Fall : Revisiting Tragedy by Arthur Miller
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2019 |
| Type | Article in Proceedings |
| Conference | Silesian Studies in English 2018 : Proceedings of the 5th International Conference of English and American Studies |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | |
| Keywords | Arthur Miller; tragedy; fathers and sons; Down Syndrome; disability theatre; Fall (play) |
| Description | The paper reconsiders crucial traits of tragedy as understood and dramatized by Arthur Miller in his early and mid-career plays centered around father-son relationships. It exposes innovative aspects of and flaws in this conception. Then, it moves on to a recent production of the play Fall by Bernard Weinraub (Huntington Theatre, 2018) based on the real life of Miller’s son Daniel, who was placed into an institution as a baby after he was diagnosed with Down Syndrome. While the play attempts a non-judgmental stance towards Miller’s decision and contributes to the development of a disability theatre culture by including an actor with Down Syndrome among the cast, reactions to the production show how difficult it is to distinguish between Miller’s public persona and his personal life choices due to the fact that he was by many considered a moral conscience of the U.S. nation. Thus, this paper shows Fall as a play that puts to the test Miller’s conception of tragedy. |
| Related projects: |