The social and political philosophy of Lillian Hellman

101 Pages·010.825 MB·English

by  Light, Hilda

THE SOCIAL AID POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OP LILLIAN HELLKAN
Thesis
Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School .
of
Texas Western College
of the University of Texas
In Partial Fulfillment of.the Requirements
For the Degree
of
Master of Arts
By
Hilda|Light
August# 1950
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UMI Number: EP00067
UMI
UMI Microform EP00067
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THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OP LILLIAN HELLMAN
Approved i
Approved:
^ iS S in '" of' ’: tK® ri“ SrwmaBS" "OouSe IX"
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DllianTHellnum
63 East 82nd Street
New York 28, N. Y.
January 12, 1950
Dear Miss Light:
I am sorry to have been late in answering
your letter about "North Star*" I have not had
time to look into Mrs. Dean's book "New Governments
in Europe," but I would very much doubt if she ever
made my such "liquidation" claim for the total
Ukraine. I visited the Ukraine in 1945 and net and
talked with Ukranims whose families had not moved
from their homes for hundreds of years*
Thus my scene between the old woman naans
exactly what is written on the page* 1 try to tell
the truth as 1 know the truth, and truth does not
alter with "allies" or the year "1943."
Most sincerely,
Lillian Hellnan
Miss Hilda Light
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AOMOWffiDGMEIfS
1 should like to acknowledge with thanks the
assistance of Dr* C* L. Sonniohsen* who directed this
study. 1 am Indebted also to Dr* Joseph Leach for many
valuable suggestions, and to the library staff for their
cooperation and help*
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TABLE OP COHT1STS
CHAPTER Pag®
I* A Playwright with a Message * * # « . . * 1
II. Lillian. Heilman* a Early Life and
Background * • * » • • * • * * « » « * 5
III* A Crusader for the Left' Wing . . . . . . 15
IV* Plays of Social Significance, 193^-1939* 25
V* Anti-Fascist Propaganda Plays* 19lfl-19ljlj-. IpO
VI* The Passionate Defense of the People*s
Cause .............* ........... 58
VII. Sujsmary and Conclusions............. . 75
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CHAPTER I
A PUTHRIOflT WITH A MESSAGE
Since 193)+, when The Children1 s Hour was hailed as
the season*® most' powerful and gripping play, Lillian 'Heilman
has been one of America* s most successful playwrights. But
she is not content to be known for her ability to construct
taut dramatic scenes with “three dimensional,fl characters and
beliewfele dialogue* To her the play is a vehicle for present*
Ihg her views * for waging war on evil, for taking a stand in.
support of .her convictions. She states this, frankly in the
introduction to your p:isya by. Lillian. Heilman?
1 am a moral writer, often too moral, a writer, and 1
cannot avoid, it seems, that last summing-up. 1 think
that is nnly a mistake'when it fails to achieve Its
purpose, and I would rather make the attempt, and fail,
than fail to .make the attempt.d
S!h* has never been accused of failing to make the attempt to
present a moral*
The moral issue® which Miss Hallman has championed in
her plays so far have been of a social and political nature,.,
and critics agree that she has become more and more absorbed
%osamond Gilder, "Sweet Creatures of Bombast,”
Theatre Arts Monthly, 23 {April, 1939)* 4*7 *
2Lilllan Heilman, Four Plays by Lillian. Heilman.
(lew fork, I9I4E), viii. ' " ~ *
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2
in these problems' as time passes# H©r plays have been con­
cerned with the labor problem, and the evils of strike-
■breaking! she has revealed, the ruthlessness of ■ industrialists j
and. her last play extols martyrdom for a revolutionary cans©*
Mb to her own political affiliation, Miss Heilman has
remained extremely vague. If she.is pinned down by a questiom
on the subject! she has a ^regrettable tendency to be coy,”
we are told, . Her answer that ah© would "like to be a liberal
if ah© could tell! bhas© days* exactly what the hell a
liberal is1*! leaves the questioner most uncertain.
There is mottling indefinite* however* about her stand
against Fascism* Hiss Heilman* s statement on this subject
is clear and ummtstal able,
1' m. a writer* 1 am also a Jew, I want'to be quit©
sura that t can continue to b# a writer and that'if 1
w®»b to say.greed is bad or persecution is worse# I can
do so without being branded by the malice of people who
make a living by that malice* I also want to go on say**
ing that X am a Jew without being afraid that I. will be
called names or end in a prison camp or be forbidden to
walk down the'street at night ^
Her Jewish ancestry clearly Justifies this position and
explains' her bitter and unrelenting fight against Nazism and
all forms of Fascism*
%argaret Case Harrimah* fflMiss lily of lew Orleans, ”
fate fhem Tenderly (few jerk* 1914)* 99.
Maxine Block#.. Editor* Current Biography (New York,
1914 376
) # *
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3
But how■far to the left sh® veers in her zeal as
m antifascist is still open to Question# In other words,
we are still uncertain whether she Is a Communist or not#
For the past several’ fears she has shown an Increasing
interest in leftist causes and philosophies, and her loyalty
to democracy has been questioned by those who read In her
actions and In.the them®® of her plays acceptance of the
political doctrines of OomminlsM* Others explain her left-.
1st sympathy as a phase of her battle against Fascism or
simply as a hatred of social injustice.
People who know Lillian Heilman well•say that what
some theorists consider her Communist tendency la
actually more 'a violent anti fascism and an equally
strong Instinct to fight for the little people'who
can*!’ fight for themselves# She is. a woman who hates
to see anybody pushed around, they say, Miss Heilman
agrees with this explanation, ■ but she is an argue? at
heart. Once, in her presence,•a friend of hors set
out' to prove' to a heckler that Lillian was not even
sympathetic to the Communists, and gave a number of
convincing reasons*' **Isn*t that true, Lillian?*1 the
friend said, turning to her rather breathlessly,
wWelI » # said Miss Heilman,>
Since Miss Heilman chooses to leave unanswered the
charges of Communism which have been made against her, any
conclusion as' to her ideologies must be drawn from a con­
sideration of her activities and from a study of her play®.
Her participation in causes sponsored by Communists and her
work la organizations of left-wing origin are well known#
%argaret Cas® Harriman, _op. clt., 100,
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Likewise, her plays give indisputable evidence of her
interest in class strife and other subjects dear to the
Coirammist, ”1 try to tell the truth as I know the truth,
she wrote; and her sincerity cannot be doubted* On this
basis we may interpret any' philosophy set down in her plays
as an expression .of her political creed*
Gillian Heilman, in an unpublished letter to the
author dated January 12,'1950*
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