田纳西·威廉斯家庭剧新识

A New Understanding of Tennessee Williams' s Family Drama

田纳西·威廉斯表现家庭生活的剧作被指"缺乏道德感",有人又称之为"道德家"。这种矛盾的评判或许与威廉斯剧作对伦理道德的独特表现有关。威廉斯的家庭剧既改变了传统的"以爱情、责任和义务为基础的两性、代际伦理关系"的描写向度,也不是像批判现实主义剧作那样明确地"谴责以金钱、以物质主义价值观为主导的商品社会的生活方式和道德观念",而是对家庭伦理中的善与恶进行新的探索。在表现形式上,他扬弃了道德谴责的传统模式,追求隐晦曲折的情致,他呼吁建立尊重个人选择、有利于个体发展的新的家庭伦理关系,发扬关怀社会弱势群体的人文情怀和伦理精神。

Tennessee Williams was said to be a moralist,but his detractors denounced his works for being lack of moral sense. The contradictory judgment derived from the complexity and uniqueness of his representation of ethics. The playwright did not make traditional depiction of husband- wife and parent- child ethical relationship based on love and duty,nor did he condemn money- oriented life style or moral idea. Williams wrote domestic tragedies to explore the good and bad of family ethics. He called for initiating a new family ethical relationship based on respecting personal choice and supporting individual development. The humanistic care for the discriminated misfits was hidden in his writing because he was in pursuit for an aesthetic mood of obscurity and intricacy.