Connections to Modern Era

The Enemy Within is set in the early Christian period in Ireland, unlike the majority of Friel's other plays. Even though the time and place are removed from the politics of the time Friel was writing, the themes in The Enemy Within reflect the conflict and politics within Ireland in the 1960s and 70s. The tribal and religious conflict, and the decisions made regarding each in The Enemy Within are a reflection of Friel’s Nationalist attitude towards the conflict happening in Ireland.

Anti-War Themes

In an interview with Peter Lennon, Friel attests to being a practicing Catholic and a Nationalist (1). Unlike most political parties in Ireland, Nationalists are peaceable and support Northern Ireland as a self-governed and independent nation. Nationalists do not support violence and war going on in Ireland over land and governing power. Anti-war views are expressed in The Enemy Within through the monks in Iona. In Act 1, when trying to persuade Columba against going to the aid of his family, Grillaan exclaims, “Do you absolve them before they reel into battle, their beery faces flushed with blood lust, or do you wait until ‘right’ has conquered and give the dead of both sides conditional absolution?” (Friel, Act 1, 33). Grillaan reminds Columba that no matter the reason, war is sinful and wrong. It does not matter if the intentions are honorable, the choice to engage in war is, in itself, against their values, and overrides any good intentions that led to the war. Grillaan’s anti-war message reflects Nationalist feelings about the conflict and violent tensions happening in Ireland.

Separation Issues

Nationalists also support the independence of Northern Ireland. In other words, they desire to cut ties with the rest of Ireland, as well as Great Britain, and be a separate country. Columba represents the struggle for Nationalists to cut ties with family that live on the mainland. In Act 1, Grillaan, the Nationalist voice, tells Columba, “The last tie, Columba. Cut it now” (Friel, Act 1, 34). He reminds Columba how far he has come from his tribal roots and the only thing still holding him back from success is his attachment to his family. Columba feels loyalty to both his monastic family and his tribal family. He is unable to fully cut the tie from his tribal family because he feels responsibilities to them. In an interview with Peter Lennon, Friel states, “You have to get away from a corrupting influence. I think in Ireland we feed on each other a lot; we batten on each other” (4). Friel uses Columba’s family as the corrupting influence that he must get away from. In the Nationalist mindset, in order for them to achieve greatness, they must separate themselves from the rest of Ireland. Columba must achieve full separation to reach enlightenment.

Irish Identity Issues

Columba’s restlessness at the monastery matches the conflicting identities in Ireland in the Modern Era. In Act 1, Columba asks Caornan to pray for him. He goes on to describe a dream he had about a time when he was a child and how much he loved Ireland. Columba yearns for the place of his childhood and seems unsure of his identity (Friel, Act 1, 20). Professor Christopher Murray, Irish Drama Scholar, states, “In Friel’s work exile is symptomatic of unbearable dislocation; it is in itself a spiritual state. To venture into this other territory is to venture into instability rather than into fulfillment” (xiii). Murray suggests that Friel focuses on the instability of dislocated people. Columba has gone into exile, away from his family and beloved Ireland in order to find peace, but he is troubled by his longing for what he has left behind. Instead of letting go of his old life like he is supposed to, he cannot forget it. Columba’s troubles mirror the identity struggles of the Irish people in the 1960s and 70s. Ireland was fighting for independence from Britain, but they were still under colonization. In the process, many people found themselves fighting with other Irish people about the best way to achieve independence, causing instability within the country rather than a united front they had hoped for. Three different parties emerged within the fight for independence: Republicans, who wished for one Irish Republic; Nationalists, who wished for Northern Ireland to be an independent nation; and Unionists, who stood with Britain. Many were so passionate about the future of Ireland that they left the bonds of family for their party. Adding to this, Britain was forcing its own identity upon the Irish in an attempt to colonize. With so many forces upon them, there was great unrest within the Irish people. Friel attempts to communicate longing for the past and the Ireland they imagined through Columba’s nostalgia for his boyhood days.

Columba as Ireland

Columba’s character represents the struggle over Ireland that was happening at the time Friel was writing. Columba belongs to two families, his tribal family and his monastic family. They both have their own ideas about how Columba should live and act and they both try to persuade him to their sides. In Act 1, when Brian, the messenger, attempts to bring Columba to his family’s aid, Grillaan attempts to dissuade him from going (Friel, Act 1, 32-34). Brian may represent the Republicans that wished to fight wars for Ireland. While Grillaan cannot directly represent the Unionists, that wished to negotiate with Britain, he did wish for Columba to remain at Iona, which was off the coast of Scotland. Grillaan's wish pulled Columba closer to the British isles and farther away from his homeland of Ireland. Columba, in this sense, represents Ireland. He is the head of the monestary, and he has a great deal of power within his own family. Each party has a great desire to possess his potential and has very different ideas about how to use it. In the end, it is Columba that gets hurt because he is torn in two different directions and cannot find fulfillment either way. Richard Pine, author of The Diviner, The Art of Brian Friel, suggests that Columba's real conflict is within his own families and this conflict has the potential to destroy him. Pine states, “Friel establishes these tenuous relationships and uncertainties in order to show that ‘a man’s enemies shall be of his own household’ (EW 20), that the external world is not as dangerous or as precious as the inner, because it holds neither the same threats and penalties nor the same hope of reconciliation” (112). To extend this interpretation to Ireland itself, it means that the fighting families within Ireland itself have more potential to destroy it than any outside forces.

Conclusion

While The Enemy Within is set in the early Christian period of Iona, the themes and connections to Modern Ireland are very present. Friel seems to have set modern problems and societal concerns within a different setting in order to remove the feeling of “hitting too close to home.” Friel attempts to discuss modern Irish problems within a removed historical setting in order to speak to the Irish people. He uses the struggle between the monastery's agenda and the tribal army's agenda to show how those caught in the middle suffer. This connects back to the Irish people caught in the middle of political struggles still going on today. Friel seems to be warning them to stop fighting among themselves or they will lose what they truly love: Ireland herself.

Works Cited/Consulted

Coakley, John. “Impact of the Northern Ireland Crisis on Southern Politics.” Encyclopedia of Irish History and Culture. Vol. 2. Donnelly, James S., ed. MI: Macmillan, 2004. 560-562. Print.

Duncan, Dawn. "Serving Society and the Legend of the Rebel: Michael Collins and The Wind that Shakes the Barley." Reimagining Ireland. Vol. 27. Dr. Eamon Maher, ed. Oxford: Lang,2013. 73-123. Print.

Duncan, Dawn. Short Historical Outline of Ireland. 2013.

Friel, Brian. The Enemy Within. Loughcrew: Gallery, 1992. Print.

--- “In Interview with Peter Lennon.” Brian Friel, Essays, Diaries, Interviews: 1964-1949. Christopher Murray (eds.). Queen Square, London: Faber and Faber, 1999. 1-2. Print.

Holwell, John. "A Brief History of Ireland." Journal of Online Genealogy, 1997. Web.

Murray, Christopher. “Introduction.” Brian Friel Essays, Diaries, Interviews: 1964-1949. Ed. Christopher Murray. Queen Square, London: Faber and Faber, 1999. vvii-xxii. Print.

O’Brien. Brian Friel. Dublin: Gill and MacMillan, 1989. Print.

Pine, Richard. The Diviner, The Art of Brian Friel. Dublin: University College Dublin Press, 1999. Print.