Betwixt and Between Hester Swane as a Liminal Symbol of Irish Identity

Abstract

This paper examines the character of Hester Swane in Marina Carr’s By the Bog of Cats (1998) as a powerful liminal representation of the intricacies of Irish identity through cultural, historical, and social transitions. Drawing on Euripides’ Medea and theoretical frameworks on liminality by Victor Turner and Michel Foucault, it investigates how Hester’s life is suspended between past and present, tradition and modernity. The analysis will follow how Hester struggles to come to terms with her mother’s abandonment, unpredictable landscapes, and social isolation and how they serve as manifestations of the broader Irish experiences. Hester’s defiance reveals that liminality is not a transition but an ongoing condition that determines her agency, identity, and fate. Finally, the paper argues that Hester’s tragic finale highlights the never-ending tension in Irish society, challenging notions of progress, belonging, and continuity of traditions.