Elegy: Exploring Love and Scientific Progress in Nick Payne's Play - Essay Sample

Introduction

The play "Elegy" by Nick Payne focuses on love as a state of mind that can be eradicated. The play has also focused on scientific progress that involves the human concepts of identity and loss. The play has used themes that can help the audience to understand more about the message of the author. For instance, the theme of love has been used to show how humans react to love and struggle with love. On the other hand, scientific progress has also been portrayed, which relates to the modern world. In this case, Payne has shown the evolution of medical treatment. Consequently, one can focus on various aspects that have been used by Payne in the play "Elegy" when analyzing the play.

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Love is one of the most substantial feelings that affect humans. Thus, Payne has used love in the play to show how love influences humans. For instance, in the first scene, Lorna is discharged from the hospital after a brain operation and treats her partner Carrie as a total stranger. Hence, the issue of love as a state of mind that can be eradicated is posed in the play since Lorna does not even recognize her partner after the treatment. Besides, both Lorna and Carrie are women who have been married for 20 years (Payne 1). Payne used the two characters to show that love has led to same-sex marriage, which is being experienced in the contemporary world. Moreover, Carrie loves her partner despite having challenges with her health. Carrie also experiences challenges, whereby she feels rejected by her partner despite loving and caring for her. On the other hand, Lorna experiences challenges as she is in fear and battles to retain her sense of self. Therefore, one can learn how the two are struggling due to their love and how love affects humans.

Science has also played a great role in the play and has shown how scientific progress has impacted our life. For instance, Lorna's degenerative brain disease is cured through neural prosthesis, which primarily involves technology. Nevertheless, the process involves wiping out all memories of Lorna from the last two decades so that she does not recognize her grieving partner. In this case, Payne probes the moral consequences of scientific progress, and the audience can learn from the challenges faced by Lorna after her treatment. For instance, Lorna has no idea that she loved Carrie. "I agreed to meet you?" (Payne 7). Lorna states that she agreed to meet Carrie but has no memories of their life together, which shows that science has evolved, and people are facing challenges when dealing with it. Science also possesses ethical dilemmas in our lives. Moreover, many people have argued about science and religion when it comes to creation. In some cases, people are forced to abandon their beliefs and focus on science. For example, Lorna is forced to seek treatment that would have consequences instead of focusing on her faith and praying God for healing.

Pain is also involved in the play as both Lorna and Carrie experience pain. However, Carrie experiences emotional pain while Lorna experiences physical pain. In most cases, love causes emotional pain, whereby one feels rejected. Carrie experiences emotional pain since her partner does not love her as she used before the treatment. Besides, the paly shows how both were connected before the illness. The pain of rejection has been experienced by many people in the world, leading to cases of suicide. Therefore, the play can also be used to educate people on how to deal with emotional pain. In this case, Carrie decides to talk to her partner to determine whether she loves her. "You do not feel you are missing something?" (Payne 6). On the other hand, Lorna experiences physical pain due to her illness. Moreover, she has to undergo a treatment that involved both clinical professionalism and compassionate concern. Additionally, Miriam, Lorna's doctor, stated that her own afflicted mother rejected the treatment as it would have significant consequences. Therefore, the audience can learn that the treatment also entailed physical pain. Correspondingly, the issue of pain in the play shows how people are forced to make difficult choices in their lives.

Sense of individual identity has also been involved in the play, whereby Payne has used Lorna to show how our memories give us the sense of our identity. Similarly, Lorna has revealed that our sense of individual identity mainly depends on the memories. In this case, Lorna loses her sense of individual identity after her memories were wiped out. Also, Lorna is confused as she tries to retain her sense of self due to the loss of memory. For instance, Lorna does not remember the love they shared with Carrie, which makes it hard for them to converse effectively. Besides, Carrie insists that she miss loving her, but Lorna does not remember about their love. Therefore, the issue of human identity has been used by Payne to show how our memories contribute to the sense of individual identity.

Payne has also focused on faith in the play, whereby the question of what is faith can be derived from the play. In this case, the audience can learn that faith might reside within the brain. Moreover, the issue of wiping the memories that hold love in the brain can be associated with faith. In this case, people have different faiths that usually reside within their brains. For instance, wiping out of Lorna's brain shows that her faith and love were in her memories and were altered after the treatment. Similarly, the mention of a clergyman who allegedly gets his part of the brain that holds faith removed shows that faith is held in the brain. Therefore, Payne has used the play to show how the memory of individuals can control their beliefs.

Conclusion

To sum up, the play is educative, and one can learn about how the brain primarily affects our lives and how we interact. Moreover, the issue of scientific progress has been used to show how modern technology has an impact on our lives and its consequences. In most cases, people experience pain due to love. Consequently, Payne has used the theme of love in the play to show how people experience pain due to rejection. Furthermore, the play can educate the audience about the sense of individual identity. In this case, one can learn that our memories mostly helps us to relate with others and retain our sense of self. In essence, the play is essential as it focuses on aspects that are experienced in life, such as scientific progress, love, and human identity.

Works Cited

Payne, Nick. Elegy. Faber & Faber, 2016.