A Study On A Moon For The Misbegotten From The Perspective Of Ethical Literary Criticism

A Moon for the Misbegotten, the last play of the “Father of American Drama”—Eugene O’Neill, is not only an epilogue to his most autobiographical play, Long Day’s Journey into Night, but also an elegy and a final blessing for his brother. The play embodies rich ethical thoughts, which are worth researching.Going along with the path of ethics, the two obvious story lines of the play actually become two ethical lines, by which O’Neill narrates a moving moral story about two independent but closely linked families to the readers. From the perspective of ethical literary criticism put forward by professor Nie Zhenzhao, this thesis conducts a close study of the two ethical lines of the play. By analyzing their ethical identities and ethical choices against the historical and dialectic ethical background, this thesis aims to present the readers the true inner worlds of the three protagonists under disguise.Besides the Introduction and Conclusion, this thesis is divided into four chapters.The Introduction part mainly presents a brief introduction to Eugene O’Neill and his works, in particular A Moon for the Misbegotten, its literature review as well as its research purpose and research significance.Chapter One offers a brief summary of ethical literary criticism, including the background against which it was put forward, its main ideas and especially some key ethical terms to be utilized in the thesis.Chapter Two focuses on the first ethical line which revolves around a pair of father and daughter. Phil is a loving father and Josie is a noble, pure and loving girl. However, due to the complicated ethical environment then, Phil has to hide his love for his daughter under the disguise of a liar and Josie has to pretend to be a bad woman and conceal her true feelings.Chapter Three is the analysis of the second ethical line which is mainly about James Tyrone. The lack of maternal love causes him to long for an ethical identity of a beloved son and the lifelong influence of Oedipus Complex on him. In fact, taking account of various ethical factors, his choice of living a self-destructive life after his mother’s death is the reflection of his guilt for his mother. He is seeking for someone that he can confess to.Chapter Four is the intersecting of the two ethical lines: confession under the moon. Giving up her pursuit of love and the ethical identity as a wife, Josie chooses to play the role of mother for the man she loves. Finding the long-desired maternal love and ethical identity of a beloved son from Josie, receiving the imaginary mother’s forgiveness for his betrayal of mother and his unethical behaviors, James finally gets the peace of mind.The part of Conclusion sums up the previous analysis, and points out some moral insights. People should not be misled by the false appearances others put on. They may disguise themselves deliberately on account of moral or other concerns. The key factors in making a judgment on one’s moral standard include his actual behavior, the motivation of his behavior and the real beneficiaries. In fact, thinking more about other people’s position and interests in the process of dealing with things and interacting with others, the society will become happier and more harmonious.