From Dependence To Rebellion: Eugene O' Neill's Three Female Characters

From Dependence to Rebellion:Eugene O'Neill's Three Female Characters Zhai YaminEugene O'Neill (1888-1953), was one of the greatest playwrights in American literature, and was called "the father of serious drama in America". Because O'Neill has long been treated as having a very serious "misogynist", such an estimate has been deeply rooted in the critical field. Consequently he and his plays have been criticized by the feministic critics.However, another aspect of him has often been missed. O'Neill, as a realist playwright, also wrote of things "as they are" with great seriousness. He is among the most autobiographical of playwrights. His works are deeply affected by his personal experiences. His family, three marriages and love affairs with "several other women" are the main influential elements of his dramatic creations. These experiences have increased his agony, strengthened his tragic sense, deepened his understanding of women, and made him keenly realize women's bitter life and hard situations.Eugene O'Neill has a strong passion for realistic production and intense social responsibilities. He realistically depicts the female characters'agonies and sufferings, and shows great sympathy, understanding and support for them, in hope that people should pay close attention to the sexual inequality, and the multiple familial and social problems caused by sexual inequality, so that efforts may be taken to rebuild a new relationship between the sexes in the place of the traditional one in order to foster a harmonious co-existence of the sexes.The development of the critical theories is very fast, especially the feminist criticism. The practices of feminist movements show that the effective way to build a mutually beneficial relationship of the two sexes characterized by harmony is to respect the respective specificities of the two sexes. This is also an ideal approach to sexual equality advocated by the third wave feminism, namely, post-feminism. The various agonies suffered by O'Neill's characters can all be traced back to the relationship between the two sexes. The critical and reconstructive spirits of gender theory practically show the openness and vitality of this burgeoning, interdisciplinary humanistic social science. It's believed that gender theory proves a powerful tool in unscrambling the roots of the female characters'sufferings in O'Neill's plays, as well as in groping for ways of their liberation.In this thesis, two aspects of the topic are represented:First, the miserable plights and passive position the female characters are in; and second, the awareness of their living conditions, and their different levels of rebellions against the patriarchal society.In addition to introduction and conclusion, the thesis consists of four parts:Chapter one is an examination of the influence of some important women on O'Neill's plays, in particular, in shaping the portrayals of his female characters. Quite a few women in his real life have a great impact on O'Neill's writing, among the most important are his mother Ella O'Neill, three wives, Kathleen Jenkins, Agnes Boulton, and Carlotta Monterey; and his lovers, Maibelle Scott, Catherine Anna Mackay, Beatice Ashe, and Louise Bryant. O'Neill is aware of the miseries of those he knows and realistically represents them, and realizes that females are entitled to their independence, selfhood and life.Chapter Two surveys his representative works in his early writing period, Beyond the Horizon. Ruth is presented both as a victimizer and a victim. She, in pursuit of happiness in life, chooses to marry Robert. However, Ruth never changes her passivity in the frustrated marriage. Her rash and wrong choice destroys the bright future of everyone concerned, and she does nothing except complaining, which serves only to hasten her own decline and the demise of her husband. In this play, O'Neill is well aware of women's plights in patriarchal society and shows his pity.Chapter Three analyzes O'Neill's representative work in his second writing period Desire Under the Elms. In the patriarchal society, the equation "nature= women" is deeply rooted, and it is revealed in this play by Cabot's exploit and conquest of three wives, and the struggle between Cabot and Eben over farm and women. Abbie is presented an image of Earth-Mother through her interaction between Eben, who serves at once a savior and destroyer. In Desire Under the Elms Abbie takes the initiative to free herself from the bondage of marriage and finally wins genuine love although she has to pay a high price. Compared with Ruth, she shows a new female image who can bravely take the consequences for what she pursues. The play ends in her moral victory, O'Neill's deep sympathy and understanding for women are revealed.Chapter Four explores his last play A Moon for the Misbegotten, in which Josie is portrayed as an integrated image-protective mother, loving sister, daughter, and sensual lover-defined by the traditional roles in the patriarchal society. Josie experiences the journey from playing traditional roles voluntarily to abandoning such roles to identify her true self, succeeding in accomplishing self-identity, which has transcends patriarchy in a totally new way. Her strength and adamancy enable her to win the complete success that Ruth and Abbie do not have. Her thorough success proves O' Neill's positive attitude toward women in his late period.Although these three female characters in Eugene O'Neill's plays depend on men for their future happiness and security, they are keenly aware of their position as the second sex and begin to fight against the unfair treatment of them, in order that they can gain their independence. The rebellions of these female characters show a logical and clear tendency throughout O'Neill's plays. They rebel more and more violently as his plays maturate in his dramaturgy and perceptions. The female's inerratic rebellions reveal O'Neill's objective position of the reflection of their position as vulnerable victims in the patriarchal society and a profound examination of the female existence in traditional Western society, showing his great understanding and sympathy.