Analysis & Quotation: Philadelphia, Here I Come! : love and marriage

Question 1

Describe Friel’s treatment of love in the play?

Answer 1

The GVV he has appears to be quite harsh when we consider his treatment of love in this play

Question 2

What is Brain Friel’s view of love that he portrays in the play?

Answer 2

He offers an unsentimental and realistic view of love and gives little indication as to the redemptive or fulfilling power of love.
Romantic love is not for people in Ballybeg

Question 3

Who is the love interest of Gar O’Donnell?

Answer 3

Kate Doogan, the daughter of Senator Doogan

Question 4

Is Gar happy about his relationship with Kathy in the past? Why?

Answer 4

He is giddy with excitement about his relationship with Kate Doogan. The couple planned to get engaged by Christmas and married by Easter

Question 5

“Kathy, I’m ____ about you, I’ll never last till ______. I’ll…I’ll bloody well ______” Gar

Answer 5

“Kathy, I’m mad about you, I’ll never last till Easter. I’ll…I’ll bloody well burst” Gar

Question 6

How do Gar and Kate’s outlooks/approaches to love contrast each other?

Answer 6

Gar’s passionate romantic approach to love is undermined by Kate’s pragmatic, hardhearted view.

Question 7

Pragmatic meaning

Answer 7

dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations.

Question 8

How is Kate’s approach to love pragmatic?

Answer 8

She tells Gar that his salary is not enough for them to live on

Question 9

“No matter what you ____. We just couldn’t live on that much ________. It’s, it’s not _________. We’ll need more _______ than that” Kate Doogan

Answer 9

“No matter what you say. We just couldn’t live on that much money. It’s, it’s not possible. We’ll need more security than that” Kate Doogan

Question 10

What does Gar see in love? What does Kate see in love?

Answer 10

Gar sees love as something wonderful and life enhancing. He only sees what he has to gain by marrying Kate.
Kate sees love as something threatening and risky. She only sees what she has to lose by marrying GAr.

Question 11

What is Gar’s reaction to Kate telling him that his salary is too low?

Answer 11

Gar offers her assurances that he has a ‘source of income that nobody knows nothing about’

Question 12

What is Kate’s reaction to hearing that Gar has a ‘source of income’ unknown to others?

Answer 12

Convinced and enthused, Kate insists that they go to see her parents to ask for permission to marry.

Question 13

‘her _____ and I….. Let’s say we’re ______ in _____’. Senator Doogan

Answer 13

‘her mother and I….. Let’s say we’re living in hope’. Senator Doogan

Question 14

Who is Kate’s other suitor? Why?

Answer 14

Francis King, as he might be moving to Ballybeg to get the new dispensary job

Question 15

Describe Senator Doogan’s view of love

Answer 15

Senator Doogan’s view of love is that it is a transaction to be arranged between agreeable people.
love is a matter of obligation and measured by material wealth..

Question 16

What does Senator Doogan want for his daughter?

Answer 16

He wants to make sure his daughter marries someone that both he and his wife approve of, explaining that ‘Kate is our only child. In reality she will only marry a man that her parents find suitable.

Question 17

Why does Gar want to leave Ballybeg (in terms of love)?

Answer 17

Gar feels he must go away, in part, because of his shame at having his heart broken.

Question 18

How was Gar given the opportunity to leave Ballybeg? How is this relevant to Kate and Francis King?

Answer 18

He accepts his Aunt Lizzie’s offer of a new life in America on the day that Kate Doogan marries Doctor Francis King.

Question 19

What does Private Gar say about Gar’s spontaneous decision to take Aunt Lizzy up on her offer?

Answer 19

Private sniggers at Public’s silly and Impetuous decision to emigrate, claiming he only accepted Lizzie’s offer in order to avoid thinking about Kate marrying another man,

Question 20

There is no compassion or empathy for those who have lost love in Friel’s view. What does Gar do as a result of this?

Answer 20

Gar absorbs this negativity about love and reveals it to Kate Doogan when she comes to say to goodbye to him.

Question 21

What does Kate say to Gar on the last day he is in Ballybeg?

Answer 21

She wishes him the best of luck In America, ‘I hope you’re happy there and that life will be good to you’ she says.

Question 22

‘I hope you’re _______ there and that life will be ______ to you’ Kate Doogan

Answer 22

‘I hope you’re happy there and that life will be good to you’ Kate Doogan

Question 23

What does Gar see Kate’s farewell and goodwill as? What does he do?

Answer 23

Gar does not take Kate’s words as a sign of a generous spirit. Instead, he sees them as a sign of her vulnerability. He exploits her visit as a chance to voice his frustrations at Ballybeg,

Question 24

‘a bloody _______, a _________, a ____ end’ Gar to Kate

Answer 24

‘a bloody quagmire, a backwater, a dead end’ Gar to Kate
I hate the place…. and every stone and every rock and every piece of Heather around it. Hate it. Hate it.

Question 25

How does Gar describe Ballybeg to Kate when she comes to say her farewells?

Answer 25

He describes the place as ‘a bloody quagmire, a backwater, a dead end’

Question 26

What is Gar indirectly doing as he voices his frustrations about Ballybeg to Kate?

Answer 26

Gar is really attacking Kate ~ (indirectly who has broken his heart. So, when she is kind and warm towards him, he completely misjudges the tone of the conversation and unleashes a fiery rant.

Question 27

I _____ the place…. and every _____ and every _____ and every piece of _______ around it. Hate it. Hate it.

Answer 27

I hate the place…. and every stone and every rock and every piece of Heather around it. Hate it. Hate it.

Question 28

What does the depth and ferocity of Gar’s uncharacteristic outburst highlight/reveal about him?

Answer 28

The depth and ferocity of Gar’s uncharacteristic outburst, merely serves to highlight his inability to express what really concerns him, his sadness at losing the love of his life.

Question 29

What does Gar wish he had done different after meeting with Kate’s parents who indirectly shut-down any plans of marriage between the two?

Answer 29

This is the kind of anger he wishes he had shown her when their relationship ended, he wishes he had fought for her

Question 30

What is the GVV by the end of this scene?

Answer 30

The author’s view of love is that it can be an unforgiving thing, the depiction of love has a profound impact on the GVV…. The failure of Gar’s relationship with Kate casts a negative gloom over the play.