Critical Responses

First Production and Language

Some critics say that Friel's plays were "limited by its Irish milieu," while others applauded "his commitment to dramatizing the Irish national character and dilemma" ("Friel, Brian" 651). Although The Enemy Within was not Friel’s first production, George O’Brien, a current professor at Georgetown University, states that this was Friel’s “first successful and satisfactory work for the stage” (41). Many political events had already occurred before the production of The Enemy Within in 1962. Significant political events include the Easter Rising in 1916 and the signed treaty in 1920-21 that divided Northern Ireland from Ireland as a Free State (see the Timeline of Irish History for more significant dates). In a short reference from Gale Contextual Encyclopedia of World Literature, it states that what makes Friel a leading Irish dramatist is:

his deft use of language, his sensitive characterizations, and his interest in Irish life and history. In his plays, Ireland not only provides the canvas upon which his largely rural characters are portrayed, but it also acts as a character itself. ("Friel, Brian" 649)

Noting Friel's use of language, O'Brien also comments on how "the language [in the play] is far from prosaic, it has a ring and a resonance to it" (45). Friel himself admits to using modern day language instead of the actual language spoken of the time in The Enemy Within. Friel is able to create, in his plays, a theme of naturalness with the use of language (O'Brien 43). And the notion of Ireland being a character in itself is not far from wrong. Ireland takes on the form of a character in the sense that Friel gives it a distinct personality. The way that Columba describes Ireland in the play makes it sound as if Ireland is a temptress that is trying to seduce him to return:

[...] What more do you demand of me, damned Ireland? My soul? My immortal soul? Damned, damned, damned Ireland! -- (His voice breaks) Soft, green Ireland -- beautiful, green Ireland my lovely green Ireland. O my Ireland -- (Friel, Act 3, 75).

From reading these lines, if one did not know any better, Ireland could have been interpreted as the name of a woman instead of a country. It is not doing anything to tempt Columba to return, but all Columba seems to think about is the beauty of Ireland; therefore, making Ireland a character that is there, but at the same time not really there. However, some critics "perceive that Friel's mastery of character and fondness for storytelling outstrip his dramatic flair, depriving his plays of a sense of dynamism," ("Friel, Brian" 651). I disagree. In The Enemy Within, from the beginning to the end, the reader can see and feel the changes that Columba is going through. Although the changes may be slow, the dynamism is clearly there throughout the play.

Crusader or Informer

In an interview with Graham Morison, Brian Friel was asked whether or not he believed it was a writer's job to break down barriers. To that, Friel's reply was a simple no. Clarifying the question, Morison then asked if it was more about "getting one section of the community to take a closer look at another" (5). To this, Friel's answer was that the writer's job is never to be a crusader, but to get others to take a closer look at what's going on around them (5). He also talks of how he hopes to "encourage sympathy for the people [he's] writing about" (5). Despite Friel's real intentions, it cannot be helped that his plays are incorporated with Postcolonial Theory. Since the duty of the writer is not to be a crusader, but to be an informer, Friel has done his job very well. Looking at The Enemy Within, a reader can compare the context of the play to what is currently happening around them. Although the play is set in the Early Christian era, a majority of the things that are happening within it was inspired by events that had occurred or were currently happening at the time it was written. Joseph Devlin, author of "Brian Friel (1929-)," states that, "The Enemy Within cannot be taken as straight allegory, but the emotions that inform the play have more to do with the twentieth century than the sixth" (116). Columba's divide between religion and family is similar to how many Irish people would have felt when Northern Ireland was separated from Ireland. Once Ireland was divided, friends who were once considered family may have become foes. Divided between one's political belief and friendship, a sacrifice had to be made.