Philadelphia, Here I Come!: Analysis of Major Characters
"Philadelphia, Here I Come!" is a poignant play that explores the complexities of identity, familial relationships, and the desire for escape through its main character, Gareth (Gar) O'Donnell. Set in the small Irish village of Ballybeg, Gar grapples with his impending move to Philadelphia, which he sees as a gateway to a more fulfilling life away from the constraints of his current existence. The play presents Gar in two dimensions: Gar Public, who interacts with others, and Gar Private, his internal voice, highlighting the conflict between his outward demeanor and inner turmoil.
Key characters include Gar's father, S.B. O'Donnell, whose stoicism and inability to express emotions create a barrier between them, and Madge, the housekeeper who embodies maternal warmth and wisdom. Gar's romantic interest, Kate Doogan, represents lost opportunities, as economic pressures lead her to marry another man, echoing broader societal issues. Other notable figures include Senator Doogan, who desires a prosperous match for his daughter, and the Sweeney family, who caricaturize the experience of Irish-Americans with their extravagant, yet superficial, view of America. Collectively, these characters create a rich tapestry that examines themes of aspiration, nostalgia, and the struggle for personal fulfillment against the backdrop of cultural identity.
Philadelphia, Here I Come!: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Brian Friel
First published: 1965
Genre: Play
Locale: Ballybeg, County Donegal, Ireland
Plot: Domestic
Time: The mid-1960's
Gareth (Gar) O'Donnell (Public), who is in his early twenties and is the son of a small shopkeeper in the Ballybeg, a small village in County Donegal, Ireland. On the eve of his departure for Philadelphia, where he will live with his aunt and uncle, Gar is eager to escape the limitations of life in Ireland: the taciturn father who cannot show affection, the girl who married another man, the friends caught in a state of perpetual adolescence, and the job with little present and no future. America represents the proverbial land of opportunity for Gar, but to pursue that opportunity he will have to leave the father and the country that—however they madden him—he loves deeply. The play catches Gar at the moment of absolute and irreversible transition from one life to another, and he is intelligent enough to sense what that transition will mean.
Gareth (Gar) O'Donnell (Private), the unseen Gar, “the man within, the conscience, the alter ego, the secret thoughts, the id.” Only Gar Public can see or hear Gar Private, and Gar Public never looks at him, even when they converse, because “One cannot look at one's alter ego.” The two Gars are played by different actors and are always together. Gar Public is polite, quiet, and ordinary (at least while he is with others). Gar Private is sardonic, flip, irreverent, and constantly ready to identify and laugh at the attitudes and foibles of both Irishmen and Americans.
S. B. O'Donnell, Gar's father, a dour shopkeeper, a creature of habit who finds it almost impossible to put his feelings into words and so cannot frame a farewell for the son whom he probably will never see again. His sleeplessness and inability to concentrate on the newspaper are the only signs of the deep emotion that he is feeling. Gar, driven to desperation by his failure to make contact with his father, thinks of him as “Skrewballs” or “Skinflint,” but Madge believes that Gar will end up just like his father.
Madge, the unmarried live-in housekeeper for Gar and his father. Kind and more an old friend of the family than a servant, she is the closest thing to a mother that Gar (whose mother died in childbirth) has known. Wise about both father and son, she tries to help bridge the gap between them, but there is little that she can do. Madge combines a sharp tongue with the warmest and most unselfish of natures; she is one of the world's givers.
Kate Doogan, the lively Irish beauty whom Gar loves and who loves him. The rosy future that they plan, with seven boys and seven girls, is destroyed partly by Gar's lack of prospects but also by his timidity. Knowing that he cannot really support a family, he is hesitant to speak to Kate's father, so she marries an older, established man. Her experience thus duplicates that of Gar's mother, who was twenty-five years younger than Gar's father, and epitomizes a typical Irish problem of the time, when economic difficulties led men to postpone marriage until their forties and made May-December unions the norm.
Senator Doogan, Kate's father. Although he is not hostile to Gar, he wants “the best” for his daughter and so encourages her to marry a man with more money.
Master Boyle, Gar's old schoolmaster. Almost a stereotype of the mind gone to waste in a stultifying atmosphere, he is pathetic in his pompous arrogance as he dispenses advice on his way to the pub, where he now spends most of his time.
Lizzy and Con Sweeney, Gar's aunt and uncle, who have emigrated to Philadelphia and want Gar to come to live with them. Caricatures of Irish Americans, they are extravagant in their praise of all that America has to offer at the same time that they make a pilgrimage to honor the old sod. Crass and materialistic, with a propensity to drink and grow sentimental, they have combined the weaker elements of both cultures and hint at what might lie ahead for Gar.
Ben Burton, the Sweeneys' American friend, who has come to Ballybeg with them. He is the only one in the play who recognizes that a place is just a place: “Ireland—America—what's the difference?”
Ned, Tom, and Joe, Gar's friends, who come to bid him farewell only because Madge has invited them to tea. Poorly educated and without prospects in the stagnant economy of Ballybeg, they are what Gar might become if he stayed. Trapped in perpetual adolescence, they spend most of their time telling impossible tales of their skill on the athletic field and their prowess with women.
CanonMickO'Byrne, the parish priest. He fails in what Gar sees as his chief priestly function—making sense of life. His regular chess games with Gar's father, complete with conversations that do not vary from night to night, are another instance of the stultifying routine that Gar is fleeing.