Current Search: Ford, John,--1586-approximately 1640--Criticism and interpretation. (x)
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Title
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AFFIRMATION, VOWS AND RITUAL AS STRUCTURING DEVICES IN JOHN FORD'S PLAYS.
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Creator
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GRIER, WILLIAM ROGER., Florida Atlantic University, Collins, Robert A.
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Abstract/Description
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The collapse of a viable world concept of order leaves John Ford's characters with a modern problem--how to behave without demonstrable and reliable principles upon which to base their actions. The individualists among them try to establish order by mere affirmation of opinion. Other personae cling to the sacred, conservative value of the vow or contract, and are either the agents or the victims of the gulf between their avowed principles and the pragmatic demands of a "corrupt" world. Many...
Show moreThe collapse of a viable world concept of order leaves John Ford's characters with a modern problem--how to behave without demonstrable and reliable principles upon which to base their actions. The individualists among them try to establish order by mere affirmation of opinion. Other personae cling to the sacred, conservative value of the vow or contract, and are either the agents or the victims of the gulf between their avowed principles and the pragmatic demands of a "corrupt" world. Many characters also attempt to find reassurance in the predictable patterns of ritual behavior, only to discover the inefficacy of such ritual to protect them from or console them for a personal loss of meaning in their world. Ford's characters become "existential" figures, even though the models they adopt are often relics of the past (vows, rituals) which they must simply affirm, by their performances, bereft of the metaphysical support they might once have had.
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Date Issued
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1979
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/13980
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Subject Headings
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Ford, John,--1586-approximately 1640--Criticism and interpretation.
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Format
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Document (PDF)
