尤金·奥尼尔主人公归属感的探求——对比研究《榆树下的欲望》与《悲悼》中人物在人性极端对立下的抉择.doc

尤金奥尼尔主人公归属感的探求对比研究榆树下的欲望与悲悼中人物在人性极端对立下的抉择 摘要作为美国戏剧史上最伟大的剧作家之一，尤金奥尼尔始终关注着现代美国人的生存状态，对人类精神与情感遭受巨大创伤的状况深感忧虑与悲观。 奥尼尔在戏剧中对人物性格中的极端对立给予了极大的关注，并对此种状态下人物能否平衡自我进行了孜孜不倦的探索。 本文着力剖析了奥尼尔典型剧作中主要人物性格极端对立面的成因发展，并基于人物最终的悲剧性结局对主人公的归属感问题进行了对比分析。 在奥尼尔的多部成熟作品中，榆树下的欲望及悲悼在取材与主题方面都有很多相似性，特别是两部剧中的主人公都生活在浓重的清教文化泯灭人性的社会现实环境中，由此清教思想的禁锢主义与人的自然欲望的激烈冲突构成了人物性格的极端对立。 在这种文化与自然强大张力下，主人公经历着压抑的清教传统与自由的异教信仰激烈冲突的心灵矛盾与痛苦，然而重要的是他们都能在此种精神的极端对立中，在自由意志的作用下，寻找到心灵的归宿，从而展示了人在文化压抑下撼人心魄的悲剧力量。 关键词归属感，对立，清教主义，异教主义Abstract Eugene0Neill(1888-1953)is one of the greatest playwrights in AmericallhistoryHe groundshis workson the tension and unease of human feelings，and addressesthe difficultiesof humansociety witha deeppsychological plexityand humanistioncernThis thesisis designedto elaborate0NeillS majorconcem forestablishing asense of belonging upon polarityThe focusis on whether thepolarity could or could not be harmonized in his charactersAmong his mature works，tWO of his emotionally probing plays，Desire under the Elmsa924)and Mourning Bees Electra(i93埙present abundantparallels for intensive discussionof the characters!belonging under the tensionof puritan-pagan polarityThough themanifestation of puritanism goingpaganism variesin eachplay，the majorcharacters areso strikinglypatterned as to fallinto certaincategories by order of their originalspiritual groundingThe pointis that all of the characters are able to sortout their own resolution after thebitter experienceof the psychic divisionIn otherwords，the unbalancedself isultimately balancedin courseof thefierce inner straggle betweenpuritanpagan oppositionIn conclusion，0NeillS charactershave achieved their sense ofbelongingby the exertion of their capable choices to elevate themselves from the interweaving polar swampFaced with the characterstragic ending，man is abletoprobe into the significance of humanexistence，and it is oneway ofobtaining purification and redemptionKey wordssense ofbelonging，polarity,puritanism，paganism南开大学学位论文版权使用授权书本人完全了解南开大学关于收集、保存、使用学位论文的规定，同意如下各项内容按照学校要求提交学位论文的印刷本和电子版本；学校有权保存学位论文的印刷本和电子版，并采用影印、缩印、扫描、数字化或其它手段保存论文；学校有权提供目录检索以及提供本学位论文全文或者部分的阅览服务；学校有权按有关规定向国家有关部门或者机构送交论文的复印件和电子版；在不以赢利为目的的前提下，学校可以适当复制论文的部分或全部内容用于学术活动。 学位论文作者签名毒晶晶a；年岁月功曰经指导教师同意，本学位论文属于保密，在年解密后适用本授权书。 指导教师签名学位论文作者签名解密时间年月日各密级的最长保密年限及书写格式规定如下内部5年(最长5年，可少于5年)秘密10年(最长10年，可少于10年)机密20年(最长20年，可少于20年)南开大学学位论文原创性声明本人郑重声明所呈交的学位论文，是本人在导师指导下逑厅研究工作所取得的成果。 除文中已经注明引用的内容外，本学ii卺文的研究成果不包含任何他人创作的、已公开发表或者没有公开楚的作品的内容。 对本论文所涉及的研究工作做出贡献的其他个L翔集体，均己在文中以明确方式标明。 本学位论文原创性声明的法壤譬】壬由本人承担。 学位论文作者签名杏晶晶知心年j-月20日Acknowledgements1would like to extendmy mostsincere gratitudeto allthose who have sparedn0effort tOassist mein thewriting of this thesis and thosewhohavetaught meduring thethreeyear MAprogram Amongthem Iam particularlyindebted to my supervisor,ProfLi Liwhose courseofModem AmericanLiterature”has initiallykindled myspecial interestsin theintensive studyon AmericandramaMoreover，her invaluableinstructions havecontributed greatlyto theshaping andcorrecting of the thesisHer encouragementarrd patiencewill benefitmy wholelife Formy progressduring thethreeyear studyas apostgraduate，t owemany thankstO ProfWei Rongchen，ProfSuo Jinmeiand ProfLiu Ying，as wellas manyother teachersofthe Englishfaculty1would alsoliketo give myspecial thankstomyfianc6Ryan whois undertakinghis PhDProgramHe is always apillar ofsupport andstrength，encourages andforts mein variousways sometimeswithout knowingthat he is helpingThanks alsogo tomy dearestparents for their loveand sacrificeAnd thankall myfriends