Anna Christie and Mat Burke: two individuals who emigrated from Europe as children to become a couple. Mat Burke, a sailor, unsure of his self-worth, falls in love with the daughter of a Swedish coal barge captain. Chris Christophson's daughter reveals she is not a nurse, but a prostitute, who left Minnesota in hopes of recovering from a recent foray into a brothel. She expects little from him, but discovers that her father is remorseful and wants to make amends for the years he abandoned her. At the end of Anna Christie we believe that Anna and Mat Burke will try to find happiness with each other. Despite Anna's past, the couple will get married. The future is not so bright. Mat Burke is ready to sail to South Africa to make a living. This means that he will immediately be separated from his wife, who he has just discovered is a prostitute. No time has passed for the couple to mend their relationship which had been severely damaged by the discovery of Anne's past. Mat will be newly married, on a ship, separated from his wife, and should have no doubts about his fidelity? It is natural for him to doubt, and therefore suffer because of those doubts. Mat Burke fell deeply in love with Anna Christie, so in love that he was willing to overlook that she was a prostitute. He is uncomfortable around women and behaves inappropriately towards her despite his best intentions (O'Neill 28-9). Being a sailor, his interactions with women tend to be with prostitutes; he is uncomfortable in his own skin. Strong and rough, Mat Burke worries about his libido, his sense of pride. He wants Anna Christie to ease the anguish in his pants and make him a man in a way that no prostitute can: he wants her to quell his loneliness (O'Neill, 26). Being alone, however, does not mean that he suddenly has to forget the truth. Anna Christie's love for Mat is an opportunity for her to be reborn, to leave the pain of rape behind. In the fog, on the barge, she has the opportunity to become a virgin again. Many have used her body but she gives her heart only to Mat. To become a virgin again, she must free herself from pain and lies.