Desire Under the Elms

by

Eugene O’Neill

The protagonist of the play, Eben is Maw and Ephraim Cabot’s son, Simeon and Peter’s younger half-brother, and Abbie’s love interest. Eben is young and handsome, though he always wears a bitter and resentful expression on his face. He firmly believes that Cabot stole the family’s farmhouse from his Maw, who died some years ago. (In truth, the farmhouse is actually Cabot’s, but Eben is stubborn in his conviction.) Maw died when Eben was a teenager, after a gruelling life of relentless farm labor. Eben thus believes that Cabot worked Maw to death, and he’s obsessed with the idea of avenging her death and taking the farm back for himself. Eben senses that Maw’s oppressive, maternal energy haunts the farmhouse, as symbolized the elm trees that loom over the home. Eben’s desire to let Maw’s spirit rest in peace drives all of his actions in the play, but he is so overwhelmed by his feelings of bitterness and resentment that he often acts impulsively and makes bad decisions. He also allows himself to be seduced by Cabot’s new (and much younger) wife, Abbie. They fall in love and secretly have a baby boy (whom Cabot believes is his own son), and Eben’s guilt over this consumes him. Despite being in love with Abbie, Eben still suspects that Abbie is scheming to take the farm for herself, and when he confronts her about this, he sets off a catastrophic chain of events that leads to both his and Abbie’s downfalls, as well as their baby’s death. Eben’s character arc reflects the play’s key idea that desire—like Eben’s lust for Abbie and desire to avenge his mother’s death—can lead to rash behavior if left unchecked, and that this kind of behavior can lead to tragedy.

Eben Quotes in Desire Under the Elms

The Desire Under the Elms quotes below are all either spoken by Eben or refer to Eben. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Desire, Revenge, and Tragedy Theme Icon
).
Part 1: Scene 1 Quotes

Two enormous elms are on each side of the house. They bend their trailing branches down over the roof. They appear to protect and at the same time subdue. There is a sinister maternity in their aspect, a crushing, jealous absorption. […] They brood oppressively over the house. They are like exhausted women resting their sagging breasts and hands and hair on its roof, and when it rains their tears trickle down monotonously and rot on the shingles.

Related Characters: Ephraim Cabot, Eben, Maw
Related Symbols: Elm Trees
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 3
Explanation and Analysis:

Here—it’s stones atop o’ the ground—stones atop o’ stones—makin’ stone walls—year atop o’ year—him ’n’ yew ’n’ me ’n’ then Eben—makin’ stone walls fur him to fence us in!

Related Characters: Peter (speaker), Ephraim Cabot, Eben, Simeon
Related Symbols: Stones
Page Number: 4
Explanation and Analysis:

‘T would be hard fur me, too, to give up what we’ve ‘arned here by our sweat.

Related Characters: Peter (speaker), Ephraim Cabot, Eben, Abbie Putnam, Simeon, Maw
Page Number: 4
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1: Scene 2 Quotes

They was chores t’ do, wa’n’t they?

Related Characters: Eben (speaker), Simeon, Peter, Maw
Page Number: 8
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1: Scene 3 Quotes

Waal—when I seen her, I didn’t hit her—nor I didn’t kiss her nuther—I begun t’ beller like a calf an’ cuss at the same time, I was so durn mad—an’ she got scared—an’ I jest grabbed holt an’ tuk her! (Proudly) Yes, siree! I tuk her. She may’ve been his ’n—an’ your ’n, too—but she’s mine now! […] What do I care fur her—‘ceptin she’s round an’ wa’m?

Related Characters: Eben (speaker), Ephraim Cabot, Abbie Putnam, Simeon, Peter, Minnie
Page Number: 13
Explanation and Analysis:

Mebbe it’s all a lie ‘bout Paw marryin’. We’d best wait an’ see the bride.

Related Characters: Simeon (speaker), Ephraim Cabot, Eben, Abbie Putnam, Peter
Page Number: 14
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: Scene 1 Quotes

(enraged beyond endurance—wildly vindictive) An’ his lust fur me! Kin ye find excuses fur that?

Related Characters: Abbie Putnam (speaker), Ephraim Cabot, Eben, Minnie
Page Number: 30
Explanation and Analysis:

(frightened now for Eben) No! Don’t ye!

Related Characters: Abbie Putnam (speaker), Ephraim Cabot, Eben
Page Number: 31
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: Scene 2 Quotes

I lived with the boys. They hated me ‘cause I was hard. I hated them ‘cause they was soft. They coveted the farm without knowin’ what it meant. It made me bitter ‘n wormwood. It aged me—them coveting what I’d made fur mine. Then this spring the call come—the voice o’ God cryin’ in my wilderness, in my lonesomeness—t’ go out an’ seek an’ find! […] I sought ye an’ I found ye! Yew air my Rose o’ Sharon!

Related Characters: Ephraim Cabot (speaker), Eben, Abbie Putnam, Simeon, Peter
Page Number: 35
Explanation and Analysis:

But her eyes are fixed on his so burningly that his will seems to wither before hers. He stands swaying toward her helplessly.

