American Realism and American Drama, 1880-1940 by Brenda Murphy (review)

Book Reviews BRENDA MURPHY. American Realism and American Drama, 1880-1940. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1987. pp. xiv, 232, illustrated. $27.95. Brenda Murphy's American ReaUsm and American Drama, 1880-1940 is a welcome study of the connection between the theories of realism expounded by William Dean Howells and Henry James, among others, and the development of a particular and unique brand of realism in American drama between 1880 and 1940. Murphy describes her book, part of the Cambridge Studies in American Literature series, as an essay in "historical poetics" (p. ix), not a history of drama, a critical study of realistic plays, nor a study of realistic dramatic theory. although she manages to include an impressive amount of all of these while articulating varying theories of realism, in drama and other literary fonns. Murphy focuses on four major areas: the dramatic theory of the American realists, the impact of realism on the contemporary American stage, the evolution of American realism between 1890 and World War n, and identifying purely American innovations in realistic drama in the modem theater. She is at her best in tracing the evolution of American drama's brand of realism which she describes as "a more complicated process than such nineteenth century realists as Howells and James and Heme had invisioned, but dramatic realism as they conceived of it had finally triumphed in the American theater" (p. [94). Although she points out that "American dramatic realism has consistently been about twenty years behind fictional realism in its development," (p. I) as well as lagging behind European developments in dramatic realism, Murphy argues that the proliferation of a uniquely American realism between 1890 and 1915. influencing the work of diverse playwrights from Edward Hanigan to O'Neill, literally created the golden age of American drama between the two World Wars. Murphy emphasizes Howells and James as critics who articulated and shaped American realism, and surveys the varying degrees of impact that their concepts had on an impressive collection of dramatists including \ 454 Book Reviews early echoes in the works of Boncieault, Harrigan, Mackaye. Daly, and especially James A. Heme, among others in the nineteenth century. and Rice, GJaspell, Kaufman and Connelly, Kelly, Sherwood, Crothers, Odets, Hellman, and, of course, O'Neill, from the ftrst halfofthe twentieth century. While emphasizing the impact ofthe theories ofHowells and James, Murphy also examines the theoretical and critical perceptions of realism expounded by such writers as Heme, Brander Matthews, Hamlin Garland, Mark Twain, and Bret Harte. A major strength of Murphy's study is the ease with which she pulls together the complex strands of innovation in the development of American realism and the unassailable scholarship and critical edge with which she examines the highly individual uses made ofrealism by American dramatists. While she makes distinctions about the varying quality of the playwrights examined, Murphy has fundamentally succeeded in using her notion of American realism to connect overtly commercial playwrights with more experimental artists. Her last three chapters, "The Cutting Edge: Eugene O'Neill's Realism, 1913- 1933," "Place and Personality: Innovations in Realistic Setting and Character, 1916-1940," and "The Final Integration: Innovations in Realistic Thought and Structure, 1916-1940," are the strongest, at least in part because of the more significant quality and sophistication of the plays examined. Although she necessarily omits discussion of some playwrights, or glosses over some, she manages to survey a staggering collection of writers. American Realism and American Drama, 1880-1940 is well annotated with a solid, if not extensive, bibliography. There are production photographs, many previously unpublished, that are nicely reproduced, but, unfortunately, nothing before Sheldon's 1908 Salvation Nell. Although Murphy does not succeed in significantly altering our view of the quality of any given playwright, critic, or theory, she has vividly traced the development of American drama and theatrical history with an unswetving focus on realism, and has as well, and most importantly, placed American drama into the wider context of the American literary scene. JAMES FISHER, WABASH COLLEGE CARL ROLLYSON . Lillian Hellman: Her Legendand herLegacy. New York: St. Martin's Press 1988. pp. xxi, 613, illustrated. $24.95. This biography is by far the most authoritative book on Lillian...