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Summary: Act III, Part 1

From the beginning of Act III to when Pegeen accepts Christy’s proposal

Later that afternoon, Jimmy and Philly enter the pub, slightly drunk. They discuss Christy’s performance in the sporting events as well as their annoyance at how often Christy tells the story of murdering his father. Old Mahon enters the pub and listens to their conversation, interrupting to tell them that his son tried to kill him by hitting him with a loy. Philly grows suspicious that Old Mahon is Christy’s father, but Widow Quin comes into the pub and tries to get Old Mahon away from Philly and Jimmy. Widow Quin tells Philly and Jimmy that Old Mahon has been driven crazy from his head wound and that he heard Christy’s story and thought that was what had happened to him.

Jimmy seems convinced by Widow Quin, but Philly, skeptical of her excuse, encourages Widow Quin to ask Old Mahon what his son is like. Widow Quin asks Old Mahon whether his son was skilled in sports, and Old Mahon angrily reminds her that his son was a lazy fool. Just then, they hear cheers coming from outside, and Old Mahon goes to the window to see the cause of the commotion. Widow Quin tells Old Mahon the villagers are cheering on the “Playboy of the Western World,” and Jimmy points out Christy, who is participating in the mule race. Old Mahon, confused, says the man looks like his son and makes to leave to see the race. Widow Quin stops Old Mahon from going outside and tells him to move on to another village. Philly tells Old Mahon to ignore Widow Quin and watch the race from the pub. They watch as Christy wins the race, but when Old Mahon sees the villagers lift the winner of the race up and carry him toward the pub, he realizes that the man is, in fact, his son Christy and goes to confront him.

Widow Quin and Philly pull Old Mahon back from going outside. Widow Quin insists that the winner is not his son but is a man engaged to the pub owner’s daughter. Old Mahon can’t believe that Christy would be able to win a competition or be engaged to a good woman and thinks he really might be crazy after all. Widow Quin convinces Old Mahon to leave and check himself into an asylum, but Philly goes after Old Mahon to find out the truth, and Jimmy follows. Christy and Pegeen come into the pub with a crowd of villagers, and after Christy receives his prizes for winning the races, Pegeen urges the crowd, including Widow Quin, to leave and allow Christy to rest. Alone in the pub, Christy says the only prize he wants is Pegeen’s promise to marry him. Pegeen teases that Christy will have moved on to a new girl in a few months. Christy insists that Pegeen is the only girl for him and uses poetic language to paint a picture of their future together and how they can travel the world. Overcome with emotion, Pegeen agrees to marry Christy.

Summary: Act III, Part 2

From when Pegeen accepts Christy’s proposal to the end of Act III

Pegeen and Christy separate as they hear Michael drunkenly singing as he approaches the pub. Michael comes in supported by Shawn and congratulates Christy on his success in the competitions but criticizes him for not giving his father a proper burial. Michael expresses pity for the family of the woman Christy will one day hope to wed and declares that he feels lucky to have found a good man in Shawn to marry his own daughter. Shawn tells Pegeen that they have received Father Reilly’s blessing to marry, but Pegeen states she will now be marrying Christy instead of Shawn.

Michael becomes horrified that Pegeen would marry someone who killed his own father and asks why Shawn is not acting upset or jealous. When Shawn admits he is too afraid to act on his jealousy, Michael encourages him to fight Christy. Shawn refuses and leaves the pub, so Michael gives Christy and Pegeen his blessing, saying he would rather Pegeen marry and have children with someone brave like Christy than someone weak like Shawn.

Old Mahon rushes into the pub followed by a crowd of villagers, announces himself as Christy’s father, and begins beating Christy. Christy tries to convince Pegeen that Old Mahon is a lunatic, but Pegeen realizes that Christy lied to her. Pegeen tells Old Mahon to take Christy away. When Christy begs Widow Quin to help, she says she has done all she could. Christy and Old Mahon continue to fight, and Christy picks up a loy and chases Old Mahon out of the pub. The crowd hears a loud noise followed by silence, and Christy comes back into the pub. Widow Quin warns Christy that the villagers have turned on him, but Christy believes that Pegeen and the villagers will praise him for finally having killed his father. Sara runs into the pub and warns Christy that the crowd plans to bring him to the police. Widow Quin and Sara tie one of Sara’s petticoats around Christy, hoping to sneak him past the crowd to a ferry, but Christy remains confident that he’s proven himself to be a hero. In a last-ditch effort to save Christy, Widow Quin insists that Christy belongs in an asylum, not jail, and goes to call a doctor.

