Why Maria is a tragic protagonist is discussed below:
Riders to the Sea is a modern drama, a one-act play, written by J.M. Synge, a modern dramatist. Maurya is the main character in this play and also a tragic protagonist. In many ways, we see that Maurya is a tragic protagonist. Aristotle claims that any protagonist will belong to the upper-class society, and the character should be good but not perfect. The misery of the protagonist is predetermined. He will fall because of the mistake he made. There is nothing he can do to change this fate. Tragic protagonists usually win our praise by showing an indomitable attitude of resistance against all the odds.
Although Riders to the Sea is considered a modem tragedy, Maurya does not fully respond to the rules set by Aristotle.
Maria is a simple fisherwoman of the ordinary class and lives on an island.
In this play, we see that Maria’s life was full of sorrow throughout the play. In her life, misfortunes piled on top of each other. But these sorrows did not break her personality. She had an extraordinary strength of endurance.
In this play we praise a mother for her courage during the worst disaster that could ever happen. Maurya has lost her husband, father-in-law and four sons out of six at sea. Only Michael and Bertley survived among her sons, but Michael was already lost. Misfortune did not break her soul. She is calm in distress. Due to her endurance, determination to continue despite the disaster and her cool courage, this peasant woman has taken her place as a tragic protagonist in this drama.
Maurya was a great pathetic personality. She does not suffer because of any flaws in her character. She was the victim of fate. The sea has consumed all the men in her family and she has become completely destitute. She was defeated in the battle of man and sea. However, she was not crushed. She maintained a dignified demeanor. She was comforted that nothing worse could happen to her so she could now sleep in peace. Her pain is great, but she has risen above them. In the end, this peasant woman achieves tragic greatness in recognition of her cruel destiny and becomes the true heroine of this horrific tragedy.
As a tragic character, Maurya has usually been able to harden herself with the intensity of her sufferings. Mentality began to improve from the time she anticipated Bertly’s death. Her attitude further develops when Bertley’s body is brought home. Maurya accepted her grief and said “no man can live forever and we must be satisfied”. This announcement further enhances her pathetic dignity. She then came out of her family circle and became a symbol of the universal mother. The repeated injurious misfortunes that had turned her into a truly tragic figure had failed to disappoint her.
From the above discussion, we see that Maurya was really a tragic protagonist. She finally accepted the unexpected events that happened in her life, and she was able to strengthen herself. Her tragic destiny marks her as a tragic protagonist.