Ego-identification--An Analysis Of The Characters In The Glass Menagerie With Lacan's Subject Theory

Tennessee Williams is one of the most influential and controversial playwrights in modern American theatre. His The Glass Menagerie marks the turning point of modern American drama with his prominent dramatic techniques and in-depth characterization. This play brings both fame and fortune to Tennessee Williams and makes him one of America's most highly regarded playwrights in post World WarⅡtheatre. Setting in the 1930s, The Glass Menagerie is about the story of the three Wingfields——Amanda, Tom and Laura, their struggling for the truth between the illusion and the reality. In this thesis, the author of the thesis tries to apply Lacan's subject theory to analyze the characters in The Glass Menagerie in order to reveal the tragic real——the impossibility of the searching for the ego of human subject.This thesis consists of six parts. The first part is a brief introduction to Tennessee Williams and his work The Glass Menagerie, and summarizes the current studies on this novel abroad and in China.Chapter One is a general introduction to Lacan's subject theory which explains the core psychological concepts of the mirror stage; the ego and the Other; and the three orders.Chapter Two is the study of the characterization through a deep analysis of the child mother relationship in the Wingfields. In this part, the author reveals that there is nothingness in the egos of the Wingfields and that their egos are established on the alienated identification with the others.Chapter Three focuses on the symbolic identification between the Wingfield children and the Father and analyses the significant influence from the gentleman caller, Jim O'Connor on the Wingfields.In Chapter Four, the author explains the causes which result in the tragic ending of the characters and the impossible real of the being in the subject under Lacanian Real.The last part serves as a conclusion of the thesis, which reinforces the argument that the ego is the alienated identification of the Other. Furthermore, it stresses the value and significance of the thesis.