Foreign Literature Studies ›› 2019, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (6): 60-69.

• Ethical Literary Criticism • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Crimeless Guilt and Ethical Responsibility: An Ethical Interpretation of the “Conspirators’ Image” in Arthur Miller’s Holocaust-Themed Plays

Luo Qianjun, Zhao Yongjian   

  • Published:2022-05-23
  • About author:Luo Qianjun is an associate professor of English at Zhejiang Yuexiu University of Foreign Languages, is presently pursuing his PhD at the International College of Chinese Studies, Shanghai Normal University (Shanghai 200234, China), and his research interest is mainly British and American literature. Email: luohank@163.com; Zhao Yongjian is an associate professor of English at the School of Foreign Languages, Zhejiang Gongshang University, and his research interest is mainly British and American literature. Email: michael_zyj@163.com
  • Supported by:
    “The Political Writing in British and American Post-9/11 Drama” (19NDJC195YB) sponsored by Zhejiang Office for Philosophy and Social Sciences

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

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