『매장된 아이』에 나타난 가부장권의 침탈과정과 마비의 양상

Undermining of patriarchy and aspects of paralysis in Buried Child

&nbsp;&nbsp;The situation of family is an important theme in the American contemporary plays. Among the modern palywrights Sam Shepard is one of the keenest artist in depicting the family situation in the modern world of dramas. Buried Child, one of his greatest works, offers a powerful dramatic&nbsp;&nbsp;metaphor for corrupted American spirit and society projecting the Dodges which is an assertively ordinary midwestern family to be marked by spiritual decay as well as physical. Dodge, the patriarch of the family, is gradually losing his patriarchal power with lying on a sofa and virtually immobile.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;Two sons of Dodge, however, are trying to challenge the power of patriarchy by incestuousness with mother and by cutting hair of father. Tilden, the eldest son, is the main antagonist to father with the hope of achieving the patriarchal position. He had a incestuous tie with his mother who finally bore a son to be killed and buried by Dodge. Father of the family committed infanticide with a denial of sin. Father&quot;s loss of connection to the past as well as his sin symbolizes the past faults committed by American society.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;Another antagonist to father is the second son Bradley who is crippled. The son meanly cut out Dodge&quot;s hair while his father was asleep. Considering Bradley&quot;s hair cutting, we could glimpse that he was undermining the paternal power of Dodge. Halie, Dodge&quot;s wife, is far from being faithful for his husband by committing incest with her son. She lacks chastity and morality as a wife only to flirt with a local priest and committed fatal sin of incestuousness.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;Though most of the family members of the Dodge are morally deteriorated, Vince is the only member of the Dodges who is morally sober with the possibility of rebuilding the Dodge family in a totally enlightened way. Ethnicity and acknowledgement of Vince can be clear evidences in which American society is able to be awakened on its past corruption and fall. With regret and repentance on past wrong doings American family and society can be born again.