for their helpand panionshipIntroduction Eugene0Neill is oneof the greatestplaywri曲tsinAmerican historyHe haswon fourPulitzer prizesfor literature，and alsoa NobelPrizeHis workhas provedhighly influentialin developingthegreatliterary legacyof twentiethcentury American theatreThrough hisemotionallyprobingdramas，he addressesthe difficultiesof humansociety witha deeppsychological plexityand humanistioncernHis literaryproduction isbased on the tensionanduneaseofhaman feelings，differing considerablyfrom Americandramas of the time0NeillS disdainfor themercial realitiesof the theater worldhe wasborn intohas ledhim tOproduce worksof importanceand integrityFor adramatist whose primary concernis the quest to establish asense ofbelonging，emotionally andpsychically in his characters，a concentrationuponpolaritytbcuses onwhether thepolarity couldor couldnot beharmonizedONeill。 S playsbring awhole catalogof polar opposites tomind，defining in each casea setof particularspiritual orpsychic tensionsthat haveto bebalanced，forin0NeillS horizon the twentiethcentury mancould belongmolan)To facilitatehis centralconcern，ONeill triestO instillGreek tragicspirit intoa twentieth-century modelIn his own words，Im alwaysacutely awareof the Force Behind(Fate，God，our biologicalpast creating01Lr present，whatever onecalls it-Mystery certainly)-and theetemal tragedyof Manin hisglorious，self-destructive struggleto makethe Forceexpress himinstead of being，as ananimal is，an infinitesimalincident inits expressionThis is the onlysubject worthwriting aboutandit ispossibleor CallbetO developa tragicexpression interms oftransfigured modemvalues andsymbols in thetheater(Hemdon)To aid this transfiguration，he looksdeep intohuman psycheSO thatMans strugglefor understandingturns inwardsto peratethe darknessof the human soulFor the most P8rtthe8nding of ONeills tragicfigures is attributed to the Force Behind withwhich theGreeks werefacedUnder the tension betweenmans fleewill and the externalagent termedas the Force Behind，mans innerstruggle issufficient to raise him tO thetragic heightEugene ONeiUtragedy drawsplentiful materialsfrom theGreek spirittO makepolarity at the heartof hisconcern，therefore amonghismatureplays，Desire“de，the Elms and Mourning Bees Electrapresent abundantparallels tomeet the above criterionwhich ischaracteristic of0NeillS dramatireation to the greatestextent forintensive studyFirst，characters in both of the plays are unanimouslypuritan descendantsin thenieenth centuryNew Englandand they are inexorablycontrolled bya certainForceBehind，for ONeill viewsman as a tragicfigure whosedownfall is the resultof boththe externalforces and his unbalancedselfThus thenobility of his characterslies in the factthat theyexert thefree willtoraisethem toheroic heightswhen doomedby anextcmal agent(Floyd281)In Desire under the Elms,theForceBehind takesthe form of Goddue toManS ingrainedbelief that God doesnot existfor man，but manfor thesake ofGod，and that the worldexists toserve theglorification ofGod andfor thatpurpose aloneIn Mourning Bees Electra,theForceBehind evolvesinto allindelible family fate under the spell of whichman is the victimof theirheredity and their aumulatedhistorySecond，polarities in the two playsareconcretized in the themeof theopposition betweenpuritanism andpaganismPuritanism originatesfrom theForces Behind，SO itnaturally varieswith thedifferent manifestationsof theuncontrollable ForcesPuritanism in Desire under the Elms,consummately embodied in thetyrannical fatherEphraim Cabot，is displayedas amaterialized puritanicalreligion thatworships toiland possession，scorns easywealth and loveEphraim believesthatGodis noteasy and his presenceis in the stonesthat mustbe piledup in a harshlife ofsacrificial serviceFor thatmaUer，stone beesthe correlativeobject tosymbolize puritanism in theplay SO that puritanEphraim holdsfast tohardness tokeep everythingaround in his possessionIn alike manlier,puritanismin Mourning Bees Electra,passed2down generationafter generation。 