In Lady Isabella Augusta Gregory, Ireland found a great champion of humanity, duty, freedom and tradition. More than half of her life was spent preserving letters of Irish history, recording the folklore of her land, selflessly building and maintaining an Irish Literary Theatre for her beloved country, and supporting the efforts of artists named W.B.Yeats, John Quinn, and Sean O'Casey in the refuge of her home, Coole Park. With the entrance of her 50's, she discovered her own talents in writing and eventually
lived to be the most popular playwright of the Irish Theatre, and to be regarded by critics in other lands as one of the leading playwrights of her time.(Malone, 36)A woman devoted to the peasantry of Ireland, Lady Gregory's life and art were entirely dedicated to "bringing back the soul of Ireland to herself."(Saddlemyer, 309)
Born to ascendancy class Protestants in 1852, Isabella had immediate exposure to the delights of stories through her Catholic nurse, Mary Sheridan, who told vibrant stories of rebellions and her own childhood. Lady Gregory spent much of her life trying to shed the comforts of her birth, forgetting the leisure possible, and working to lose the conventions of her class. Yet, at age 27, she married Sir William Gregory, who was a former Privy Councilor and Governor of Ceylon. The greatest bond the couple shared was their son, Robert. They were good companions, and he found great joy in supporting her work among the poor and literary efforts. It was this time spent with tenants that she continued to learn of the dialect, "thoughts, beliefs and customs of the West of Ireland." (Malone, 40) The stories made her happy to remember her childhood in the nursery with her nurse, listening to stories; and it played to her historical passions. Lady Gregory expanded her ideas and skills through her husband and their worldwide travels to friends and business. After becoming an international traveler, Isabella's belief in Ireland's myths and need to realize its
sense of responsibility and power of achievement so that the country should be ready prepared for freedom (Howarth, 92)were strengthened. After twelve years, the man who had so broadened her mind, died. Lady Gregory had not experienced the love of family as a child or as a wife, and thereafter she sought the feeling in friendship.
In 1818, Lady Gregory's neighbor, Edward Martyn came to lunch and brought his friend W. B. Yeats, who soon became the direction of all her energies. Mr. Martyn spoke of the difficulty he was having in finding English theaters to produce his plays and said that his next stop would be Germany. When, in agreement with Lady Gregory's sadness at the absence of an Irish Theatre, Yeats told he dreamt of one in Ireland, a plan was quickly developed. The first guarantee of money came from Lady Gregory and the three then composed a letter asking for more guarantees of money from people of all different religions and politics who were "weary of misrepresentation"(Robinson, 2) of Ireland. Quickly, Lady Gregory, who had not considered herself even a supporter of Theatre, became the organizer and patron of the eventual Abbey Theatre. The first production of the society was The Countess Cathleen by W. B. Yeats on May 8, 1899, which was followed by Edward Martyn's The Heather Field on the next day.
As the success of the Theatre blossomed, so did the friendship between Lady Gregory and Yeats. She entered the friendship, knowledgeable of the world, enthusiastic, with great Gaelic interests, and amazing charity. Providing shelter and financial support at Coole, Lady Gregory gave Yeats the emotional backing to realize his own capabilities. He was the vulnerable male that her strength needed to take care of and the power of his art, which impressed her. She was quick to respond since the loss of her son to school. When she felt that her son Robert was in danger, it was to Yeats that she confided feeling only partly alive. Both had not been well loved by their parents and her belief in dignity supported his need for reassurance. As a friend, she would type his drafts or help him think of words he was blanking on. Yeats found her presence so invaluable that when he once received word of her being ill, he responded with fear.
She has been to mother, friend, sister and brother. I cannot realise this world without her- she brought to my wavering thoughts steadfast nobility. . . Friendship is all the house I have.(Saddlemeyer, 23)He saw her uncanny ability to collect and record things heard and urged her to develop it. Thus, he provided her with some flattery, incentive of example, and the realization of how a writer works. She had been there at the right time for Yeats dream to come true and luckily Yeats could do the same for her.
