Anna Christie Book

I'd never seen nor read this 1922 Pulitzer Prize winning play, which was also awarded a Tony Award for best revival in 1993, but I listened to a good audio version this morning. I suspect--having seen a few of O'Neill's plays years ago, that this will not be considered one of his best, but it was engaging.

Old Chris, a sailor, meets his daughter Anna whom he hasn't seen for 15 years. Thy both have lied about their past. Mat Burke, another sailor, gets rescued and Anna and Mat fall in love. There's a struggle for control of Anna between the two men, who leave together on a boat bound for Cape Horn, both committed to return to her.

The Big Reveal (sorry, spoiler alert) that would have be shocking I imagine in a 1922 play, is that when Anna left home she left because she had been raped by a relative, was thus "unable to marry" and lived life as a prostitute. All of the principal characters have lied about their pasts, though, so the basic move of the play is forgiveness of each other.

I have been reading/listening to a lot of great drama; this doesn't quite measure up to some of the others I have been reading, but Anna is an interesting, strong, complex character, maybe especially given the time it was written.