Kinship

Who am I? To whom am I connected? How did I come to be who I am? These are questions we have all asked ourselves at least once--questions that we ask to verify our very being and identity. For Columba, these are the questions that he does not know how to answer due to his inner struggle of being a religious man and as someone who was in line to inherit the title Chieftain of Tirconaill. As David Cregan, Theatre Professor at Villanova University, states, “In Columba Friel presents his audience with a man who is divided between his private commitments and his public loyalties; an ordinary man facing the struggles of everyday life” (161). Divided between religion and kinship, this is where Columba’s identity issues arise. Combining the importance of kinship with annotations from the play, I will show how Columba struggles with his identity as a kinsman by answering the three open-ended questions asked earlier.

Who am I?

In the play, Columba’s identity struggle is first introduced to us as he talks to the monastery’s copyist Caornan, who is also a close friend. After Columba reads the passage of Jesus telling the people that, “He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me — ’. A man’s enemies — they of his own house-hold,” Columba asks Caornan to pray for him because he (Columba) is “ringed with enemies,” therefore, “not worthy of Him” (Friel, Act 1, 20). Because Columba is now a religious man, he feels wrong to still have lingering feelings for his kin in Tirconaill. According to Joseph F. Nagy, a specialist in Celtic Languages and Literatures, during the early Christian era, men who were born into upper class families were trained to become warriors in order to protect the family lands (Nagy 464). Columba chooses to leave behind his past as a kinsman and warrior for his soul’s salvation. However, all does not go as planned because he cannot seem to leave behind his attachment to his people and Ireland.

According to a lecture by Professor Dawn Duncan, a specialist in Irish and Postcolonial studies, “kinship is [the] basis of [the] heroic code” (Duncan Human Values). The heroic code consists of kinship, blood vengeance, and royal generosity. Kinship refers to the blood relation between the son/daughter and mother. The strong kinship is through the mother because there is no question whether she is your mother when she has birthed you. However, the question of whether or not your father is your true father always remains in question. That is why the next closest kin to you would be your uncle from your mother’s side since he is the brother of your mother. Blood vengeance is something you must do when a death of a kinsman occurs. For example, when your cousin is murdered by a member from a neighboring land, it is your duty to kill that person to avenge the death. Royal generosity refers to your kindness and treatment of your people (Duncan Human Values).

The heroic code relates to Columba because his cousin Hugh is the son of his uncle. This uncle, also happens to be related to Columba through his mother, therefore, making him the next closest kin to Columba. When Hugh sends his messenger Brian to go collect Columba, what else is Columba supposed to do but accept and help his cousin out in a time of need.

To whom am I connected?

Although Columba’s physical presence is in the monastery, spiritually, he is not fully there. In the monastery, he is connected to his novices and his friends who followed him as he left his family behind to become a monk. He is also connected to God, but the connection between him and his kin runs deeper within him. The connection to his family pulls so strongly at him that as he works in the fields with Cormac, Columba imagines that he is back home working in his fields. Instead of Cormac, it is the presence of his brother who is there with him (Friel, Act 1, 20). His connection is divided between the monastery in Iona and his family back in Ireland. This divide is the main reason why Columba cannot define who he is. Is he an abbot or is he a noble man fighting to protect his lands?

Tony Corbett, author of Brian Friel: Decoding the Language of the Tribe, writes that Columba’s “reputation as a holy man […] is at odds with his self-image, which is one of doubt about his own worthiness. Columba strives, for much of the play, to satisfy the demands of both families: his kin and his monks” (6). When Columba is first called away to help his cousin Hugh, Grillaan, the Prior of the monastery, expresses his unhappiness with Columba’s decision. Columba, on the other hand, has been convinced that it is necessary for him to help his kinsman. Therefore, Columba tells Grillaan, “We come of kings, Prior. To lead is in our blood. We are not savages. […] Royal blood that answers to the call of its people!” (Friel, Act 1, 33). Set on his decision, Columba and the messenger leave that very night. When Columba returns three weeks later, he brings many gifts, almost as if he was trying to appease the anger of his fellow monks. He even tells them the good news that no blood was shed.

How did I come to be who I am?

By the end of the play, Columba finally realizes what he has to do when Dochonna comes in and asks if Columba has seen Caronan. Reminded of the death of his closest friend and copyist, Columba is dismayed when Dochonna leaves the room in search of the dead copyist. Thinking nothing much of the exchange between Columba and Cornan, Columba’s brother and nephew continue to talk about their plans of taking Columba back with them to fight the Picts. However, Columba has changed his mind and tells them in the heated exchange:

And here—here is a heart that leaps when you call, and pounds against my ribs to join you and lead you and fight with you. But I have a soul too, that whispers to me. I am small and punny, it says, because you have neglected me. And in a short time I will be standing before the King, it says, and I am pale and untried, it says. (Friel, Act 3, 73)

Realizing that if he does not end his ties with his family here and now, he will forever continue to struggle with his new found identity as an abbot. If he does not severe the ties, then he will continuously go and fight battles with them. It is this constant running back and forth that has caused Columba to become restless and confused with his identity.

Conclusion

Columba’s identity struggle is not resolved until the very end where he has chosen to forgo his kinsmen for self-salvation. When he makes his choice, he feels as if a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. Even though his brother and nephew call him a traitor for turning his back on his own family, Columba finally understands that to win his inner struggle, his connection with his family must die. However, they are not the only family that Columba has. Living in voluntary exile for so long, those who reside within the monastery have also become a secondary family for Columba. And unlike his blood family, his monastery family and he fight for the same cause: salvation of their souls.