Dimensions Of Mary’s Image In The Land Of Heart’s Desire

William Butler Yeats is one of the most popular playwrights in Ireland. The Land of Heart’s Desire (1894) is Yeats’s first poetic drama brought on stage with a succinct plot. And since its publication, not so many scholars have paid much attention to it. Up to now some researchers have interpreted it from the perspectives of ethical ideals and Irishness, etc. On the basis of a close reading of the text, this thesis focuses on the unique multi-dimensional features of Mary’s image on mythological, religious and cultural levels by using the archetypal critical approach.Chapter One focuses on the mythological dimension of Mary’s image. The Land of Heart’s Desire draws materials from a series of Irish folk tales with similar themes, and meanwhile corresponds to Greek mythology. It mainly discusses that Mary’s image as a female "Dionysus" and a substitute of "Leda" deeply reflects Yeats’s worldview and characterizes his desperation for the cause of Irish national independence.Chapter Two concentrates on the religious dimension of Mary’s image, and underlines her special position in Yeats’s poetic dramas by means of the analysis of her image as a "Blessed Virgin Mary". Because of the great influence from Catholic culture in the early period, Mary in The Land of Heart’s Desire is sculptured as an innocent, kind and benevolent woman. Tracing back to ancient Irish religious rituals and festivals, Mary’s image coincides with that of "the Queen" in the "May Day" ceremony. And through adopting such similar archetype of religious rituals, Yeats integrates his poetic dramas with ceremonies to encourage Irish people heading for the new world. Henceforth, Mary symbolizes Irish people’s hope for new life and farewell to the English colonizers’ oppression and domination.Chapter Three examines the cultural dimension of Mary’s image through Yeats’s theory of "Mask". In order to sculpture Mary as "Maud Gonne" he is longing for, Yeats makes an ideal mask on her, which turns out to resonate Cathleen’s image in two of his later poetic dramas. The ideal "Cathleen" becomes a combination of benevolence, equality and passion, so that Mary falls to be the very representative of a personified "Erin", revealing Yeats’s indelible Irish national cultural identity.In brief case, the archetypal dimensions of Mary’s image in The Land of Heart’s Desire reflect the unique national characteristics of Yeats’s early drama creation by inserting ancient myths and personal ideas, and display his intension of stimulating Irish national consciousness.