constitutes thechain offatein theMannon mansionThe Mannonswith theprincipal fatherEzra Mannonserving asa figurefor therigid puritanlaw,are sexuallyinhabited，incapable ofexpressing normalemotionsand deeplyaffected by the constrainingpuritan codeofjusticeSymbolically,the masklikefaces establishthe puritanMannon traditionThe pallorand immobilityof deathmasks aredisplayed whenthe Marmonsare doomedto borderon thesinful andlifedenying familyfateUnder therigid codeof standardizedpuritanism，natural loveare heavilyrepressed，thus tenderemotions beeintense desiresJuxtaposed to the repressingexertion ofpuritan heritage，the pagan spirit oflonging forbeauty andnatural lovedemands fulfillmentIn Desire under the Elms,the pagan force isconcentrated in the elmstowering overthe farm house witha sinistermaternity whichappears toprotect andat the same timesubdue”(Desire under the Elms318)The twoenormous elmsare depictedin supernaturalterms tosignify thefurtive opposingpowerFor this reason，the puritanCabots，as theyapproach the house reignedby the paganspirit，are frequentlydrawn to the generativepower ofpagan naturecapable of desireAs thetitle hasindicated，the strengthof theoverwhelming puritanrepression and the subversivepagan powerare to be measuredin theformof the gripof hardpossession and the pursuitof loveIn Mourning Bees Electra,the pagantraits areportrayed in the livingcolors of womens hairand eyesThe richnessof the hair pointsto primitive，vigorous sensuality and theeyes ofwomen furtherlink themwith theBlessed Islesassociated with the warlm，peaceful andsecure paradiseUnder thespellofpuritan-dominated sinfulfamilyfate，the purecharacteristics of thehairand eyesstem fromthat oftheideal deadwoman namedMarie Brantome，the lostparadise forwhom theguilt-ridden Mannonsconstantly long，And the following women-Christine andLavinia-unconsciously identifythemselves with the paganprimogenitorTrying toescape thedark cloudsof the deathoriented puritanrepression，the paganwomen desperatelystrive fora lifeaffirming brightlife sothat theydevelop perversepassion andextreme behaviorin thejaws ofmorbid puritanrepression toachieve theideal unboundedpagan life3Thirdall the charactersaretom under thetensionof the puritanpagan polaritynO matterwhich polarforce theyoriginally standforYet theDoint isthata11the charactersisabletO sortout theirown resolutionafter thebitter experienceof thepsychic divisionIn thissense，0NeillS protagonistshave unifiedtheir unbalancedself by theexertionof theircapablechoicestoelevatethemselvesfrom theinterweavingpolarswamp，thus thesense ofbelonginghas finallybeen achievedIt isa greatfort tohave discoveredthat manycritics have been studyingthe canonof Eugene ONeill concerningthe abovetwo playsin thefields ofpsychoanalysis，feminism，philosophical theories，literary techniques，and SOonIn thebook ofA KindofAlaskaWomen in the Playsof ONeill,Pinter，and Shepard,the authorargues，from afeminist pointof view,that“Psychoanalytic discourseOn femalesexuality isthe discourseof truthA discoursethat tellsthe truthabout thelogic oftruthnamely,that thefeminine