Write about “Nora” in “In the shadow of the Glen” . How does the playwright present her character and situation, and how does he want the audience to respond to the ending of the play?

        We first meet Nora when she meets the tramp. He introduces himself to her and then, her him by saying

        “Good evening kindly stranger, it’s a wild night, God help you to be out in the rain falling.”

I have chosen this quotation because it shows the friendlier, kind side of Nora’s character. This could also been seen as Nora being flirtatious. She then goes on to invite the poor tramp into her house.

        “It doesn’t matter anyway, stranger, come in out of the rain.”

This quotation shows the more suspicious, crafty and unexpected side of Nora’s character. By Nora letting the tramp in she once again shows her flirtatious side without even socialising with him and it gives the audience bad vibes about her character. Instantly they can see that she is not the stereotypical lady of 1903.

        When Nora is first introduced she becomes the “bad” character. But that all changes when it is revealed that Dan is tricking her. The audience then begin to feel sorry for Nora. The playwright has totally swayed the emotions of the audience. The audience’s emotions change instantly when they find out that Dan is faking his death.

        This then becomes a comic element in the play. Then this line occurs in the play.

“Don’t be afeard stranger, a man that is dead can do no harm”

I have chosen this quote because it is such a great quote. It means different things to the audience and to the characters. To some characters this quote would seem very true but to the whole of the audience this quote would seem quite comic. This would seem comic to the audience because it is in a rural area and in 1903.

        Synge includes things in the play to make the audience feel sympathy for Nora. He set the scene as a miserable stormy and isolated place. By describing all these conditions and places he really puts the audience in the actual scene. He gives the audience a really boring feel towards the scene. He then mentions Peggy Cavanaugh.

        Peggy strolls around the streets and finding shelter in dirty places. She has no teeth and no hair.

        “She is now walking round on the roads or sitting in a dirty old house, with no teeth in her mouth, and no sense and no more hair.”        

I have chosen this quotation because it backs me saying about here being a dirty person.

        It is a surprise for the audience when the tramp suddenly offers a better life for Nora. This is a surprise for everyone because the tramp has been a very minor and quite character up until now. By choosing a life with the tramp she would be choosing a very poor life but maybe a happier life. It is as if the tramp is ahead of his time and is more of a romantic than a stereotypical early nineteen hundreds man.

        When Nora decides to spend the rest of her life with the tramp, Dan and Michael sit down and have a drink with each other. This shows male bonding. Whilst Dan and Michael are sat drowning there sorrows Nora is of starting a new and better life for herself. This therefore is conclusive evidence that the winner from all this is Nora (the so called badie) and the tramp (just a poor man from the streets). This play was all about showing the public what really does happen behind closed doors, but know one wants to admit it.