Ownership and wealth
Issues of ownership are present throughout the play:
- in the songs sung by characters
- in their monologues and dialogues
- in stage directions describing their actions
- in the historical accounts which frame the narrative
As the play draws to a close, M.C.3 poses the question:
Who owns the land?
Throughout the play McGrath argues that wealthy capitalists own and run Scotland.
Each sub-section of the play provides evidence to support the argument that wealthy landowners have had a corrosive 鈥 rather than a positive 鈥 effect on the Highlands. In particular the play puts forward that they have played a significant role in:
- depopulation of the Highlands
- erosion of Gaelic culture
- erosion of the Gaelic language