@article{ART001507325},
author={김화순},
title={The Fusion of Intimacy and Politics in The Breath of Life},
journal={Journal of Modern English Drama},
issn={1226-3397},
year={2010},
volume={23},
number={3},
pages={175-198}
TY - JOUR
AU - 김화순
TI - The Fusion of Intimacy and Politics in The Breath of Life
JO - Journal of Modern English Drama
PY - 2010
VL - 23
IS - 3
PB - 한국현대영미드라마학회
SP - 175
EP - 198
SN - 1226-3397
AB - David Hare’s The Breath of Life is a short yet complex play in which a critical discourse on America’s role beyond the politics of retaliation after the 9/11 attacks is subtly repressed under the description of the conflicts in personal relationships of three English people. This paper is going to explore the hidden, political voices in the play in which one night’s recollection by two women in their sixties evolves around the memories of their beloved man who was eventually a betrayer. Through their recollections the play invites the audience/reader to think over the nature of retaliation in life on two levels: individual and national, deliberately suggesting that America’s action based on understanding the Other beyond the desire for lawful retaliation can lead humanity to feel “the breath of life.”In the play the confrontation of a wife and a mistress eventually induces understanding of each other and reconciliation with one’s own past. And the title of the play subtly hints at “the breath” of hope for a better future for both women. They did not negate their painful past but confronted it without being controlled by their emotional needs for criticism and revenge and instead succeeded in coping with their past.
Through pointing out the difference between the ideal/theory and reality/practice, the play paradoxically makes an attempt to debunk the myth of the powerful and political narratives. And what the play ultimately insinuates is a circumlocutional criticism on American government’s degenerated reaction after the 9/11 attacks. However, the play reticently contains the playwright’s expectations for America’s appropriate role in the international affairs despite the Afghan war.
KW - intimacy;retaliation;politics;the breath of life;America;the 9/11 attacks;England;the Afghan war
DO -
UR -
ER -
김화순. (2010). The Fusion of Intimacy and Politics in The Breath of Life. Journal of Modern English Drama, 23(3), 175-198.
김화순. 2010, "The Fusion of Intimacy and Politics in The Breath of Life", Journal of Modern English Drama, vol.23, no.3 pp.175-198.
김화순 "The Fusion of Intimacy and Politics in The Breath of Life" Journal of Modern English Drama 23.3 pp.175-198 (2010) : 175.
김화순. The Fusion of Intimacy and Politics in The Breath of Life. 2010; 23(3), 175-198.
김화순. "The Fusion of Intimacy and Politics in The Breath of Life" Journal of Modern English Drama 23, no.3 (2010) : 175-198.
김화순. The Fusion of Intimacy and Politics in The Breath of Life. Journal of Modern English Drama, 23(3), 175-198.
김화순. The Fusion of Intimacy and Politics in The Breath of Life. Journal of Modern English Drama. 2010; 23(3) 175-198.
김화순. The Fusion of Intimacy and Politics in The Breath of Life. 2010; 23(3), 175-198.
김화순. "The Fusion of Intimacy and Politics in The Breath of Life" Journal of Modern English Drama 23, no.3 (2010) : 175-198.
