Austyn Rybicki Professor Joel Froomkin Theatre and Society-201-A 25 January 2015 The Effects of Catharsis

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1 Rybicki 1 Austyn Rybicki Professor Joel Froomkin Theatre and Society-201-A 25 January 2015 The Effects of Catharsis The idea of Catharsis can be defined as purification through an extreme change in emotion that causes renewal and restoration. Catharsis is widely used throughout many plays that we have studied in theatre and society. Catharsis is a term in dramatic art that describes the effect of tragedy (or comedy and quite possibly other artistic forms) principally on the audience (although some have speculated on characters in the drama as well). Nowhere does Aristotle explain the meaning of "catharsis" as he is using that term in the definition of tragedy in the Poetics. G.F. Else argues that traditional, widely held interpretations of catharsis as "purification" or "purgation" have no basis in the text of the Poetics, but are derived from the use of catharsis in other Aristotelian and non-aristotelian contexts. For this reason, a number of diverse interpretations of the meaning of this term have arisen. The term is often discussed along with Aristotle's concept of anagnorisis. D.W. Lucas, in an authoritative edition of the Poetics, comprehensively covers the various nuances inherent in the meaning of the term in an Appendix devoted to "Pity, Fear, and Catharsis". Lucas recognizes the possibility of catharsis bearing some aspect of the meaning of "purification, purgation, and 'intellectual clarification'" although his discussion of these terms is not always, or perhaps often, in the precise form with which other influential scholars have treated them. Lucas himself does not accept any one of these interpretations as his own but adopts a rather different one based on "the Greek doctrine of Humors" which has not received wide subsequent acceptance. Purgation and purification, used in previous centuries, as the common interpretations of catharsis are still in wide use today. [9] More recently, in the twentieth century, the interpretation of catharsis as "intellectual clarification" has arisen as a rival to the older views in describing the effect of catharsis on members of the audience. One play that catharsis was heavily present in was Oedipus Rex at the end when Oedipus finally discovers that the person he has ordered murdered is himself. The whole life of

2 Rybicki 2 Oedipus is an unknown façade. Not until the end does Oedipus realize that he has been searching for this horrible person who turns out to be himself. The thought of this absolutely horrifies him and he comes to the realization that he has killed his own father and slept with his own mother. After this realization, Oedipus does not believe what he has done and punishes himself severely. He is suddenly no longer grateful for the man who saved him this is evident when Oedipus says, I curse the man who pulled the bolt from my feet. He saved my life but should have left me on the hills to die. The irony of the play is what leads up to the catharsis. Oedipus dedicates all of his time to finding the person who killed King Laius. The interesting thing however is that when Oedipus tells the Thebans, If anyone knows the man who killed King Laius, I order him to tell me everything. He must not be afraid for his long silence. No, I promise that he will not be punished with death but may leave this land in safety. This shows that he is willing to show mercy on whoever the murderer may be although when the truth is discovered he wants to punish himself much worse than he would have any other person. This is because he was in absolute shock and horrified because what he had actually done was much worse than just killing King Laius. Another play that is used catharsis in a major way was A Doll s House. In this play the character of Nora is a great example of the idea. She got herself into a very sticky situation in the beginning of the play and cannot figure a way to get out of it. She believes that letting the problem continue to go on this will all pan out and every will win. Since life is not a fantasy Nora comes to the conclusion that she needs to completely start over. Nora is willing to do anything that she can do to start over to get herself out of the mess and all of the other problems haunting her in this play. In her own way she feels like she is a waste, useless, and imperfect human that is a bother to her friends, family, and the community. NORA. Very likely. But you neither think nor talk like the man I can share my life with. When your terror was over- not for what threatened me, but for yourself- when there was nothing more to fear- then it seemed to you as though nothing had happened. I was your lark again, your doll, just as before- whom you would take twice as much care of in future, because she was so weak and fragile. [Stands up.] Torvald- in that moment it burst upon me that I had been living here these eight years with a strange man, and had borne him three children. - Oh, I can't bear to think of it! I could tear myself to pieces! But towards the end of the play she starts to realize that she is treated like a porcelain doll by Torvald. She believes that his love is too caring and he treats her like he

3 Rybicki 3 trapped her in this house and makes every move and action for her like he is the controller of her body. NORA. No; only merry. And you have always been so kind to me. But our house has been nothing but a play-room. Here I have been your doll-wife, just as at home I used to be papa's doll-child. And the children, in their turn, have been my dolls. I thought it fun when you played with me, just as the children did when I played with them. That has been our marriage, Torvald. She then understands how mistreated and undervalued she is which causes her to leave Torvald and the kids to stay with Catherine until she can figure her life out. She believes the only way that she can stay is if Torvald perform some miraculous event to save her from the imperfectness and all of her problems. Ibsen figures the audience will understand that this miracle is for Torvald to step up and take the fall for the debt problem that has been surrounding Nora for the longest time. She then believed she could not live with herself and would need to take her life. It was then after she left that she finally realized that like a demon no matter where she goes her problems will stick with her, thus the only way to get rid of her problems is to stay and sort them out with her family. She also came to the conclusion that the happiness that she so long for with Torvald has been at this house the entire time. Catharsis is also a major factor in the play Rent used by the character Roger. Roger is a starving artist, much like a lot of the other characters in the play, but he also has to deal with other adversities. One of these things is he is HIV positive. In this time that the play was being set, this virus was a deadly virus that was incurable. He attempted to live a normal life but this virus kept holding him back. ROGER Excuse me if I'm off track But if you're so wise Then tell me -- why do you need smack? Take your needle Take your fancy prayer And don't forget Get the moonlight out of your hair Long ago -- you might've lit up my heart

4 Rybicki 4 But the fire's dead -- ain't never ever gonna start Another time -- another place The words would only rhyme We'd be in outer space It'd be another song We'd sing another way You wanna prove me wrong? Come back another day Another day Roger is a struggling musician and the best friend/roommate of Mark Cohen. It is implied he hasn't often left their apartment after April's suicide the year before. However, he meets Mimi Marquez, and struggles with his feelings for her because he does not want to re-live the pain and suffering April's death put him through. During the show, Roger is very moody, and only breaks from this during "I Should Tell You," when he and Mimi both confess to each other that they are HIV+. When he and Mimi fight again, he leaves for Santa Fe and only returns after realizing how much he misses Mimi. During this trip to Santa Fe, he composes the song he's been searching for, about Mimi ("Your Eyes), which he sings when he believes she is going to die. Although these factors are present with Mimi s help Roger is able to overcome the death of his past girlfriend and like the rest of his life like it could be his last due to the HIV virus. In conclusion catharsis plays a factor in a plethora of plays regarding to the ones that were discussed in class. Each character is designed this particular role to enhance the paly whether it is good or bad. In some plays like Oedipus Rex, the person who dictates the term catharsis is the Protagonist or Antagonist in the play. In other plays like Rent the person can be a minor character. All of these characters have certain obstacles that they need to get over and once they do they figure out that things were not as bad as they seemed and they could move on. Word Count: 2036

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