A Study of the Theme of Salvation in Tennessee Williams’ Plays [田纳西•威廉斯戏剧中的救赎主题研究], Master thesis, English Language and Literature, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, Jilin, China 2018 [application of Fromm's theories to art].

  • 田纳西•威廉斯是美国二十世纪杰出的剧作家之一,其剧作在国内外引起广泛的兴趣。然而,我国对田纳西•威廉斯剧作的研究始于上世纪八十年代,仅有少量的专著问世。多数国内外批评家和学者将注意力集中在剧作中研究的主题。基于前人研究成果,本篇论文致力于探索田纳西•威廉斯剧作中>救赎<这一主题。>救赎<这一主题不仅是对田纳西•威廉斯以同性身份为代表的精神危机的回应,也是对1950年至1960年间,麦卡锡主义至文化运动这一动荡社会转型时期的一种深度回应。本篇论文在探讨>救赎<这一主题时,选取了田纳西•威廉斯的五部剧作:《玻璃动物园》、《欲望号街车》、《热铁皮屋顶上的猫》、《琴神下凡》、以及《蜥蜴之夜》。这五部戏剧见证了田纳西•威廉斯戏剧的辉煌开端以及落寞退场。本篇论文通过对>救赎<这一主题表现形式的分类,概括出其流变过程的具体三个阶段,它们分别是:麻醉式的自我救赎,性救赎,以及以流亡者为最终体现的自我和解。这三个救赎阶段不仅见证着田纳西•威廉斯在救赎思想上的成熟,也与一个分崩离析的时代相互辉映。在此基础上,本篇论文认为,>救赎<这一主题的第三个阶段——>流亡<,使>救赎<这一主题在田纳西•威廉斯的笔下别具一格。从《玻璃动物园》到《蜥蜴之夜》,田纳西•威廉斯笔下的剧中人深陷来自道德伦理、社会、政治以及文化的桎梏。也是为此,田纳西•威廉斯一生沉浮在现实与思想危机的漩涡中,以谋求<救赎<的出路。伴随着剧中人所面临的的漫漫长夜,田纳西•威廉斯渴望为那些深陷困境的人书写出>救赎<。本篇论文一共分为六个主要部分。第一部分为前言,前言部分简要的介绍了田纳西•威廉斯的生平以及创作生涯。并围绕本篇论文选取的五部剧作进行了国内外研究综述的梳理和总结。在前言的最后,扼要的指出本篇论文的中心论点,研究方法以及学术意义。论文的第一章,从词源学角度出发,对田纳西•威廉斯剧作中的救赎一词下定义,以明确研究的主旨与内容。论文的第二章,分别从五部剧作中总结归纳救赎的三中表现形式,并以黑格尔的异化理论以及弗洛姆的社会心理学对这三个阶段的递进关系进行分析。论文的第三章,结合内部研究与外部研究,对田纳西•威廉斯救赎主题的社会成因以及个人成因进行分析。论文第四章,总结与提炼出田纳西•威廉斯剧作中对>救赎<这一主题的独到见解。论文的结论部分,重新回顾了>救赎<这一主题在田纳西•威廉斯剧作中的流变过程,并再次点明中心论点。
  • Tennessee Williams is one of the most famous playwrights whose plays arouse great interest abroad. However, the domestic study of his plays only began after 1980 s with a few monographs. Both Chinese and foreign critics have paid great attention to themes reflected in his plays. When probing into themes, this thesis aims to focus on the theme of salvation which is caused by both his spiritual crisis that is represented by his homosexual identity and the external pressure that is represented by an alienated world in the transitional period from McCarthyism to The Cultural Movement in 1960s. This thesis selects five plays, >The Glass Menagerie<, >A Streetcar Named Desire<, >Cat on a Hot Tin Roof<, >Orpheus Descending<, and >The Night of the Iguana<, to study the theme of salvation. These five plays sequentially spanned from the beginning of Tennessee Williams’ fame to the ending of his popularity in writing career. Based on these five plays, this thesis argues that the expressions of salvation undergo three stages in a progressing manner, namely self-paralysis salvation, sexual balance and self-communion. Furthermore, this thesis points out that it is the last stage-exile that distinguishes his salvation from that of his peers. From >The Glass Menagerie< to >The Night of the Iguana<, Tennessee Williams sets his characters in predicaments which are caused by ethical, social, political and cultural influences. In writing career, he is devoted to the theme of salvation which moves within the stranglehold of both realistic and spiritual crises. Those characters languish in both internal and external darkness, and thus Tennessee Williams is devoted to the exploration of salvation in order to emancipate those people who are troubled. This thesis comprises six main parts. The introduction gives a brief depiction of Tennessee Williams’ life and writing career. At the same time, this part focuses on the major plot and characters of these five plays, and reviews the previous and present researches on Tennessee Williams’ plays, especially on the selected five plays. At the end of the introduction, this thesis sets forth the central argument, research methods and significance of the thesis. Then, this thesis concentrates on elaborating the theme of salvation in the four main chapters.– The first chapter aims to define the meaning of salvation in Tennessee Williams’ plays from the etymological perspective.– The second chapter of the thesis summarizes the three manifestations of redemption from the five plays, and analyzes the progressive relationship of these three stages with Hegel's theory of alienation and Fromm's social psychology.– The third chapter aims to elaborate the factors leading to the formation of salvation in Tennessee’s plays.– And the last chapter aims to analyze the features of Tennessee Williams’ salvation. – In conclusion, this thesis concludes that the progressing of salvation’s expression is Tennessee Williams’ pursuit of emancipating people from the stranglehold of both physical and spiritual world. [Author’s translation]

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Metadaten
Author:Chenchuan Tong
Document Type:Dissertations
Language:Chinese
Year of first Publication:2018
Release Date:2019/03/04
Format:no download and copy possible
IdNo:Tong_Chengchuan_2018
Writings about Erich Fromm (Secondary Literature):Dissertations / Dissertationen
Erich Fromm's Library and Erich Fromm Archive:Dissertations / Dissertationen
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