Family masks: Father-child relationships in the plays of Eugene O'Neill.
Item
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Title
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Family masks: Father-child relationships in the plays of Eugene O'Neill.
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Identifier
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AAI9304662
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identifier
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9304662
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Creator
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Frank, Glenda.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Albert Bermel
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Date
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1992
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Literature, American | Literature, Modern
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Abstract
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This dissertation argues that Eugene O'Neill deliberately adopted the family as a laboratory for his philosophical and dramatic ideas. It examines the father-child bond in depth in eight full-length plays, from Bread and Butter, juvenilia unpublished during the playwright's life, through the masterpieces, Long Day's Journey into Night, A Touch of the Poet, and The Iceman Cometh.;O'Neill developed the individual plays around central conflicts, often pairing contrasting dramas, until he had exhausted the creative impetus. Then, sometimes concurrently, he began a new phase. This method is reminiscent of his technical experiments with masks and asides. Each new context and set of dramatis personae yielded fresh vehicles and thematic variations. In the later dramas he dispensed with technical innovations and explored wider socio-political implications.;Constant to all these plays is the theme of the child's passage to adulthood through the parent, but the obstacles and goals vary. In the first of my four categories, the protagonist, a male, confuses gold and paternal love, both of which are denied. In the next group, the daughters, dominated by the autocratic father, even after his death, struggle to break free. These works are followed by the dramas of family continuity. Money becomes subordinate to the father's blessing. These children are active warriors, neither victims like the early sons nor hysterics like the early daughters. In The Iceman Cometh, alone in the fourth group, O'Neill probed the myths that sustain identity as two psychically wounded sons try to resolve old conflicts through surrogate fathers.;Metaphors, symbols, set design, stage lighting, and costumes all reflect aspects of the father-child struggle. O'Neill had read widely in literature, psychology, religion, mythology, history, and philosophy. Among the formative influences, this study considers works by Shaw, Ibsen, the classical Greek dramatists, Browning, Jung, Emerson, and Thoreau for insights into specific dramas and taps the vast body of O'Neill scholarship.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy Restricted.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.