On The Evolution Of The Female Characters In Sam Shepard's Plays

Focusing on the female characters in Sam Shepard's plays,especially those in Cowboy Mouth,Buried Child,Fool for Love and A Lie of the Mind,this thesis analyzes the changing of their reaction to male oppression and the evolutionary process of these female characters,giving a positive answer to the debate on the feminist dimensions of his plays.Against the broad social, historical,and political backdrop of the 1960s when women's movement began to surge up,Sam Sbepard infuses all the influences from his family and contemporary females into his creation of female characters.From the early peripheral ones in terms of both casting and individuality to the late heroines with more selfhood,Shepard becomes more and more mature in characterization of independent females,making the accusation of him as a misogynist groundless.