Abstract

This dissertation examines three works of Eugene O'Neill in light of postmodern interpretations of Nietzschean perspectivism as articulated in Thus Spake Zarathustra. Such a study is justified as Zarathustra has been identified as a major influence on both O'Neill and postmodern thinkers such as Jacques Derrida and Jean- Francois Lyotard. It is significant as it presents O'Neill's work within a contemporary context not previously considered by scholars or critics. ;Chapter I examines Nietzsche's influence on O'Neill and several postmodern thinkers and defines key terms such as modernism and postmodernism. Chapter two provides an analysis of contemporary approaches to Thus Spake Zarathustra with regard to perspectivism and the important Nietzschean concepts of nihilism, eternal recurrence, and love and marriage. ;Chapters III through V examines O'Neill's The Fountain, Marco Millions, and Days Without End in light of Nietzschean perspectivism. Each play is contextualized within O'Neill's body of work, summarized and examined in terms of traditional literary and production criticism. A perspectivist approach to the play is then considered. ;The Fountain articulates Nietzschean perspectivism by examining the character of Juan Ponce de Leon as he progresses through each of Nietzsche's three spiritual levels presented in the first chapter of Thus Spake Zarathustra. Moving from an absolutist frame of reference to a modernist attitude, Juan finally achieves perspectivism which allows him a sense of metaphysical belonging. ;Marco Millions presents Nietzsche's three spiritual levels in direct conflict. The play personifies each attitude demonstrating the metaphysical security of Marco's absolutism within its narrow scope, the nihilism created by Kukachin's modernism, and the spiritual independence of Kublai's perspectivism. ;Days Without End examines John Loving's modernist struggle to find metaphysical meaning while maintaining his will to truth. His character is split into two parts: John who seeks meaning, and Loving who denies absolute systems of belief. John Loving's struggle leads him to a perspectivist metaphysic through which he can reconcile his two personae. ;These analyses reveal an approach to O'Neill's work which significantly differs from traditional modernist approaches by viewing O'Neill's work from a postmodernist framework