美国家庭剧中的父亲形象:从尤金·奥尼尔到山姆·谢泼德

Fatherhood in American Family Drama: From Eugene O'Neill to Sam Shepard

分析尤金·奥尼尔、阿瑟·密勒、田纳西·威廉姆斯、爱德华·阿尔比、山姆·谢泼德等几位剧作家笔下的父亲形象,可以看出,美国家庭剧中的父亲形象大体可以分为三类:具有拓荒者气质的父亲形象、力挽自尊的父亲形象、作为逃避者的父亲形象。剧作家笔下的父亲形象总是与一定的历史和文化语境相关。美国家庭剧所呈现的三种父亲形象不仅折射出美国男性身份在历史变迁中的迷茫,而且暗示了当今美国文化在战争、工业文明、消费文化及历史创伤等内外因素作用下面临的各种危机。

Generally speaking, fatherhood in American family drama by writers like Eugene O＇ Neill, Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee and Sam Shepard can be classified into three types, that is, father as a pioneer, father endeavoring to regain his dignity, and father as an escapee. Fatherhood in drama inevitably corresponds to the historical and cultura! context. The three different types of fatherhood in American family drama on one hand reflect American male＇ s confusion about their identity with the evolution of the time, and on the other hand give a hint about the crisis confronted by American culture due to rea- sons like wars, industrialization, consumption, and historical trauma.