A Study On The Theme Of "Family" In Cao Yu's And Eugene O'Neill's Drama

Most of Cao Yu's and O'Neill's dramas have a "family theme". Based on Freud's principles of "trauma memory" and "Oedipus complex", and feminism, culturology and etc, taking the "family" theme as the breakthrough point, this paper uses the approaches of "impact study" and "parallel research" to compare similarities and differences in "family theme"between Cao Yu's and O'Neill's dramas. And then it discusses the acceptance and transcendence of O'Neill creation in Cao Yu "family drama", and analyses differences between Chinese and Western culture. At last, it tells the special profound humanistic ideal and humanistic care in these two writers from the authors'"save" and "salvation" consciousness which is hidden in the "disharmony" family issues.The paper is made up of three parts: introduction, body and conclusion. In the part of introduction, it mainly introduces the present condition of researches on Cao Yu's and O'Neill's dramas, major idea and the position of the project. The first chapter focuses on the reasons why Cao Yu accepted the creation of O'Neill's disharmony "family theme" and the searching process of the two writers choosing disharmony "family theme" with use of different methods. The second chapter mainly analyses and compares disharmony family roles in American and Chinese culture. It discussed family conflicts in the background of Chinese and Western culture from the images of father, mother and son, respectively. The third chapter mainly explored the causes of disharmony family tragedies. Bases on the above interpretation of implicit "save" and "salvation" spirit in the two dramatists, it demonstrates the heavy and light of choosing "save" and "salvation" for them, which is the response of their own culture. The conclusion is based on the above-mentioned accounts, and further analyses that Cao Yu's acceptance of O'Neill's "family theme" is not an unconditional imitation. O'Neill's "family theme" focuses on family discord under the modern commercial culture, which intends to cause the reflection of modern human. The "family theme" in the work of Cao Yu has the shadow of O'Neill's, but mostly, Cao Yu integrated the concept of his own traditional culture into the work. "Home" in Cao Yu's dramas, often losses the traditional sense of sentimental feelings. It highlights a negative color, which makes family conflict be an important factor of family culture and family variation. These dramas are the embodiment of conflicts between Chinese traditional culture and modern civilization, and the complex of individual consciousness and the traditional family culture. Through in-depth study of Cao Yu's and O'Neill's "family theme", it helps us understand and grasp the source of family tragedy in Cao Yu's and O'Neill's creation more fully, and feel the two dramatists'deep concern and reflection of modern family and the human condition who have been taken as the maters of human soul with a strong sense of responsibility.