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Social movements in selected plays of Rachel Crothers
Abstract
Rachel Crothers was a popular and prolific playwright of the Teens, Twenties and Thirties. Writing, directing and producing her own and others' works, she maintained a significant presence in the American Theatre of her day. Interested in the times in which she was writing, she focused on current social issues and concerns, including the Social Reform Movement (in her plays A Man's World and Ourselves), Freudianism (in Expressing Willie) and Buchmanism (in Susan and God). This study examines how the movements developed, how the movements affected Crothers' world, and to what purpose Crothers utilized the social movements. Including an introduction, a biography of Crothers, a chapter on the Social Reform Movement, a chapter on Freudianism and a chapter on Buchmanism, the final chapter of the study cites conclusions and observations about Crothers' use of social movements of her time. The transformations in society wrought by these social movements mirror the changes in Crothers' female characters. As the Social Reform Movement alters society, Molly in Ourselves is reformed; as Freudianism calls attention to self-revelation, Minnie in Expressing Willie is self-actualized; as Buchmanism indicates a need for society's spiritual growth, Susan in Susan and God is transformed spiritually. Just as these movements empower the transformation of society, Crothers empowers her female characters with a need, a method, and an opportunity for change and growth.
Subject Area
Theater|American literature|Biographies
Recommended Citation
Conover, Susan Joy, "Social movements in selected plays of Rachel Crothers" (1991). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9211465.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9211465