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SYMBOLISM
IN
RIDERS TO THE SEA

B.A. 3RD YEAR, ENGLISH HONOURS

1. MOUPARNA SEN 215
2. PAYAL CHATTERJEE 325
3. SANCHARI BASAK 257
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SYMBOLISM

J.M.Synge’s Riders to the Sea is abundant with infinite symbolism. Synge unravels
its story through a meticulous employment of this literary device, which allows for the
incorporation of the reader’s personal associations with those those are traditionally ascribed
or inherited. For today’s audiences, such mental engagement requires the use of an
imagination, awareness in tradition, and a disposition for analytical thinking; while most of
the audiences in the 1900s would have instantly interpreted the significance of a given
symbol. The symbols operate along with the narrative in order to communicate its central
theme of mortality. Upon close examination of the play, it becomes evident that it employs
over twenty symbols. Many of the stage props that establish the provincial reality of an Aran
peasant’s cottage may also be symbolically interpreted to evoke a sense of foreboding, as
they all allude to death and transience. These symbols include the sea, net, spinning-wheel,
wooden boards, rope, horse, fire and the well.
One of the strongest symbols employed within Riders to the Sea, is that of the
sea. The degree of its importance becomes evident through its inclusion within the title of the
play. In ancient Mexico, the sea is considered to be “the watery underworld” and the symbol
of fertility. In the Christian tradition, the sea is often associated with the “mankind and its
dwelling by the flood”. In the mythology of Ancient Egypt, “the coming into being of earth
and life was conceived in terms of emergence from the sea”. Hence, it is interesting to note
that each of these seemingly unconnected sources have some relation to either the processes
of coming into or departing from this world, in other words with the process of life and death
which can also be interpreted with reference to Riders to the Sea. On the one hand the sea
provides the Aran islanders with their livelihood and on the other hand, it is the reason for the
death of generations of Aran fishermen. Maurya too has lost her father-in-law and her
husband to the sea and in the course of the play we see that the sea is again either directly or
indirectly responsible for the death of all her sons.
The very opening scene includes such specificity as “Cottage kitchen, with nets,
oilskins, spinning-wheel, some new boars standing by the wall…”.The cottage kitchen
suggests that it is the place where food is being cooked which supports life. The visual
images of the opening scene indicating both life and death are presented in the very same
sight. The inclusion of nets within the set is significant, due to their immense symbolic
relevance. Nets bring to us the idea about man being trapped in the nets of destiny. In Riders
to the Sea, the male characters desire to remain within, rather than depart from this world,
but their lives are unwillingly withdrawn from them, and they are not able to escape the laws
of the universe. Furthermore, according to the Old Testament, nets are “an expression of
anguish”, which can be attributed to the protagonist of this play. The fact that nets are often
associated with the entrapment of spiritual power further establishes the idea that with
acceptance of mortality comes spiritual and physical freedom. By the end of the play, Maurya
experiences a definite growth in the form of spiritual development, and she is able to attain
peace and serenity as a result
The set description mentions the presence of a spinning-wheel, which is
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abundant in symbolic relevance. The spinning-wheel indicates the main profession of the
Aran women. Cathleen and Nora represent the young women who will sustain the circle of
life by replenishing the earth through their own offspring, thus filling the void, which has
been created through the passing of their brothers and father. Within the context of the play,
the symbol of the spinning-wheel can be interpreted as the symbol of fertility. It represents
the wheel of life and reminds us of the classical allusion of the three sisters of destiny in
Greek mythology who spin the wheel – one sister provides the cotton, second spins the thread
and the third cut the thread. This symbolizes birth- life-death for mankind. This indicates that
this is a drama involving many deaths and surprisingly many deaths occur in the course of the
play. According to Jean Chevailer and Alian Gheerbrant, the wheel symbolizes “cycles, new
beginnings and renewal” (1099), which directly correlates to the theme of mortality. In
Buddhism, Buddha set in motion the Wheel of Law, which is the Law of Karma. This law
states that “there is no power able to reverse the direction in which the wheel revolves”. This
notion can be attributed to fate, which seizes the power to control over one’s future, out of
human hands of the Higher Power.
Synge repeatedly employs the symbol of fire, which is immensely rich and
