| Description |
162 pages ; 24 cm |
| Series |
American university studies. Series III, Comparative literature ; v. 54 |
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American university studies. Series III, Comparative literature ; v. 54
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| Contents |
1. Introduction -- 2. Avenging the Father. Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus. Aeschylus' The Libation Bearers. Shakespeare's Hamlet -- 3. Questioning the Father's Authority. Henrik Ibsen's A Doll House. Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts. August Strindberg's Miss Julie. August Strindberg's The Pelican -- 4. Escape of the Father and the Son's Hopeless Quest - I. Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie. Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman -- 5. Escape of the Father and the Son's Hopeless Quest - II. Sam Shepard's True West. David Rabe's The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel -- 6. The Romance of the Dead Father. Marsha Norman's 'night, Mother. Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler -- 7. Trapped in the Father's Dying World. Beth Henley's Crimes of the Heart. Anton Chekhov's The Three Sisters -- 8. The Search for God, the Father. John Pielmeier's Agnes of God. Peter Shaffer's Equus -- 9. Battling with God, the Father. Peter Shaffer's Amadeus -- 10. The Father and the Class Struggle |
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John Osborne's Look Back in Anger -- 11. The Father and Racial Strife. Athol Fugard's Master Harold . . . and the boys -- 12. The Father and the Invisible Patriarchy. Caryl Churchill's Top Girls -- 13. Conclusion |
| Summary |
From the Freudians to the feminists, the role of the absent or hidden father figure has played a part in narrative and cultural theory. This work presents the first full-length examination of the absent father in modern drama. It closely analyzes major works by Ibsen, Strindberg, Chekhov, Williams, Miller, Shepard, Rabe, Henley, Norman, Pielmeier, Shaffer, Osborne, Churchill, and Fugard. Using the critical framework of psychological, deconstructive, and myth criticism, this book demonstrates how the consistent focus on an imposing father figure who never physically appears onstage affects the psychological, social, and metaphysical structure of major modern dramas |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages [145]-159) and index |
| Subject |
Drama -- History and criticism.
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Fathers and daughters in literature.
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Fathers and sons in literature.
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Fathers in literature.
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Myth in literature.
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Psychology in literature.
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| LC no. |
94028595 |
| ISBN |
0820426296 (alk. paper) |
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