The Well of the Saints: A Quick Read edition
By Quick Read & J. M. Synge
- Release Date: 2024-02-21
- Genre: Fiction & Literature
Discover a new way to read classics with Quick Read.
This Quick Read edition includes both the full text and a summary for each chapter.
- Reading time of the complete text: about 1 hour
- Reading time of the summarized text: 2 minutes
"The Well of the Saints" is a three-act play written by J. M. Synge and first performed in 1905. The story is set in a lonely mountainous district in Ireland, several centuries ago. The main characters include Martin and Mary Doul, elderly blind beggars who are deceived by the townsfolk into thinking they are beautiful. A saint cures their blindness, but they are repulsed by each other's appearance. Martin tries to seduce Molly, the fiancee of a blacksmith named Timmy, but she rejects him. Martin and Mary lose their sight again, and when the saint returns to marry Timmy and Molly, Martin refuses his offer to cure their blindness. The townsfolk banish the couple, and they set off in search of kinder neighbors. The play explores themes of deception, appearance versus reality, and the consequences of seeking physical beauty.