Shawn and Pegeen use rope to confine Christy and turn him in to the police. Christy struggles and bites Shawn’s leg, trying to get free. Meanwhile, Old Mahon crawls back into the pub and asks why Christy is tied up. Michael explains that they must protect their own community from suspicion. Old Mahon loosens the rope and says they will leave but will tell everyone of the cruelty of the villagers in Mayo. Christy protests at first but then says he’ll go “like a gallant captain with his heathen slave” and pushes Old Mahon toward the door. Old Mahon, smiling, says he must have gone crazy again, and he and Christy leave. Michael is relieved that they can now enjoy their drinks in peace. Shawn reminds Pegeen that there are now no obstacles standing in the way of their wedding. Pegeen responds by hitting him on the head and crying that she has lost “the only Playboy of the Western World.”

Analysis: Act III

Although the audience witnesses Christy telling his story only a few times in the play, the fact that Jimmy and Philly discuss his constant retelling indicates how often Christy recounts the story “behind the scenes” in his attempt to paint himself as a heroic figure. Though the two men are not yet questioning whether Christy’s story is real, the fact that they are annoyed by hearing it so many times foreshadows that Christy’s way with language—a gift that has so impressed the villagers—may work against him and possibly lead to his demise.

When Philly and Jimmy do become suspicious that Old Mahon is Christy’s father, Widow Quin makes sure to describe Christy’s recent victories in a way that might trick Old Mahon into thinking the man he sees is not his son. Even though Old Mahon can clearly recognize that this “playboy” is his son, his perception of Christy as a weak failure is so deeply ingrained that he believes Widow Quin’s assertion that he must be insane. In this way, Widow Quin has used the power of language in her own way. She reshapes another person’s perception of reality through suggestion, and as such, she retains at least short-term control of the situation.

After Christy has emerged victorious from the sporting events, the image of him as a hero figure has cemented itself in Pegeen’s mind. She still cannot believe that such a person would choose herself over any other girl, but Christy uses poetic, evocative language to convince Pegeen that he loves only her. Pegeen is entranced by Christy’s words and the vision of a world beyond Mayo. After knowing Christy for only a day, Pegeen agrees to marry him, showing that she longs for a life outside the bounds of the village she has always known.

Although Michael remains impressed by Christy’s supposed ability to kill his father, he is still glad that his daughter is marrying someone without such a violent reputation, indicating that the villagers are not quite willing to fully welcome someone as audacious as Christy into their community. Therefore, Michael is horrified to hear that Pegeen now wants to marry Christy. However, Michael quickly changes his mind when he realizes that Shawn refuses to fight Christy for Pegeen and despises Shawn’s weakness and cowardice more than Christy’s violence.

Once the villagers realize that Christy did not actually kill his father, they quickly turn on him. Pegeen expresses not only a sense of betrayal that Christy lied to her but also disbelief that she and the other villagers treated Christy with such undeserved glory. Though Christy did indeed hit Old Mahon in the head with a loy, the villagers no longer see him as a hero as the act was mere assault rather than true murder. Even when Christy attempts to murder his father again in the same way and the villagers believe he was successful, their respect for him is permanently damaged. Such a change of heart reveals that they preferred to see Christy and his story as purely mythological rather than as something real that happened within their community.

Despite Christy having tried and failed to kill him twice, Old Mahon protects Christy from the villagers and shames them for turning on his son so easily, showing that his unconditional role as Christy’s father and defender remains unchanged. Christy, having finally experienced what it’s like to be respected, only agrees to leave with Old Mahon with the understanding that he will have the upper hand from then on. Rather than trying to keep his own position of power, Old Mahon seems impressed by Christy’s changed stance.

Once Christy and Old Mahon leave, Michael represents most of the villagers by admitting that life will return to business as usual. Shawn also believes that Pegeen will still marry him now that Christy is gone. However, even though Pegeen had only moments before tried to tie up Christy to turn him over to the police, Pegeen is distraught that the heroic figure she so longed for is gone, and she can no longer return to life as it was before.

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