An Appeal for Humanity Regression

Abstract：Abstract：In modern society，a remarkable tendency of “humanity loss” spreads in almost every field，which would not only distort human nature and affect the quality of life，but also impede the sound development of the whole society. Wit，the 1999 Pulitzer Prize winning play created by American playwright Margaret Edson，is exactly such a play as reflects humanity indifference and recalls humanism. Through the depiction of Vivian’s change in conception before and after hospitalization，the paper makes an ideological quest，deepening the subject of appealing for humanity regression.

Key Words： Wit；ideological quest of Vivian；humanity regression

1Introduction

Wit is an impressive play created by Margaret Edson，which depicts the life journey of Vivian Bearing，a professor with terminal ovarian cancer. As a learned but strict and uncompromising scholar，she neither reveals her concern nor receives others’ care. She draws support from her crazy love in knowledge to steer through an infernal treatment of chemotherapy. After a series of tests and procedures in the sterile hospital，Vivian grows physically weaker，while her sense of compassion and humanity gets stronger. She gradually realizes academic talent is a poor substitute for kindness. Ultimately，when she accepts the DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) order，she dies peacefully. It is at the moment of climax that Vivian gains the true redemption and liberation.

2Implication of Wit

Witha further analysis，the title Wit covers two implications. Literally，Wit refers to intelligence and wisdom. It represents a category of people who are well armed with knowledge but deficient in human sensibility，just as Vivian，Jason (a clinical fellow) and Kelekian (a chief of medical oncology). Besides，Wit implies a metaphysical sense，which extends the counterpart of wit—kindness. Wit is not what life is all about. People should set aside certain space in their heart for humanity.

3The Ideological Quest of Vivian

It isobvious to notice the change of Vivian’s inner world through the comparison of her words and actions before and after the hospitalization. The concrete changes are elaborated below to show the sharp contrast of life with and without human nature，highlighting the great significance of humanity.

3.1Vivian’s Conception before Hospitalization

As a professor，Vivian appreciates the great thirst for knowledge，which is quite evident in the early part of the play. For example，for the sake of furthering scientific knowledge，she accepts the largest dosage of chemotherapy without hesitation. She also expresses nothing would stop her from becoming a top-notch scholar in the research of John Donne’s poetry—one of the toughest academic areas. Vivian not only pushes herself hard，but she is excessively strict with her students. Her callousness is remarkable in several flashbacks when she narrates several encounters with her former students. Besides，she keeps single all her life and bears no children. Her colleagues and students keep a long distance from her. In Vivian’s eyes，if she dies，her colleagues and students will just feel relieved and the colleagues，most of who are her former students，would only care her position，but never feel pity for her death. Moreover，during the whole eight-month treatment，there are almost no visitors.

In a word，before hospitalization，Vivian leaves us with an image of a demanding and indifferent scholar. Her tragic figure is engraved upon the audience’s hearts.

3.2Vivian’s Different Thoughts after Hospitalization

In the latter part of the play，Vivian shifts away from her earlier cold and calculating ways. Her transformation of thoughts can be observed in three aspects.

First，self-doubt. Vivian once arms herself with wit which she takes as her protection from the sentimental world. With its power，she used to be so sure of herself. However，her illness and the treatment leave her in such an unbearable misery that she has to reevaluate her life. Placed before life and death issue，Vivian finds her wisdom and knowledge that are rather useful in teaching are completely useless here，as she says，“nothing would be worse than a detailed scholarly analysis.” Her original firm faith starts to collapse.

Second，release of emotion. When Vivian is informed that she gets the terminal ovarian cancer，she accepts it calmly，viewing the situation as a learning experience. During the early stage of the deadly treatment，Vivian never shouts sorely and keeps her perfect image of toughness until she could no longer bear it. By admitting her fear，Vivian begins to display emotion. She is painfully aware of how likely she is to fail in the battle with cancer. Her original intellectual shield falls down and the sentimental world revives. Through Vivian’s monologue and her crying action，we gain an insight into the change of her inner world.

Third，longing for communication and kindness. Before hospitalization，Vivian disdains to communicate with others; all she likes is to conduct individual research. As the treatment goes on，Vivian gets an increasing awareness of the limitation of academic pursuits; what she really needs is care and communication. In the final phase when Vivian bears incredible amounts of pain and nausea，Susie and she share a Popsicle and discuss palliative care issues. Susie even calls her sweetheart，which Vivian would never have allowed before. Vivian claims in her monologue，“Now is not the time for wit…Now is the time for，dare I say it，kindness.” The details reflect Vivian accepts and seeks the great power of warmth and kindness.

Here the play’s theme of humanity regression gets fully deepened.

4Conclusion

Witis literally a plain play，for there are neither grand scenes nor esoteric topics，yet its main value lies in its reflection of a severe phenomenon in the modern society—humanity loss. Through the ideological quest of a professor’s life journey，Wit raises people’s awareness of the importance of humanity. Therefore，it is quite natural that Wit should resonate greatly in the theatre reviews and the audience.

References：

［1］ Edson，Margret. Wit ［M］. New York：Broadway Play Publishing，Inc，999.

［2］ 李楊.對純樸和善良的呼喚——瑪格麗特?埃德森的獲獎作《睿智》［J］.外國文學動態，2000(4).