The Straw

Based on O’Neill’s experience in a tuberculosis sanatorium, The Straw centers around naïve, young Eileen Carmody, stricken with tuberculosis and exiled to Hill Farm Sanatorium where she meets the cynical, raffish Stephen Murray, also a patient there. Eileen quickly falls in love with Stephen, inspiring him to develop his talents as a serious writer. As Stephen’s condition improves along with his fortunes as an author, Eileen slowly deteriorates, aware that Stephen will never love her as she loves him. Goaded by a sympathetic nurse, Stephen pretends to fall in love with Eileen as a final act of charity only to discover that he is, in fact, in love with the dying girl.