Representing And Reconstructing Traumatized Masculinity

Sam Shepard (1943-) is acclaimed as one of the most important American playwrights after Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams. His interest in masculinity is present in every stage of his career. Taking three of Shepard’s memory plays as examples, this thesis has conducted a detailed analysis of Shepard’s representation of traumatized masculinity from the perspective of trauma theory. The thesis argues that through dramatization of various kinds of traumas, Shepard exposes the loss of masculinity in contemporary American society. He also attempts to reconstruct the traumatized masculinity through various healing methods in trauma theory. But his effort to heal the trauma and restore masculinity does not escape the patriarchal influence.First, this thesis studies Shepard’s dramatization of familial trauma in Buried Child. Consisting of transgenerational trauma and marital trauma, familial trauma in this play has generated negative influence on the male characters’ masculinity. They flee to the desert to escape from their traumatic memory and their father’s patriarchal influence, hoping to reconstruct their masculinity. But they all fall prey to the hereditary circle and turn into their father to regain their manhood. Then, this thesis studies Shepard’s representation of cultural trauma which means the loss of West in True West. For Shepard, the old West and frontier spirit are closely connected to the machismo and masculinity. But the modern urbanization accelerates the fall of West, which marks the demise of masculine myth of the American frontier. Experiencing cultural trauma, the characters in this play try to restore their masculinity through wandering in the remote shape their present and even future, and only those who construct the best versions of the past or tell the stories of past in a best way are capable of winning a final victory in the power game of memories, desert or trying to fit in modern city life but still do not succeed. At last, this thesis studies war trauma in States of Shock. The male character Stubbs’ traumatic experiences of war have caused his loss of memory and masculinity. In the process of regaining his memory and masculinity, he gradually inherits his father’s feverish patriotism and bellicosity. His reconstruction of masculinity actually does not escape the influence of his father and the country.In the end, the thesis concludes that Shepard’s representation of familial trauma, cultural trauma and war trauma displays the loss of masculinity in contemporary America. He also proposes ways of healing the trauma and reconstructing masculinity, which is to face directly to the trauma and to testify. But his healing strategies finally turn out to be frustrated since they do not escape the patriarchal influence.