multifaceted. The stage directions to the character of Nora, instructs her to put down the
kneaded cake in the pot-oven by the fire. In fact all of the proceedings within Maurya’s house
seem to transpire within the vicinity of the fire, which appears to be located in the center. The
fire represents the still center, while the characters can be regarded as human incarnations of
the solar constellations, which are drawn towards the fire through an unconscious desire to
reach warmth and restore energy. Juan E.Cirlot, in A Dictionary of Symbols, suggests that it
is associated with the concept of life and health as well as superiority and control, and has
developed into the “expression of spiritual energy”. Maurya too experiences spiritual growth
by the end of the play; however, it is attained at a high cost. She only realizes what was
always true after the death of her last son, and the closer she gets to fully internalizing the
concept of inevitability of death, the closer she comes to being burned by the fire herself,
which with time, similarly to death, consume all. Fire is the “agent of transmutation”,
considering that all things derive from and later return to fire. This is quite significant
because this notion supports the established theme of the cycle of life and death. Fire is the
“mediator between forms which vanish and forms in creation”. It represents destruction,
transformation and regeneration as similar to the qualities of the sea.
While talking to Bartley, Maurya says, “If it isn’t found itself, that wind is raising
the sea, and there was a star up against the moon, and it rising in the night. If it was a hundred
horses, or a thousand horses you had itself, what is the price of a thousand horses against a
son where there is one son only?” This passage is significant because of the symbol of the
horses. It is interesting to note that in Germany and England, to dream of a white horse is
considered to be an omen of death. Horses also stand for intense desires and instincts. Despite
the dangerous conditions, Bartley plans to sail to the Galway fair in order to sell the horses at
the fair. He does this without the consent of his aging mother. This intricacy illustrates one of
the examples through which Synge establishes the female dominance, in relation to
intuitiveness, insightfulness, and sharp-mindedness. When Maurya saw Bartley riding the red
mare and being followed by Michael on the grey pony, she was not grief-stricken to know
that Michael has died but what horrifies her is that she can interpret Bartley’s death because
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in Bible (Revelation chapter), the red horse represents life and the rider on the dark horse
represents death itself.
After Maurya comes back, having failed to bless Bartley and give him the bread,
she begins to explain a frightful sight that she had witnessed. She says, “I went down to the
spring well, and I stood there saying a prayer to myself. Then Bartley came along, and he
riding on the red mare with the grey pony behind him. …. The Son of god spare us, Nora!”
This passage is significant because of the symbolic relevance of the well. In all traditions,
wells are ascribed a sacred character. The spring well in the Aran Islands, is famous for
supernatural visions and the water of this well is said to have miraculous powers to heal
blindness. Maurya was saying a prayer by the well, at the bottom of which is the same
substance that was the cause of most of the deaths and suffering in her family; however,
without this substance the entire human kind would perish. This presents circularity in its
symbolism which is appropriate to its round physical form.
Synge has exploited colours and numbers symbolically to create a sense of
tragic suspense. He has repeatedly used and emphasized on the colour “black” in expressions
like “pig with the black feet”, “black night”, “black knot” and “black hags”. Black is the
colour that recurs throughout the play symbolizing death, danger and evil. When Synge refers
to the red mare and the grey pony, the colour ‘red’ conveys the vitality of life and ‘grey’
suggests the shadow of death. Synge constantly harps on the mysterious number three and
its multiples throughout the play with expressions like “three days”, “for two weeks or
beyond” referring to three weeks, “nine days”. This enhances the sense of evil and ominous
atmosphere prevailing throughout the play.
The complete comprehension of the thematic undercurrents within the narrative
of Riders to the Sea, by J.M.Synge, strongly depends on the understanding of its symbolic
content. Upon consideration of its numerous symbols, the reader or spectator uncovers layer
of profound truths, which would have been unreachable without a closer treatment of the text.
Upon such analysis it became evident that all of the considered symbols are tightly
interconnected amongst each other. Furthermore, they all possess another common
denominator, which is a strong relation to the theme of mortality and its inevitability.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
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