mainland who have been influenced by the other cultures of Europe. He writes:The absence of the heavy boot of Europehas preserved to these people the agilewalk of the wild animal, while the generalsimplicity of their lives has given themmany other points of physical perfection.Their way of life has never been actedon by anything much more artificial than the nests and burrows of the creatures that live around them. (Synge 33)Synges Romantic tendencies influence him to see the primitive aspects of the islanders as noble. Even though he refers to them in the above passage as having qualities of wild animals, he does so with respect for the way that they have adapted to their environment. Also in that passage, Synge touches on the innocence of the people because of their close connection to the land. Like many other Romantic writers, Synge believed that modern society corrupted man from nature and thus connected knowledge of the land with innocence of culture. That the people live always in conjunction with the islands natural world fascinated Synge. At one point in the text Synge even comments that the mood of the people seems to echo the mood of the landscape. It is Synges Romantic ideals that make this primitive relationship so intriguing to him. It is this fascination which prompts Synge to delve into this complex relationship. Through his exploration of this, the reader is able to better grasp the anthropological nature of the Aran Islands.Perhaps the most important aspect of Synges anthropological study is his perception and writing about the culture of the people of the Aran Islands. It is in this aspect of Synges writing that his Romantic style most compliments his desire to write an anthropological account of the people. As a Romantic, Synge respects the people of the island for their skills. He still, however, views them in many ways as noble savages. Due to this perception of the people, Synge always remains apart from them....