Related Characters: Ephraim Cabot, Eben, Abbie Putnam, Minnie
Page Number: 37
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: Scene 3 Quotes

(In spite of her overwhelming desire for him, there is a sincere maternal love in her manner and voice—a horribly frank mix of lust and mother love). Don’t cry Eben! I'll take yer Maw’s place! I'll be everythin’ she was t’ ye! Let me kiss ye, Eben! […] Can’t ye see it hain’t enuf—lovin’ ye like a Maw—can’t ye see it’s got t’ be that an’ more—much more—a hundred times more—fur me t’ be happy—fur yew t’ be happy?

Related Characters: Abbie Putnam (speaker), Ephraim Cabot, Eben, Maw
Page Number: 39
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Scene 1 Quotes

Let's celebrate the old skunk gittin’ fooled! We kin have some fun now he’s went.

Related Characters: Fiddler (speaker), Ephraim Cabot, Eben, Abbie Putnam, The Baby (Abbie and Eben’s Son)
Page Number: 49
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Scene 2 Quotes

They grapple in what becomes immediately a murderous struggle. The old man's concentrated strength is too much for Eben. Cabot gets one hand on his throat and presses him back across the stone wall. At the same moment, Abby comes out on the porch. With a stifled cry she runs toward them.

Related Characters: Ephraim Cabot, Eben, Abbie Putnam, The Baby (Abbie and Eben’s Son)
Page Number: 51
Explanation and Analysis:

I wish he never was born! I wish he’d die this minit! I wish I’d never set eyes on him! It’s him—yew havin’ him-a-purpose t’ steal—that’s changed everythin’!

Related Characters: Eben (speaker), Abbie Putnam, The Baby (Abbie and Eben’s Son)
Page Number: 53
Explanation and Analysis:

If I could make it—‘s if he’d never come up between us—if I could prove t’ ye I wa’n’t schemin’ t’ steal from ye—so’s everythin’ could be jest the same with us, lovin’ each other jest the same, kissin’ an’ happy the same’s we’ve been happy afore he come—if I could do it—ye’d love me agen, wouldn’t ye? Ye’d kiss me agen? Ye wouldn’t never leave me, would ye?

Related Characters: Abbie Putnam (speaker), Eben, The Baby (Abbie and Eben’s Son)
Page Number: 54
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Scene 3 Quotes

But I’ll take vengeance now! I’ll git the Sheriff! I’ll tell him everythin’!

Related Characters: Eben (speaker), Ephraim Cabot, Abbie Putnam, The Baby (Abbie and Eben’s Son), Sheriff
Page Number: 57
Explanation and Analysis:

I kin hear His voice warnin’ me agen t’ be hard an’ stay on my farm. […] It’s agoin’ t’ be lonesomer now than ever it war afore-an’ I’m gittin’ old […] Waal—what d’ ye want? God’s lonesome, hain’t He? God’s hard an’ lonesome!

Related Characters: Ephraim Cabot (speaker), Eben, Abbie Putnam, The Baby (Abbie and Eben’s Son)
Page Number: 63
Explanation and Analysis:

It’s a jim-dandy farm, no denyin’. Wished I owned it!

Related Characters: Sheriff (speaker), Eben, Abbie Putnam, The Baby (Abbie and Eben’s Son)
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 64
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Desire Under the Elms LitChart as a printable PDF.
Desire Under the Elms PDF

Eben Quotes in Desire Under the Elms

The Desire Under the Elms quotes below are all either spoken by Eben or refer to Eben. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Desire, Revenge, and Tragedy Theme Icon
).
Part 1: Scene 1 Quotes

Two enormous elms are on each side of the house. They bend their trailing branches down over the roof. They appear to protect and at the same time subdue. There is a sinister maternity in their aspect, a crushing, jealous absorption. […] They brood oppressively over the house. They are like exhausted women resting their sagging breasts and hands and hair on its roof, and when it rains their tears trickle down monotonously and rot on the shingles.

Related Characters: Ephraim Cabot, Eben, Maw
Related Symbols: Elm Trees
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 3
Explanation and Analysis:

Here—it’s stones atop o’ the ground—stones atop o’ stones—makin’ stone walls—year atop o’ year—him ’n’ yew ’n’ me ’n’ then Eben—makin’ stone walls fur him to fence us in!

Related Characters: Peter (speaker), Ephraim Cabot, Eben, Simeon
Related Symbols: Stones
Page Number: 4
Explanation and Analysis:

‘T would be hard fur me, too, to give up what we’ve ‘arned here by our sweat.

Related Characters: Peter (speaker), Ephraim Cabot, Eben, Abbie Putnam, Simeon, Maw
Page Number: 4
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1: Scene 2 Quotes

They was chores t’ do, wa’n’t they?

Related Characters: Eben (speaker), Simeon, Peter, Maw
Page Number: 8
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1: Scene 3 Quotes

Waal—when I seen her, I didn’t hit her—nor I didn’t kiss her nuther—I begun t’ beller like a calf an’ cuss at the same time, I was so durn mad—an’ she got scared—an’ I jest grabbed holt an’ tuk her! (Proudly) Yes, siree! I tuk her. She may’ve been his ’n—an’ your ’n, too—but she’s mine now! […] What do I care fur her—‘ceptin she’s round an’ wa’m?

