The power of myth: A study of Chinese elements in the plays of O'Neill, Albee, Hwang, and Chin

This dissertation analyzes the Chinese elements in selected plays by Eugene O'Neill, Edward Albee, David Henry Hwang, and Frank Chin in terms of cultural myth. It explores how the use or critique of cultural myths contributes to the thematic formation of the plays, and analyzes how cultural myths circulate ideas between different cultures in ways that promote certain ideological or political agendas.; Cultural myth, as defined in this study, is a mode of signification in cultural interactions. Cultural myth-makers treat historical features as transhistorical, unchanging, and universal characteristics of a culture. O'Neill and Albee, two Caucasian playwrights, mythologize Chinese elements in their plays--O'Neill's "Marco Millions" and Albee's Box and Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung--to advocate change: Marco Polo's greed is contrasted to the spirituality of the East, and the stagnant quality of Western civilization is underscored by Mao's aggressiveness and vitality. But beyond this, by using the tension between the conviction of myth and the exposure of its distortions, both playwrights are able to convey a much more complicated vision than a black and white contrast between East and West. They thus employ myth as a means of both self-criticism and advocacy for change.; In contrast, Hwang and Chin, two Chinese-American playwrights, assail the abuse of cultural myths about Chinese culture. In his M Butterfly, Hwang endeavors to dismantle the cultural myths about China by reversing several binary oppositions signified by Western mythical perceptions about the East. In his two plays--The Chickencoop Chinaman and The Year of the Dragon--Chin exposes the detrimental effect of cultural myths (the stereotypes of Charlie Chan and Chinatown) upon Chinese America. They both realize that cultural myths about the Chinese, as abused in the West, support a social order in which Caucasians are given preference. In their search for cultural identity, however, their plays also show the indispensable role of cultural myths in cultural interactions and the inevitable link between cultural myths and political realities.