Two Diabolic Forces in Hippolytus and Desire Under the Elms: The Removal of Tragic Essence by Eugene O'Neill

《希波呂托斯》與《榆樹下的慾望》中兩股不同的邪惡勢力：尤金歐尼爾挪去的悲劇精髓

邱亞琦(Chiu, Ya-Chi)

《國立金門大學學報》 7卷2期 (2018/03) Pp. 1-21

摘要

Eugene O'Neill's play Desire Under the Elms (1924) is considered to be a better-written adaption of the Greek tragedy Hippolytus, which was produced by Euripides in 428 BC. I will attempt to make a comparison between these two plays through an investigation of their dramatic essence respectively so as to grasp the kernel values of the two plays and to find out their tragic essence. Thus, this essay will explore how misfortunes occur to individuals and what kind of diabolic forces compel such people to encounter the miseries they must face-through scrutiny and analysis of dramatic essence so as to find out the real catalysts behind misfortune. In this essay, I will devote my discussion to the essence of a tragedy by examining the essence of the tragic, the essence that makes a tragedy qualified to be termed a tragedy, through the investigation of Aristotle and Kaufmann's ideas. Next, the essay will clarify how the diabolic force of the goddess that brings about the misfortunes of the protagonists in Hippolytus is engendered. Thirdly, this essay will explicate the diabolic force of loathing and lust found in O'Neill's Desire Under the Elms. The fourth section will make a lucid comparison of the previous investigations: Hippolytus suffers from the evil will of the goddess; he is a virtuous man whose goodness and efforts to escape from sins turn out to be a malevolent outcome due to the wicked goddess, Aphrodite; he falls victim to catastrophes unexpectedly and is led to an inevitable and inescapable destruction by the diabolic force of the goddess. Conversely, the characters of Eben and Abbie taken from O'Neill's work, suffer from their inner struggle of loathing and lust; they are not virtuous, and the diabolic force-loathing and lust-inside them brings about their misfortune. Finally, through these investigations, we are able to conclude that Eugene O'Neill has removed the tragic essence located in Hippolytus, the paradigm of Greek tragedy, and replaced it with the fallibility of human nature.

關鍵字

diabolic forces ； Hippolytus ； Desire Under the Elms ； tragic essence ； loathing ； lust ； fallibility

並列摘要

尤金歐尼爾的《榆樹下的慾望》（1924）被認為是改編自西元前428年尤里匹底斯所著的《希波呂托斯》，並且評論家以為《榆樹下的慾望》改編得比原著更好。本論文試圖比較兩個相差兩千多年的戲劇，透過分別研究其中的戲劇精髓藉此找出兩個戲劇的核心價值。本論文首先將透過探究悲劇情節以及悲劇角色來釐清何謂悲劇精髓，也就是使悲劇成為一個悲劇的精髓，並進一步透過以下問題進行悲劇精髓的探究：不幸如何發生在這些戲劇主角身上？什麼樣的邪惡勢力迫使他們遭遇痛苦？藉此找出促成不幸發生的真正因素。在本論文中，第一部分將透過探討亞里斯多德以及考夫曼的悲劇理論來闡明悲劇精髓的意義。第二部分將探討在《希波呂托斯》戲劇中造成主角不幸的邪惡女神勢力。第三部分將闡述《榆樹下的慾望》此戲劇中憎恨與淫慾的力量。第四部分將針對前面兩部分的探究以及針對悲劇精髓的理解進行一個清晰的比較：希波呂托斯因女神的邪惡意志而遭遇痛苦；他是一個有德者，但因為邪惡的阿芙羅狄忒的緣故，他的美德以及他的努力逃離罪惡正好促成他的悲慘命運；女神的邪惡勢力意外的驅使他降服於災禍並被引入一個無可避免也無法逃離的毀滅當中。相反的，野本與艾比所遭受的是內心之憎恨或淫慾的掙扎所引發的痛苦；他們並非有德者，他們心裡面的邪惡勢力，也就是私慾，就是造成他們不幸的原因。最終，透過這些探究，我們可以推斷出尤金歐尼爾已將《希波呂托斯》這個悲劇典範之中的「悲劇精髓」挪去，並以人性的易犯罪性取而代之。

並列關鍵字

邪惡勢力 ； 《希波呂托斯》 ； 《榆樹下的慾望》 ； 悲劇精髓 ； 憎恨 ； 慾望 ； 易犯罪性

參考文獻

Aristotle. Poetics: The Complete Works of Aristotle, Vol. 2, Trans. I. Bywater, Ed. J. Barnes. New Jersey: Princeton U P, 1991.

Chiu, Prisca Ya-Chi. On Two Tragic Theologies: A Comparison of Oedipus Tyrannus with the ‘Book of Job’. M.A. Thesis, Department of English, National Kaohsiung Normal University, 2011.

Euripides. Hippolytus. Trans. E. P. Coleridge. South Australia: University of Adelaide, 2014.

Fambrough, P. “The Tragic Cosmology of O’Neill’s ‘Desire Under the Elms’.” Ed. F. Wilkins, The Eugene O’Neill Newsletter. eO’Neill.com, vol.10., no. 2, 1986.

Howatson, M. C. & Ian Chilvers. The Concise Oxford Companion to Classical Literature. 1993. Oxford & New York: Oxford U P, 1996.