Playboy Of The Western World by John Millington Singe (Character of Pegeen Mike)

 

Playboy Of The Western World

by John Millington Singe

(Character of Pegeen Mike) 

Pegeen Mike is the central female character of the play, ‘The Playboy of the Western World’. She has been engaged to Shawn Keogh with whom she is to be married. Shawn, under the influence of the local priest, refuses to spend the night with Pegeen under the same roof. Pegeen appears to us in a very favorable light. She wins our affections. She is a romantic character. She is attracted towards Christy because of his bravery in killing his father. Like other characters of the play, she also doesn’t think that murder of his father by Christy is a sinful deed. She also glorifies Christy for his courage in murdering his father. When Widow Quin comes to take away Christy, she becomes angry due to jealousy and drives her away of her house.

Pegeen doesn’t like Christy talk to any girl or any girl talk to him. She is very possessive of Christy. She becomes jealous of the girls when Christy talks to them and she makes them run away from there. In the play when widow asks Christy Mahon to go with her, Pegeen scolds her and blames her to be unworthy of his love. When Christy talks to the girls of Mayo, she frightens him by saying that if he goes on talking to the girls he will be arrested by the police and will be hanged.

Throughout the play we have noticed that Pegeen has been projected as a hard hearted and rough tongued girl but actually she is a kind hearted girl. When Christy wants to leave the place, she asks him to remain there and not to talk to anyone.

In village sports when Christy has won all the sports and comes with flying colors, she gives him liquor to drink and asks him to take rest. She also feels proud for Christy when she sees him victorious. She cannot tolerate when she comes to know about his lie. When she comes to know that his father is alive, she becomes angry and asks him to leave the place at once. She also asks his father to take him away or the young boys of the village will stone him to death. When Christy attacks his father for the second time, she becomes angry of him for this act.

The real name of Pegeen Mike is Margaret Flaherty. She is the only daughter of Michael James. She does not like her would be husband, Shawn Keogh because he is not as courageous as Christy Mahon seems to be.