep you from getting an aged woman and losing the fine face you have, or be easing your pains?”
Do you think a wedding ring will stop you from aging or suffering?
Mary argues that marriage does not protect women from the hardships of life.
“It's a wicked, thieving, lying, scheming lot you are, the pack of you.”
You are all a deceitful and dishonest group.
The priest condemns the tinkers after discovering the empty bottles instead of the tin can.