oursonly withinmodels andlaws devisedby malesubjects”(Hall21)And specifically,In Desire under the Elms，however,ONeill dramatizesa couplewho reestablishtheir liveSO that they needto relyon nothingoutwardIn the article“Pursuit ofUltimate Valuein0NeillS Tragediesthe authorargues，in areligious sense，that“the pathosof Laviniain Mourningreside in the unattainabilitytO theultimate valuein herdefinite life，she wrestleswith humanlimitations，but fails”(Wu28)In JBrooks Atkinsons article“Strange Imagesof deathin EugeneONeills masterpieces，he castsaway theold frameworkof Greektragedies whichhas beenwidely approved，and adoptsa psychologicalapproach inhis analysisof Mourning Bees ElectraIn AltaMay ColemanS article of“Personality PortraitEugeneONeill，he makesall overallment on0NeillS distinguishedtalent ofcharacterization which isthe essence of his dramatiareerIn BrendaMurphys“0NeillS AmericatheStrange Interludebetween theWars，”the authorargues，from a prehensive viewpoints，how thedrastic contrastofhumanspiritual bewildermentand increasingmaterialism exertsinfluence on the charactersin severalplays，including MourningBees Electra“After thecultural upheavaland themoral impovefishmentof thetwenties，this stateappeared lessunthinkable thanit had4a fewyears earlierbut itspeaceful aeptancewas itselfonly abrief interludein0Neills pursuitof themeans ofspiritual transcendence”(Manheim146)In t11earticleof“MasksSymbol ofIsolation andDeath”the authoreiaborates onljle symbolicand artisticsignificanceof the useof masksin MourningBees ElPctrd“In0NeillS workingjoumal，he regardsthe extremefacial similaritiesas ctheirresistible fatedetermined by thecharacterspast”(Liao57)Eugene0Neill彻dtheTragic Tensionisaninterpretive study of his plays，which offersaprehensiveparative studyofONeillS workDoris VFalk presentsthe keyfeature of0NeillS characterization，An ONeill protagonistis notpelled tomake choicesbetween altemateactions in order toaomplish anotheraction；he mustmake achoice betweenalternate imagesof theself inorder todiscover thereal self-which heoften failsto doCertainly heperforms acts-if nothingelse，he antagonizesother characterswho areengaged in theirownsearch forsell anditisin thisconflict that the plotof manyof0NeillS playsconsistsBut theconflict withothers isonly abyproduct of the protagonistS conflictwith himselfHe mustsolve that，must findhis integratedselg beforehe Callengage inpurposeful action”(Falk135)In thebook of0Neills Shakespeare，the authorpresents allorlginat parativestudyof the twogreat playwrightsIn thebook ofThe AmericanDrama since1918,there issurely aprominent discussionof Eugene0NeillS playsThe themesof the two playshavebeenimpressively exploredrespectivelyFor Desire Under the Elms，the authoracknowledges the mysteriously fundamentalsignificance in thehumanstory inparison withthat inOedipus orHamletAs forMourningBees Electra,the authorlays emphasison theweightiness ofhuman actionsin lightofa sense ofbelonging insuch auniversal dramaofgood andevilIn thearticleof0NeillS FemaleCharacters”Judith EBarlow presentsall incisiveevaluation of the femalecharactersShe arguesthat It is truethat theplaywrightS conceptionofwomenis rootedinatraditional equationof“femininewithtmatemal”that limitshis abilityto castwomen insubject positionsrather thanas objectsofmasculine desireIn thebook ofTragedyVision andForm，the mostprofound questionto beE askedof acivilization isbeing insightfullydiscussed-in whatform itexoeriences itstragediesThe bookbrings togethera numberofessays whichdeal with theessenceof tragedywith