A Probe Into The Other In Vogel’s Plays

The Baltimore Waltz and How I Learned to Drive are the representative works by Paula Vogel(1951-)who is a remarkable feminist playwright in the USA.The plays mainly deal with such issues as homosexuality,AIDS disease,pedophilia and family relationship.The Baltimore Waltz and How I Learned to Drive have attracted wide attention since publication.Drama critics have explored the two play from different perspectives.However,the author of this thesis finds that the plays have not been thoroughly approached from the perspective of the Other.Therefore,based on Kristeva’s notion of the Other,the thesis discusses the Otherness of the main characters in the play and reveals the indifference and discrimination that public hold towards homosexuals and AIDS victims and hate and exclusion for pedophiles in the society.Meanwhile,it points out that the playwright appeals to the society to respect and recognize the Other.The thesis mainly consists of four chapters.Firstly,Chapter One gives a critical review of the issue of Otherness in history and introduces Kristeva’s notion of the Other which stresses that Otherness is part of ourselves and should be recognized by us.Then,Chapter Two mainly discusses Otherness of the main characters in terms of homosexuality,AIDS and pedophilia in the homophobic and male-dominant society.Chapter Three explores the theme embodied in the play,i.e.the recognition and inclusion of the Other by means of foreign language lessons,the European trip,waltz and driving the car.Among them,foreign language lessons run through the whole play in The Baltimore Waltz and imply the unremitting efforts made by the foreigners as the Other in order to win recognition by the natives.Even though the European trip turned out to be an imaginary one by Anna in the end,it shows close relationship among family members is more important than anything else and the Other should be firstly recognized and supported by family members.In addition,there are apparent symbolic meanings for waltz in the play.On one hand,waltz symbolizes homosexuality.On the other hand,it symbolizes the journey towards the recognition of the Other.Despite the hardship conveyed by the journey motif,the playwright believes that we should persist.While in the last scene of How I Learned to Drive,Li,l Bit forgives his Uncle Peck for the trauma that he has caused to her and drives her own car toward the road ahead.Finally,Chapter Four discusses the motivation and dramaturgy for Vogel to construct Others in the play.The author points out that the personal background of the playwright is the real power for Vogel to expose the current living conditions of homosexuals and AIDS victims as the Other,and that successful management of dramaturgy helps to manifest and reinforce the theme.Vogel’s playwriting is deeply influenced by Brecht,In her plays,Vogel frequently applies Brechtian art of defamiliarization to depict the issue that we are familiar with,in the purpose of encouraging us to reconsider the Other in a rational and critical way.Moreover,Vogel’s works are noted for their bitter ironies and satirical humor in dramatizing serious political issues and farcical representation of tragic events.In this way,the audience can be disarmed and invited to explore possible solutions to the problems.Based on the above analysis,the thesis comes to a conclusion:Vogel creates various Others in her works,who keep struggling for their identities to be recognized by the mainstream society.Although there are difficulties lying ahead on the road,the playwright believes that we should treat the Other in a rational,objective and critical way rather than shut the door on them.