As the new century arrived, Lady Gregory was incredibly grateful for Yeats and happy to help him,
he still felt her own desire for authorship thwarted. No amount of editorial success could make up for this, and she was afraid of turning out to be 'one of those dull people who edit books.'(Kelly, 209)She had compiled Cuchulain of Muirthemne in 1902, which was not a mere translation and had required great weaving of ideas. At Yeats urging, she had compiled 200,000 words of material to make a complete source book of Irish mythology.(Howarth, 98) Lady Gregory told the stories with a tone of honor, making them more believable than mere fairy tales. Additionally, she focused on the greater strength of loss or enchantment, so they were not merely stories of love and victory. With Kiltartan English, of the colloquial atmosphere, Lady Gregory formed the new mode of expression for Anglo-Celic speech and poetry. It gave her folklore life and it allowed her first plays to show her ability at incredibly natural dialogue. Her work drew international attention. Even President Theodore Roosevelt was enthralled by it enough to carry it across the country on a tour. Additionally it fueled "the small but significant and growing body of English opinion in favor of Irish autonomy."(Howarth,97)
In conjunction with Yeats, Lady Gregory wrote her first play Cathleen ni Houlihan. She was then encouraged to continue such endeavors of writing because the Theatre needed the contribution. Some believe her vital entrance into drama would never have happened without the Abbey's needs. Especially gifted at comedic farces, much of it was based on her memories of rural life and the interaction of society within familiar environments. Lady Gregory responded to the need for comedies as they entered the building of Abbey Theatre in 1905. Perhaps this is due to the fact that of plays, the comedy reminds her most of the place and the stories that drove her interest in writing. The comedic characters were never carelessly developed and masterfully believable as opposed to her historic plays.
Written in saga style, the tragedies of Lady Gregory's repertoire were replicas of an older method. Lady Gregory wrote the tragedies as more playwrights came to the Abbey and she saw an opportunity and need for expansion. The idea of it is to make a heavy topic into a lighten tone so that it is more tolerable. It is a difficult method of early English style. Placing things in a natural amelioration of time, it protects one from stark realities of acceptance. Many later viewed this approach as the method of "diminishing the size of the impending war and enduring the menace."(Howarth, 103) Yeats did not like the saga style either, because in the idea of tradition he saw no personality and prevents growth. Though forceful, Lady Gregory's play's appeared as methods of indifference and lack of character. Yet, one strength was how she maintained the
proverbs, quips and quirks of expression, the picturesquenesses and homelinesses of speech that are characteristic of a peasant to whom talk is the half of life. (Weygandt). Just as Yeats had said, "Lady Gregory saw the glory of the world reflected in a peasant mirror."(Young, 292)
By 1925, "the little Abbey Theatre, Dublin, became the first State-subsidised Theatre in the English-speaking world."(Robinson,126) Lady Gregory's plays were the most highly performed in Irish theaters, her name was connected to forty plays over her thirty years of writing, and she continued to hold a post as one of the Directors of the Abbey Theatre until she died. Though her plays are no longer famous, her efforts allowed the tradition of dram in Ireland to begin. She opened the comfort of her home to the movement, she gave her tolerance to any idea, her knowledge of rural life to the country, and her heart to Ireland. A patient servant to Ireland, she acted as dramatist, collector of folklore, writer of sonnets, essayist, translator and visionary. She saw the Irish life slipping away and took the path to preserve it-- A true patriot whose passion was her home.
of my objects-the one nearest to my heart- is the making of the soil of Ireland sacred by getting legends known. By translating a legend, or some piece of folklore, we may give to the hills and the fields a new meaning, a new colour, a new inspiration for those who make their homes among them- thus, as I say, bringing back the soul of Ireland to herself.
--Lady Augusta Gregory
Gregory, Lady. Seventy Years: Being the Autobiography of Lady Gregory. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1974.
Howarth, Herbert. The Irish Writers. New York: Hill and Wang, 1958.
Tobinson, Lennox. Ireland's Abbey Theatre. Port Washington, N.Y.: Kennikat Press, INC, 1951.
Saddlemeyer, Ann and Colin Smythe. Lady Gregory Fifty Years After. Totwa, New Jersey: Barnes and Noble Books, 1987.
Wyndgate, Cornelius. Irish Plays and Playwrights. Port Washington, N.Y.: Kennikat Press, 1913.