An Analysis On The Theme Of Desire In Desire Under The Elms From The Perspective Of Narrative Time And Space

Eugene O’Neill, “Father of Modern American Drama”, is the only dramatist who wins the Pulitzer Prize four times and the Nobel Prize for literature in American dramatic history. Set in New England in 1850, Desire Under the Elms reveals the protagonists’ excessive desire directly and boldly, establishing O’Neill’s fame all over the world. The theme of desire will be interpreted from three levels: excessive material desire, distorted physical desire and divine spiritual desire. Theories of narrative time(order, duration and frequency) and narrative space(Gabriel Zoran’s theory of topographical space, Henri Lefebvre’s theory of social space and Teresa Bridgeman’s theory of spatial relationships) will be applied to analyze the theme of desire.This thesis consists of introduction, four chapters and conclusion. Introduction contains a brief introduction to O’Neill and Desire Under the Elms, literature review and the structure of the thesis. Chapter One introduces the theory of narrative time and narrative space in a brief way.Chapter Two analyzes the theme of excessive material desire from the perspective of narrative time(analepsis and repetitive) and narrative space(the theory of topographical space). Chapter Three analyzes the theme of distorted physical desire from the perspective of narrative time(analepsis, repetitive and prolepsis) and narrative space(the theory of social space). Chapter Four analyzes the theme of divine spiritual love from the perspective of narrative time(prolepsis and scene) and narrative space(the theory of spatial relationships). Conclusion summarizes the subject and significance of the thesis.In a word, theories of narrative time and space are put to work in analyzing the theme of desire in Desire Under the Elms, which contributes a lot in the understanding of Eugene O’Neill’s narrative styles and the theme of desire in the play.