clarityand parisonIt isalso oneof themost illuminatingbooks tOprovide thisthesis withsufficient proofto investigateEugene0NeillS tragicspiritIn PatrickJ-NolanS article“Desire under肪P ElmsCharacters byJune”the authorprobes into the masculine-feminine polarity intheplay based onthetheory ofJungS psychologicalmodel，for heholds thatThe psyche is posedof variousopposites，such asconsciousunconscious，reasoninstinct，active-passive，etc；the symbolismofthe masculine-feminine representsall ofthesepolaropposites”(Nolan)This articlehas instilledtremendous inspirationinto thethesis andalso ledto therecognition ofthesignificance ofthepolarityin0NeillS workin thisthesisThe thesisis todiscuss thecharactersbelonging under thetensionofpuritanpagan polarityby orderof thematicsignificance intheabovetwo playsIt mightbe somewhatoriginal that thecharactersare classifiedinto threehighlyparalleled pairsbasedontheir inbornbelief inpuritanism orpaganismAs aresult，Chapter Onedeals with the puritanforces dominatingthe Cabotsfarm house in Desire under the Elms andthe MarmonMansion in MourningBees Electra respectivelyEphraim Cabotin Desire underthe Elms andEzra Man_non in MourningBeesElectra are strikingly correspondedto bethe supremepuritan fathersinthe twoplaysEmphasis isput onthe discussionof thesenseofbelonging of the twopuritan fathersin theirdealing with the naturalflow ofpagan emotionsSO as to finallyconform to their puritandominanceChapter Twoanalyzes the pagan forcepermeated throughthe Puritanismingrained inthe Cabotshousein DesireUnderthe Elms andtheMannon Mansionin MourningBeesElectra respectivelyThis chapteris topare theprocess of their spiritualevolvement of thetwopagans Abbieand Christinein Desire underthe Elms andMourningBeesElectra,SO thatthe significanee of theirbelongings isnaturally concludedintheendChapter Threedeals with the paradoxical figures inboth ofthe plays respectively一Eben Cabotin Desire underthe Elms andLavinia MannoninMourning6Bees Elecon They arestrikingly alike inthe double nature inheritedf如mtleir puritan father andpagan motherEmphasis islaid uponthe humanelyunusual choices they finally make out ofthepsychic interweavement ofthedominming puritanself andthe repressedpagan instinct7Chapter ThreeParadoxical Figureswith DoubleNature This chapter dealswith the paradoxicalfiguresinbothoftheplaysrespectively-Eben Cabotin Desire underthe ElmsandLavinia MannoninMourf琏2BeesElectraThey arestrikinglyalikeinthedoublenature inherited from their puritanfather andpagan motherAnd theyare alsothe onesineachplay whoare capableof responsibilitiesand defiantchoices inthemostdifficult humandelimma,which greatlyadd tOthe artisticbrilliance ofONeiUS playsDesire underthe Elmsopens ona notethat EbenCabot isdoing his dead motherS choresin servingthe Cabots intheNew EnglandfarmhouseHe isbound torevive his motherS spirit by avengingthe greedypuritanfatherEphraim Cabotby secretlyidentifying his self tOthepaganforce，ontheother hand，he overlydisplays hisharsh puritannatureinhis fierceseizure ofthe ownershipofthe farm whichis deemedessential for her motherS sakeFaced with the burningseduction ofEphraimS newwife AbbiePutnam，Eben remainsimmune toher charmsat firstThen graduallyhe plungesinto theassumed loveof Abbieidentical tohis deadmotherS intheir physicalanionAfter theirchild isbornEben showshis tenderaffection toward the childasarevelation of his softpagan nature，but whenhe ismisled byEphraim to believe AbbieS unfaithfulnessto himEben istotally controlledby theoutburst ofpuritan hardnessand harshlyopposes