Riders to the Sea

Once Maurya has walked far enough that the girls feel she will not turn back, Cathleen and Nora retrieve the bundle from the turf-loft to examine its contents. The flannel shirt, Cathleen explains, could belong to anyone, since many men on the island and the mainland can buy that flannel pattern, but Nora recognizes the stockings she stitched for Michael herself. They grieve, but they stop themselves quickly when they hear their mother returning, as they wish to wait to tell her the news until she feels better about Bartley’s departure.

Maurya looks distraught when she enters, and the girls press her, asking if she was able to give Bartley her blessing. She claims the words of the blessing would not leave her mouth, and she explains that she had a vision as he passed her on the road. He had the gray pony riding behind him, tied to the donkey, and on the gray pony, Maurya saw an image of Michael wearing fine clothes and new shoes. She claims that this vision reveals Bartley will die, too. Maurya delivers a powerful and tragic monologue, telling her daughters about all the men she has lost to