“The Meaning of What You Mean Now”: Domestic and Psychological Spaces in More Stately Mansions

Sara Melody and Deborah Harford have often been viewed as allegorical representations of Simon Harford's mind, but this essay examines Sara and Deborah as intricately expressive characters in their own right who outgrew O'Neill's original intentions as the play became, in O'Neill's words, “oversize.” A close examination of the domestic spaces occupied by the women in More Stately Mansions reveals the women's complex and antithetical personalities, as well as their underlying psychological motives as they seek to manipulate Simon Harford. Ultimately, none of the play's domestic spaces offers refuge for any of the characters, resulting in an epilogue that is anticlimactic.