Related Characters: Eben (speaker), Ephraim Cabot, Abbie Putnam, Simeon, Peter, Minnie
Page Number: 13
Explanation and Analysis:

Mebbe it’s all a lie ‘bout Paw marryin’. We’d best wait an’ see the bride.

Related Characters: Simeon (speaker), Ephraim Cabot, Eben, Abbie Putnam, Peter
Page Number: 14
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: Scene 1 Quotes

(enraged beyond endurance—wildly vindictive) An’ his lust fur me! Kin ye find excuses fur that?

Related Characters: Abbie Putnam (speaker), Ephraim Cabot, Eben, Minnie
Page Number: 30
Explanation and Analysis:

(frightened now for Eben) No! Don’t ye!

Related Characters: Abbie Putnam (speaker), Ephraim Cabot, Eben
Page Number: 31
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: Scene 2 Quotes

I lived with the boys. They hated me ‘cause I was hard. I hated them ‘cause they was soft. They coveted the farm without knowin’ what it meant. It made me bitter ‘n wormwood. It aged me—them coveting what I’d made fur mine. Then this spring the call come—the voice o’ God cryin’ in my wilderness, in my lonesomeness—t’ go out an’ seek an’ find! […] I sought ye an’ I found ye! Yew air my Rose o’ Sharon!

Related Characters: Ephraim Cabot (speaker), Eben, Abbie Putnam, Simeon, Peter
Page Number: 35
Explanation and Analysis:

But her eyes are fixed on his so burningly that his will seems to wither before hers. He stands swaying toward her helplessly.

Related Characters: Ephraim Cabot, Eben, Abbie Putnam, Minnie
Page Number: 37
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: Scene 3 Quotes

(In spite of her overwhelming desire for him, there is a sincere maternal love in her manner and voice—a horribly frank mix of lust and mother love). Don’t cry Eben! I'll take yer Maw’s place! I'll be everythin’ she was t’ ye! Let me kiss ye, Eben! […] Can’t ye see it hain’t enuf—lovin’ ye like a Maw—can’t ye see it’s got t’ be that an’ more—much more—a hundred times more—fur me t’ be happy—fur yew t’ be happy?

Related Characters: Abbie Putnam (speaker), Ephraim Cabot, Eben, Maw
Page Number: 39
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Scene 1 Quotes

Let's celebrate the old skunk gittin’ fooled! We kin have some fun now he’s went.

Related Characters: Fiddler (speaker), Ephraim Cabot, Eben, Abbie Putnam, The Baby (Abbie and Eben’s Son)
Page Number: 49
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Scene 2 Quotes

They grapple in what becomes immediately a murderous struggle. The old man's concentrated strength is too much for Eben. Cabot gets one hand on his throat and presses him back across the stone wall. At the same moment, Abby comes out on the porch. With a stifled cry she runs toward them.

Related Characters: Ephraim Cabot, Eben, Abbie Putnam, The Baby (Abbie and Eben’s Son)
Page Number: 51
Explanation and Analysis:

I wish he never was born! I wish he’d die this minit! I wish I’d never set eyes on him! It’s him—yew havin’ him-a-purpose t’ steal—that’s changed everythin’!

Related Characters: Eben (speaker), Abbie Putnam, The Baby (Abbie and Eben’s Son)
Page Number: 53
Explanation and Analysis:

If I could make it—‘s if he’d never come up between us—if I could prove t’ ye I wa’n’t schemin’ t’ steal from ye—so’s everythin’ could be jest the same with us, lovin’ each other jest the same, kissin’ an’ happy the same’s we’ve been happy afore he come—if I could do it—ye’d love me agen, wouldn’t ye? Ye’d kiss me agen? Ye wouldn’t never leave me, would ye?

Related Characters: Abbie Putnam (speaker), Eben, The Baby (Abbie and Eben’s Son)
Page Number: 54
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Scene 3 Quotes

But I’ll take vengeance now! I’ll git the Sheriff! I’ll tell him everythin’!

Related Characters: Eben (speaker), Ephraim Cabot, Abbie Putnam, The Baby (Abbie and Eben’s Son), Sheriff
Page Number: 57
Explanation and Analysis:

I kin hear His voice warnin’ me agen t’ be hard an’ stay on my farm. […] It’s agoin’ t’ be lonesomer now than ever it war afore-an’ I’m gittin’ old […] Waal—what d’ ye want? God’s lonesome, hain’t He? God’s hard an’ lonesome!

Related Characters: Ephraim Cabot (speaker), Eben, Abbie Putnam, The Baby (Abbie and Eben’s Son)
Page Number: 63
Explanation and Analysis:

It’s a jim-dandy farm, no denyin’. Wished I owned it!

Related Characters: Sheriff (speaker), Eben, Abbie Putnam, The Baby (Abbie and Eben’s Son)
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 64
Explanation and Analysis: