Date of Award

Spring 8-1-1993

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

English

First Advisor

D. Gene England

Second Advisor

Robert Perrin

Third Advisor

C. Sue Davis

Abstract

This study focuses on the role of the ghost figure in Marsha Norman's drama. In order to understand how this ghost figure is unique to her drama, but at the same time has roots in the American theater, I first examine her relationship to her American predecessors and their portrayal of the past in order to later show how the ghost figure is Norman's "device" that she uses to explore the past on the stage. I then attempt to determine her relationship to the current movements with which she is most often associated: new realism and feminism. Because new realism encompasses such a broad group of writers, I establish Norman's relationship to new realism by showing similarities to three other writers within this group: Albert Innuarto, Mark Medoff, and Lanford Wilson. I next attempt to determine Norman's relationship to feminism by showing how her work differs from early feminist theatre, how literary critics interpret her feminism, what she says about her feminism, and her portrayal of the male-female relationship in her plays. I then look at the way Norman's own life has influenced her drama, specifically her religious background, her family background, and her own personality. I conclude with a discussion of how the ghost figure functions as a device to represent the past on the stage which helps to eliminate pure exposition in Norman's plays. I trace Norman's use of the ghost figure through : j I j . l j - five of her plays as well as her musical in order to show Norman's maturing as a writer as indicated by her increasing sophistication in the use of this device. This ghost figure has three variations which show Norman's increasing capabilities: ghosts who are physically present, ghosts that the characters imitate, and ghosts who are absent characters.

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