PORTRAYAL OF FAMILY IN IBSEN–S GHOSTS AND CAO YU–S THUNDERSTORM

Abstract

This paper deals with comparative analysis of Ibsen–s Ghosts (1881) and Cao Yu–s Thunderstorm (1934). In addition to other multiple similarities, both works are family plays depicting the fall and degradation of wealthy and prominent families in the time of great social turmoil. Focusing on the portrayal of family and marriage in the aforementioned plays, this paper aims to shed light on the interrelations between these two works by studying central characters and their mutual relationships based on hiding the dark secrets of the past. One of the basic assumptions of this paper is that the family in these dramas is portrayed as a repressive institution that rests on the regulatory mechanisms of a society that seeks to arrange it according to a particular hierarchical scheme where everyone is given a certain role. Consequently, relations between characters are here viewed through the prism of their family roles. Special attention is devoted to the study of the characters of wives and sons who are in these plays the greatest victims of the social systems based on patriarchal values.