Mary Raines' House

By Janine Stavrovsky

[1] This scene explores the many facets of one of the main characters, Jack Kehoe. In this scene, Jack Kehoe is sent to the Raines house at the request of the Father O’Connor, who has just received word about the fate of one of the Molly Maguires. As Jack walks up to the house, he realizes that this is a serious matter, especially since Mary Raines is outside hanging laundry wearing a black cloak that symbolizes the soon-to-be death of her father.

[2] Father O’Connor called Jack to the Raines House because he just recently found out the fate of one of the Mollies, Thomas Dougherty, who was previously captured red-handed in other crime. When Jack walks into the house to meet with Father O’Connor, the Leader of the Mollies realizes the mistakes he has made even though he does not necessarily verbalize them. Jack tells Father that Dougherty has nothing to do with that particular crime that he will be convicted of. But Father O’Connor’s purpose in talking to Jack is to try to make him realize his options. Father O’Connor has witnessed many deaths in his community; some because of the harmful effects of working in the mines, but others because of violence and hatred that come from the coalminers’ disdain. But what Father O’Connor tries to communicate to Jack is that, even though his death may still come, he may still have a chance to die with dignity. The priest even has proof of this laying right next to him -- Mr. Raines.

[3] Father pleads with Jack to “come back to the church.” Jack replies that he has never left the church. Father’s tells Jack that he put himself “outside” the church. The wording of this is very symbolic of what Jack must do in order to be happy and reach salvation. This particular wording is deliberate because it insinuates that Jack must put himself “outside” of the coal mines in order to escape his doomed future, rather than put himself “outside” of the church.

[4] This entire scene is very reminiscent of a Catholic confession. Once Jack learns of Dougherty’s fate, he has a very pained look on his face, which symbolizes a guilty conscience. Jack takes a seat on the stairs, and from this point of view you can see Father on one side of the wall and Jack on the other. Usually in a Catholic confessional, the priest cannot see the person who is confessing. But this scene deviates from our original perception of what a Catholic confession is like because there is no veil that hides the identity of the confessor. In fact, throughout the movie the priest outrightly states his discontent for the Molly Maguires. This whole scene can appear very ironic to the viewer because usually if someone knows about another person’s harmful and sinful crimes, it is expected that they would be turned into the authorities. But that never happens within this Irish community, even though they are all practicing Catholics. It is still unclear throughout the movie whether the Irish support their crime-ridden citizens because of their need to survive or because they fear the Molly Maguires.

[5] This scene also shows the relationship between the two leaders in this movie. Father O’Connor would be considered the “good and righteous” leader, while Jack takes the role of the “immoral and sinful” leader. Even the position of their bodies suggests that they oppose each other yet still have a common ground. They both sit together side-by-side suggesting how they have similar roles and duties, yet the wall in between them symbolizes how much they are separated.

[6] This scene also shows that Jack knows his fate. He told Father O’Connor that he has tried to deal with the issues he has with the coal mines inside a church, but it just hasn’t worked for him. Jack states, “Sin at the start. Grace at the end. Bowing your head in between. I can’t accept that, Father.” Father O’Connor replies, “Then you’ll die in sin.” This shows us that Jack is a very aggressive character and cannot just sit back and continue to work in the coal mines and eventually die a painful and neglected death. Jack feels that he is more of a man for taking action and not allowing the injustice stand, even though he performs many injustices himself. In this scene Jack begins to realize that it is only a matter of time before he and his other mates get caught in the dangerous game that they are playing. Father O’Connor even tells him that there is “an informer in your midst,” yet this does not stop Jack from doing other terrible deeds. Jack will not stop doing these crimes, even at the risk of being caught. Just as Mary Raines states in the beginning of the scene, “There’s nothing to do now but wait.” In other words, Jack will eventually be caught; all he has to do is wait for the informer to give them away.