20세기 미국 연극에 나타난 장애로서의 우울증 읽기: 『잘 자요, 엄마』와 『세일즈맨의 죽음』을 중심으로
Reading Depression as a Disability in 20th Century American Plays: Focused on ’night, Mother and Death of a Salesman
0
조회
0
다운로드
1
인용
0
참고문헌
키워드
초록
This paper explores the suicide of the protagonist in ’night, Mother and Death of a Salesman in the light of depression as the undiagnosed disability which can serve as a methodology in psychoanalytic criticism. By arguing that Jessie and Willy are depressed, I move beyond the common usage of the term depression as a synonym for sadness and consider depression as a debilitating illness. Many critics argue that Jessie and Willy want to control their lives and that their suicide enacts that desired control. While most individuals would agree that they are depressed in the colloquial sense of being merely unhappy, no critic has yet explored their depression as a mental disorder. I insist we understand depression in its medical context, for in so doing, we discover that their suicide must be a relinquishing, rather than a regaining. This paper first recognizes clinical depression as it is manifest in their lives, and second, engages the claims of the critics referenced who fail to consider depression in their readings. I argue that the two protagonists’ thinking and behavior demonstrate a mental disability. Thus, their decision to die is not a free choice, but one informed by their illness. For this reason, their suicide can’t be viewed as the rational conclusion to an unsatisfying life. This study could contribute to deepening our understanding of the psyche as well as provide a haunting, potential case study for untreated disorder.
Abstract
This paper explores the suicide of the protagonist in ’night, Mother and Death of a Salesman in the light of depression as the undiagnosed disability which can serve as a methodology in psychoanalytic criticism. By arguing that Jessie and Willy are depressed, I move beyond the common usage of the term depression as a synonym for sadness and consider depression as a debilitating illness. Many critics argue that Jessie and Willy want to control their lives and that their suicide enacts that desired control. While most individuals would agree that they are depressed in the colloquial sense of being merely unhappy, no critic has yet explored their depression as a mental disorder. I insist we understand depression in its medical context, for in so doing, we discover that their suicide must be a relinquishing, rather than a regaining. This paper first recognizes clinical depression as it is manifest in their lives, and second, engages the claims of the critics referenced who fail to consider depression in their readings. I argue that the two protagonists’ thinking and behavior demonstrate a mental disability. Thus, their decision to die is not a free choice, but one informed by their illness. For this reason, their suicide can’t be viewed as the rational conclusion to an unsatisfying life. This study could contribute to deepening our understanding of the psyche as well as provide a haunting, potential case study for untreated disorder.
참고문헌 (34)
- Ainsworth, Patricia, M.D., "Understanding Depression" (2000), Mississippi UP
- American Psychiatric Association, "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (1994), American Psychiatric Association
- "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990", Department of Justice, ~ (2020)
- Arieti S, "The psychological organization of depression", Am J Psychiatry, 137(11), pp.1360~1365 (1980)
- Betsko, Kathleen, "Interview with Contemporary Women Playwrights" (1987), Beech Tree Books
- Bigsby, C, "Death of a Salesman", pp.vii~xxvii (1998), Penguin Books
- Brown, Linda Ginter, "Marsha Norman: A Casebook" (1996), Garland
- Drew, Anne Marie, "Marsha Norman: A Casebook", pp.87~95 (1996), Garland
- Glass, Richard M., M.D, "Treating Depression as a Recurrent of Chronic Disease", Journal of the American Medical Association, 281(1), pp.1~ (1999)
- Garland, Rosemarie, "Extraordinary Bodies" (1997), Columbia UP
- Goodwin, Frederick K., "Depressive Illness: Bipolar Disorders and Recurrent Depression" (2007), Oxford UP
- Han, Byung-Chul, "The Burnout Society" (2012), munhakquagisungsa
- Horwitz, Allan V., "The Loss of Sadness: How Psychiatry Transformed Normal Sorrow into Depressive Disorder" (2008), Oxford UP
- 정윤길, "『세일즈맨의 죽음』에 나타난 근대적 개인의 비극의 양상 —부르디외의 자본 구분과 아도르노의 물화 개념을 중심으로", 영어영문학, 64(4), pp.651~672 (2018), 한국영어영문학회[DOI]
- 정병언, "여성공간과 상징폭력: 미국 여성극을 중심으로", 현대영미드라마, 23(2), pp.87~107 (2010), 한국현대영미드라마학회
- Jordan, John R, "Grief After Suicide", pp.249~483 (2010), Routledge
- Karim, Sharful, "A Critical Overview of Miller’s Willy Lowman - A Dreamer, More Sinned Against than Sinning", Researchers World: Journal of Arts, Science, and Commerce, 4(1), pp.56~60 (2013)
- 김원, "우울증에 대한 인지행동적 이론", Mood and Emotion, 13(2), pp.68~72 (2015), 대한우울조울병학회
- Lowen, Alexander, M.D., "Depression and the Body" (1972), Coward McCann & Geoghegan
- Mayoclinic, "diseases-conditions", ~ (2020)
- Mckinley, Jesse, "Ideas & Trends: Get That Man Some Prozac; If the Dramatic Tension Is All in His Head", New York Times, ~ (1999)
- Miller, Arthur, "Death of a Salesman" (1998), Penguin Books
- Morrow, Laura, "Orality and Identity in ’night, Mother and Crimes of the Heart", Studies in American Drama, 3, pp.23~39 (1988)
- "National Institute of Mental Health", ~ (2020)
- "National Mental Health Association", ~ (2020)
- Norman, Marsha, "’night, Mother" (1983), Dramatists Play Service
- Park, Wonmyung, "Depression", pp.2018~ (2018), sigmapress
- Smith, Raynette Halvorsen, "’night Mother and True West : Mirror Images of Violence and Gender", Themes in Drama, 13, pp.277~289 (1991)
- Spenser, Jenny S., "Norman’s ’night Mother : Psycho-dram of Female Identity", Modern Drama, 30, pp.364~375 (1987)
- Tyson, Lois, "Psychological Politics of the American Dream: The Commodification of Subjectivity in Twentieth-Century American Literature" (1994), Ohio State UP
- Wetzel, Janice Wood, "The Clinical Handbook of Depression" (1991), Gardner Press
- Whited, Lana A., "Suicide in Beth Henly’s Crimes of the Heart and Marsha Norman’s ’night Mother", The Southern Quarterly, 36(1), pp.65~74 (1997)
- Williams, Grant, "Death of a Salesma ” and Postwar Masculine Malaise", Penn State University Press, 8(1), pp.56~57 (2013)
- Zirkle, John W, "M.D. Personal interview", ~ (2000)