A Study of Realism in 19th Century American Theatre

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24520325
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Literature in English
• Research Institution: Kyoto Gakuen University
• Principal Investigator: FURUKI Keiko 京都学園大学, 経済学部, 教授 (80259738)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: リアリズム演劇 / 19世紀アメリカ演劇 / メロドラマ / 南北戦争

Outline of Final Research Achievements

James A. Herne's Margaret Fleming (1890) has been acclaimed as his most notable accomplishment as a founder of realism in American theatre. Nevertheless, several critics point out that this play was conceived under the heavy influence of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House (1879). Yet Herne, even in his earlier work, Hearts of Oak (1879), shows his inclination toward realism in the sense that it eliminates the clear distinction between virtues and vice, and instead emphasizes the characters’ social backgrounds, environments and inner struggle. Through my study on Herne’s plays, I have examined that his depiction of the negative aspects of marriage, slavery, and the Civil War has notably contributed to the making of realism in American theatre, considering the representative American playwrights in the 20th century such as Eugene O’Neill, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller also focused on the negative aspects of marriage in their plays in the 20th century.

Free Research Field

アメリカ演劇