Abandonment on Human Judgement Humans are generally social creatures. Thus, extreme traumatic experiences such as rejection, isolation or abandonment can be detrimental to the psyche. By the Bog of Cats. a tragedy genre play written by Marina Carr explores the life of Hester Swane, an Irish traveler who faces lots of abandonment throughout her life. At a young age, Hester’s mother leaves her, causing her to have serious abandonment issues. Then, her ex-husband decides to marry another woman. By describing Hester’s journey throughout the text, Carr suggests that the fear of abandonment can alter one’s rational judgement. The author illustrates this idea by presenting the symbolism of the black swan. The play writer also demonstrates how a fear …show more content…
This fear of abandonment causes Hester to act quite brash and hence, her actions are unplanned when concerning Josie. For example, when Josie expresses her desire to go on the honeymoon, Hester bursts in fear, worried that her daughter will leave her forever. Consequently, Hester kills Josie. This is because Hester was already planning to kill herself, with an “auld fishin’ knife [that she] had for years”, long before talking to Josie that evening (Carr 112). It is only once Carthage threatens to take Josie away and once Josie explains to Hester how she will be “hopin’ and waitin’ and prayin’ for [her] to return” that Hester decides to kill Josie (Carr 114). This guarantees both can stay together forever. This act of care Hester does to protect her daughter from abandonment demonstrates how her fear of abandonment affects her judgement. This is because she reaches the point of murder to ensure Josie does not disappear from her. In short, Hester’s fear of abandonment pushes her to commit murder so she can hold onto her …show more content…
Moreover, Hester acts to ensure that Carthage’s memory of her is never lost and that he will never leave her. For example, the wedding occurring between Caroline and Carthage reveals a large fear of Hester’s. Her ex’s wedding reminds Hester how she never officially made Carthage hers. As Hester is quite possessive of her loved ones, she cannot bear the idea of those betraying her, as Carthage is doing by marrying Caroline. Hence, Hester shows up to the wedding in a wedding dress, which guarantees that Carthage’s memory of the event includes her presence. In addition, Hester again ensures that Carthage’s memory of her is never lost when she passes away. She tells Carthage that he will not “forget [her] now, [.], and when [.] [he] think[s] [that he has] almost forgotten [about her] again, [he can] take a walk along the Bog of Cats and wait for a purlin’ wind [.]. That’ll be [Hester] and Josie ghosin’ [him]” (Carr 117). This presence Hester lays upon Carthage secures the lurking memory of her in his mind, thus guaranteeing that Carthage can never leave her.