An Analysis Of Strange Interlude From The Perspective Of Trauma

Eugene O'Neill is regarded as"the Father of American Drama",the founder of American serious drama,and his creation leads to new dimension for the development of American drama in the 20^th.Strange Interlude is one of the most important psychological tragedies among O'Neill's literary creation and it won Pulitzer Prize in1928 for the third time,which is the master of O'Neill's tragedies.The play has nine acts which narrates that the protagonist Nina Leeds behaves abnormally and goes through a series of twists and turns in her emotional experiences after her fiancéGordon dies in the battle field.This thesis attempts to apply Judith Herman's trauma theory to analyze trauma symptoms,trauma causes and trauma recovery in the play,and then explores how the protagonist Nina Leeds recovers with the doctor Darrell's help after Nina experiences psychological trauma and is influenced by the society,the family even her personal factors.Due to her father Professor Leeds'prevention,Nina cannot devote herself to her fiancéGordon before he goes to the battle field,which is Nina's lifelong regret.The tragic death of Gordon shadows Nina deeply,which is the resource of her lifelong tragedy.After hearing the mourning news of Gordon's death,Nina obviously shows the symptoms of trauma:hyperarousal,intrusion and constriction.Through the protagonist Nina's behaviours and researching the social as well as historical contexts,it is clearly seen that the spiritual breakdown after WWI and the prevalence of scientism as well as materialism and male-dominated structure of gender relations,which make up the turbulent American society in the 20th century.Then,the inharmonious family refers to the father Professor Leeds'abnormal love and the loveless marriage with the husband Sam.At last,Nina seeks for love substitutes and she addicts to desire in the marriage,which constitute ineluctable personal factors.Above three aspects of reasons continue to deepen the tragedy of Nina's life which falls towards abyss.With the doctor Darrell's help,Nina hopes to create a safe living environment through the marriage where she can get rid of the terrible past.Nina regains the hope in the life when she mourns her traumatic experiences.Furthermore,Nina eliminates her inner fears and conflicts then regains the capacity for connecting with others.In the end,Nina succeeds to reconcile with herself.O'Neill's miserable family life is the important part of his memory,which is the indispensable force for his dramatic creations.Under O'Neill's pen,to some extent,traumatic narration is one of outstanding features,which is text expression of O'Neill's experiences.O'Neill's mother's addiction relevance to his birth leads to alienation between his mother and his family members,which is the origin of O'Neill's guilt and grief.In Strange Interlude,the protagnist Nina's life experience is based on O'Neill's complex feelings towards her mother.O'Neill uses literary narrative with the mental healing effect.Through trauma narrative,O'Neill releases many years of complaints and confusions about his loved ones,and relieves as well as treats his inner trauma,which is in common with the characters created by him.