When Mary was pregnant with Edmund she was using drugs, which caused him to become addicted to morphine as a child. Edmund's life was very complicated because of his parents. During this play, Edmund falls ill with tuberculosis, which he blames on his father for his alcohol problem and his mother for her drug addiction. Mary always seems to blame Edmund for her drug addiction because he caused her horrible pain through child labor. Whenever Mary takes the drug, she always seems to complain about how much she regrets marrying James. In the article "Tragedy and 'The Pursuit of Happiness': Long Day's Journey Into Night" by Alan Downer it is stated: "Four of these characters are members of a family who today must face the facts, which they have all evaded, which mother is an incurable drug addict and the younger son tubercular” (119), Mary wanted to become a nun, that's why she uses drugs to escape from her past. The family constantly fights because of James Jr.'s failure. and Edmund but in reality they are all their parents