Abstract:Since the method of ethical literary criticism was brought up by Professor Nie in 2004, it has been wisely used in many academic fields in China, especially literature. Scholars at home have restudied the ethical inclinations in many literary works through the application of this method. Problems such as Oedipus complex, incest, mother-killed-son are included.

Desire Under the Elms is one of the famous plays of Eugene O’Neill. In this play, Abbie, the heroine, falls in love with her son-in-law, Eben, and in the end, she kills her newly-born son to prove her love for Eben. Mother-killed-son motif has been a controversial topic in literature all the time. What’s more, it is thought to be so crazy that some scholars have refused to make a study on it. 

The thesis consists of five parts to explain the mother-killed-son tragedy in Desire Under the Elms using the idea of ethical literary criticism. The first part introduces O’Neill and his great work, Desire Under the Elms, the criticism of other writers and scholars on this play, as well as the purpose of this thesis. The second part introduces the idea of ethical literary criticism. The third part lists the ethical inclinations in O’Neill’s works and analyzes the causes of his ethical inclinations. The fourth part explains the causes of Abbie’s killing her son. The final part makes a summary of the whole essay.

Keywords: Desire Under the Elms; ethical literary criticism; mother-killed-son; tragedy; O’Neill

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

Chapter 1 Introduction-1

 1.1 Eugene O’Neill and His Major Literary Achievements-1

 1.2 A Brief Introduction to Desire Under the Elms-2

 1.3 Previous Research about Desire Under the Elms-2

 1.4 The Purpose and Significance of This Research-3

Chapter 2 Ethical Literary Criticism-5

 2.1 Definition of Ethical Literary Criticism-5

 2.2. The Development of Ethical Literary Criticism-5

Chapter 3 O’Neill and His Ethical Inclinations-7

 3.1 Ethical inclinations in the Works of O’Neill-7

 3.2 Factors Contributing to His Ethical Inclinations-7

Chapter 4 Mother-Killed-Son Tragedy in Desire Under the Elms-11

 4.1 Social Background of New England in 1850s-11

 4.2 Cabot’s Coldheartedness and Puritan Traits-12

 4.3 Eben’s Oedipus Complex and Incest with Abbie-12

 4.4 Abbie’s Desires and Confusion-13

Chapter 5 Conclusion-15

References-17

Acknowledgements-18