Themes and Messages in Sive by John B. Keane

Learning Intentions

• Identify and understand the main themes in the text:
  • What ideas or messages does the text explore? (e.g., ambition, love, power, injustice).
• Be ready to discuss how these themes are developed:
  • Through characters, events, or symbols.
• Link themes to the author’s message or the reader’s experience.

John B. Keane’s Sive is a poignant exploration of societal values, human behaviour, and the consequences of greed and manipulation. Its themes resonate universally, reflecting struggles within personal relationships and societal structures.

Greed and Materialism

What It Explores:

• The play critiques how greed and the pursuit of wealth can corrupt individuals and destroy lives.
• Characters like Mena and Thomasheen Seán Rua prioritise financial gain over Sive’s happiness, illustrating the destructive power of materialism.

How It’s Developed:

• Through Characters:
  • Mena’s relentless push for the arranged marriage shows how greed overrides familial love.
  • Thomasheen’s role as the matchmaker highlights how greed drives manipulation and exploitation.
• Through Events:
  • The central conflict revolves around the financial transaction of Sive’s arranged marriage to Seán Dóta, an older, wealthy farmer.

Link to the Author’s Message:

Keane condemns the prioritisation of wealth over human dignity and happiness, warning against a society that treats people as commodities.

Love and Relationships

What It Explores:

• The play contrasts genuine love with transactional relationships.
• Sive’s love for Liam Scuab represents innocence and sincerity, while her arranged marriage to Seán Dóta underscores the absence of emotional connection in societal conventions.

How It’s Developed:

• Through Characters:
  • Liam and Sive’s bond symbolises the purity of love that exists outside societal constraints.
  • Seán Dóta’s desire for Sive is driven by lust and ownership, devoid of emotional connection.
• Through Symbols:
  • The love letter from Liam to Sive represents hope and freedom, while its destruction by Mena symbolises control and oppression.

Link to the Author’s Message:

Keane advocates for the value of authentic relationships and criticises the societal systems that stifle them.

Power and Oppression

What It Explores:

• The play examines the abuse of power within family and society, particularly in patriarchal and hierarchical structures.
• Mena’s dominance over Mike Glavin and the coercion of Sive into an unwanted marriage reveal the ways power is wielded to control others.

How It’s Developed:

• Through Characters:
  • Mena uses her authority over Sive and Mike to enforce her will, symbolising the oppressive nature of greed and control.
  • Seán Dóta’s wealth grants him societal power, enabling him to “purchase” a young bride.
• Through Events:
  • Sive’s lack of agency reflects the systemic oppression faced by women in rural Irish society.

Link to the Author’s Message:

Keane critiques the imbalance of power and the societal structures that perpetuate oppression, particularly for women.

Injustice and Hypocrisy

What It Explores:

• The play highlights the injustices faced by individuals like Sive, who are treated as commodities rather than as people with agency and autonomy.
• The community’s acceptance of the arranged marriage reveals the hypocrisy within societal norms, where moral principles are often ignored for personal gain.

How It’s Developed:

• Through Characters:
  • The passive complicity of characters like Mike Glavin reflects the systemic nature of injustice, where silence perpetuates harm.
• Through Symbols:
  • The bog, where Sive’s body is found, symbolises the oppressive environment that ultimately claims her life.

Link to the Author’s Message:

Keane condemns the societal structures that normalise injustice and hypocrisy, urging readers to question and challenge these norms.

Isolation and Tragedy

What It Explores:

• Sive’s isolation from her community and the absence of support from her family highlight the loneliness faced by individuals oppressed by societal norms.
• The play’s tragic ending underscores the devastating consequences of such isolation.

How It’s Developed:

• Through Characters:
  • Sive’s isolation grows as her family prioritises greed over her well-being, leaving her with no escape.
  • Liam Scuab, though loving, is powerless to save her, reflecting the limitations of individuals against systemic pressures.
• Through Events:
  • Sive’s suicide is the ultimate act of despair, highlighting the consequences of neglect and societal oppression.

Link to the Author’s Message:

Keane portrays isolation as a product of societal failures, urging empathy and collective responsibility to prevent such tragedies.

Conclusion

The themes in Sive are intricately woven into its characters, events, and symbols, creating a poignant critique of societal norms and human failings. Through its exploration of greed, love, power, and injustice, Keane delivers a powerful message about the importance of empathy, integrity, and resistance to oppressive structures. These themes remain relevant, making Sive a timeless and thought-provoking work.