Mourning Becomes Electra is a tragic play set in New England in the aftermath of the Civil War. It is heavily interwoven with the common fixtures of Greek tragedy. A wealthy general is poisoned by his vicious and scheming wife, then avenged by his children Orin and Lavinia. When Orin kills himself out of grief, Lavinia is left in the shoes of Greek tragedy's Electra and struggles to find meaning in her bleak and solitary life.