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Contents
Abstract i
摘 要 iii
Introduction 1
0.1 A Brief Introduction to Eugene O’Neill and Desire Under the Elms 1
0.2 Literature Review 2
0.3 Theoretical Framework: Ethical Literary Criticism 3
Chapter One Ethical Relationship between Husband and Wife 4
1.1 Cabot’s Excessive Greed for Possession 4
1.2 Abbie’s Insatiable Desire for Material Security 4
Chapter Two Ethical Relationship between Two Generations 7
2.1 The Abandonment of Ethical Indentity: Incest 7
2.2 The Detachment of Kinship: Utilitarianism 8
2.3 The Loss of Humanity: Infanticide 9
Chapter Three Routing the Causes of Ethical Tragedy 10
3.1 Disordered Ethical Roles: Excessive Material Desire 10
3.2 Deviated Traditional Ethics: Twisted Sexual Lust 11
3.3 Confined Human Thoughts: Outworn Puritanism 12
3.4 Conflicted Oppositions: Strong Consciousness of Revenge 13
Chapter Four The Return of Ethical Norm 15
4.1 The Call for Traditional Ethics and Moral Justice 15
4.2 The Sublimation of Humanity and the Purification of Spirit 16
4.3 The Salvation through Death and Love 17
Conclusion 19
Works Cited 21
An Analysis of Desire Under the Elms From the Perspective of Ethical Literary Criticism
Introduction
This paper strives for the application of ethical literary criticism in analyzing the American playwright, Eugene O’Neill’s Desire Under the Elms. The following parts offer a brief introduction to Eugene O’Neill, a general literary literature review of the playwright’s works and the application of ethical literary criticism in analyzing Desire Under the Elms respectively.
0.1 A Brief Introduction to Eugene O’Neill and Desire Under the Elms
Eugene Gladstone O’Neill (October 16, 1888---November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and was entitled Nobel laureate in Literature. His plays took the initiatives to include speeches in American vernacular and cover characters on the fringes of society, where they strive to maintain their hopes and aspirations, but ultimately end up with disillusionment and despair. As an internationally renowned dramatist, who was labeled as “American Shakespeare”, he was also awarded four Pulitzer Prizes and the Nobel Prize in 1936 because of his “dramatic works of vital energy, sincerity, and intensity of feeling, stamped with an original conception of tragedy”(Hallstrom, The Nobel Prize in Literature 51).
Desire Under the Elms, a tragedy written by Eugene O’Neill in 1924, is often regarded as a milestone work in American literary history. It signifies O’Neill’s attempt to adopt themes of Greek tragedy to a rural New England setting. The play, which was defined as O’Neill’s unconscious autobiography, is a first truly American historical play.
0.2 Literature Review
In the Western countries, Eugene O’Neill’s works have been receiving long-lasting attentions and they have been served as the research focus in many scholar’s papers. Some scholars think O’Neill’s writing style is affected by his own life experiences. They try to find the connection through doing deconstructive analysis and reviewing the history of tragedy theory. The typical work among them is The Desire for Structure: A Deconstructive Analysis of Desire Under the Elms by Joel K. Murray and Michael S. Bowman. Some other scholars pay more attention to the excessive desires revealed in the play and think them as the causes of the ethical tragedy. They attribute the inevitability of the tragedy to the pursuit of materials, the sensual love and the lost spiritual world. Moreover, some set their foot on exploring the characteristics of the characters’ personality, regarding the flaws of which are the direct causes of their tragic endings.