after attending a Catholic boarding school (Gould, 54). After he .
returned home, he continued traveling with his family and even took .
some small roles in the plays. Because of this experience, he knew .
what was good theater and what was not. "It was almost as if by .
osmosis that Eugene absorbed a knowledge of the theater which most .
embryo playwrights did not have (Gould, 65). Another major .
contributing factor to his lacking family life was the fact that his .
mother was a morphine addict. Throughout his lifetimes she was .
continuously in and out of sanitariums, which Eugene would later end .
up in. .
Before Eugene O"Neill, no playwright of importance had .
existed before him. He single-handedly created native drama in .
America by his influence and example. In granting him this .
distinction, critics are almost unanimous on the conclusion that his .
historical significance is clear (Carpenter, 168-69). This does not .
dismiss the fact that there are still some critics out there that think he .
is unworthy of this title. Those disapproving of his style have .
slandered his reputation. In some critics" opinions, O"Neill's creditors .
mistake a jumble of primal emotions to be psychological depth and .
explorations of the inner self. Regardless of these naysayers, .
Carpenter feels sure that no one can agree on who America's favorite .
novelist was, or the greatest poet for that matter, but that without a .
doubt O"Neill remains America's favorite dramatist (Carpenter, 169). .
Even though the mere existence of American drama has been short .
lived, it would have been much later in forthcoming had it not been .
for the efforts of O"Neill. As one can see, it is difficult to form an .
opinion if one has heard all the controversy over this unique man. He .
has been hailed as America's greatest dramatist, and had his world .
dismissed contemptuously as "a bestiary full of vulpine animals and .
crushed worms," by the London Times Literary Supplement.
