The Quest for Happiness in Nina Leeds from the Play Strange Interlude by Eugene O’Neill

Abstract

This research has explored the quest for happiness in Nina Leeds. The conceptual framework of Soran Frank has been used for this research. It is derived proposition from his work Migration and Literature that the quest has four stages. First stage is Quest in which a character feels longing for something. The second stage is Inquest in which a character puts effort to gain that thing. The third stage is Conquest in which a character attains the thing and become happy. The last stage is Consequent in which a character loses the thing and again this whole process continues. This proposition also suggests that the happiness is momentary. It lasts for some time and then it vanishes. The same thing is found in the character of Nina Leeds. Throughout the play, she runs after happiness which she attains momentarily. After attaining the happiness, something erodes that happiness and she begins to run after happiness again. It carries on until she gets utterly disappointed and stops longing for happiness. She undergoes all these four stages throughout the play but she realizes at the end that it is futile quest to long for happiness because it never lasts. So, finally she gets herself out of this quest.

Keywords: Quest, Happiness, Strange Interlude, Eugene O’Neill