关键词: 阿瑟·米勒, 大屠杀戏剧, 同谋者, 无罪之罪, 伦理责任, 伦理身份

Abstract: Unlike many other Jewish writers, Arthur Miller, a great master in American drama, does not intently highlight Nazi evils in his Holocaust-themed plays. Instead, he focuses on depicting the actions and reactions of Jewish figures either involved in the Holocaust or not, thus creating a paradigm of “conspirators”. The conspirators in Miller’s plays usually appear as victims or bystanders, who are, in a general sense, “crimeless people”. But in Miller’s view, the recreance of the victims and the apathy of the bystanders may still be defined as the “evil of conspiracy” or the “crimeless guilt” that condones atrocities. Meanwhile, the confusion about one’s own ethical identity will inevitably lead to the bewilderment about the code of morality, which in turn leads to the lack of universal ethical responsibility, thus ultimately leading to nonfeasance while beholding evil deeds. Through the construction and presentation of the “conspiracy situation” in which the “conspirator” participates,unconsciously,in evil doings, Miller reveals the universality, invisibility and profundity of the “evil of conspiracy”, encouraging the people of the world to take on their ethical responsibility and act conscientiously in their resistance against various evils for real redemption.

Key words: Arthur Miller, Holocaust-themed plays, conspirator, crimeless guilt, ethical responsibility, ethical identity