In Marina Carr's Portia Coughlan, it is clear that Portia is a woman fascinated by the events and misfortunes of her past. When we first meet her in the opening scene, it is clear that she is a distressed and deeply haunted woman "whose legacy is rich only in horror" (Dean, 1997). His past haunts his marriage, his relationship with his children and his daily life. The continued ghostly presence of her long-lost brother thrusts her back into the past, making her current life unimportant and somewhat of a burden. Throughout the play, events from the past arise and it is clear that “Portia fights blindly against a past that is hidden from her” (King, 1997). Throughout the play, the Belmont River plays a central role in Portia's connection to Gabriel and the heartbreaking events of the past that consume her. The river flows through the characters' lives and is Gabriel's location throughout the play. Portia regularly seeks solace by the river, “a land she fiercely claims as belonging to her family and which was the scene of Gabriel's suicide fifteen years ago” (Fitzpatrick, 1997). When she meets Damus Halion by the river, she tells him: "I come here because I have always come here and I think I will come back here long after I am gone." I will lie here when I am a ghost, and smoke ghost cigarettes, and watch you earthlings pass your useless days” (1.3). The river and drowning are regularly mentioned not only by Portia but by other characters in the play. Portia's mother Marianne refers to both when she visits Portia: "And where are your children?" I play around the Belmont River, I guess. It’s a good thing they don’t fall in and drown one of these days” (1.5). It's clear that he... middle of paper ... he was destroyed by the twins' past actions and Portia's inability to let bygones be bygones. “Its twin, the river's murky depths, the past, all conspire to claim it. And they do” (Gardner, 2004). Works Cited Carr, Marina. Portia Coughlan. Meath: Gallery Press, 1998. Dean, Joan Fitzpatrick. "Portia Coughlan and: The Steward of Christianity (review)." www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/03/09/1047144866696.html)Gardner, Lyn. Death Looks Like Him. 29/theatreKing, Robert L. The North American Review 282.2 (1997): 48-52. “The Claim of Eternity”: Language and Death in Marina Carr’s “Portia Coughlan.” from Irish University (2007): 413-429