1st Edition
Western Drama Confronts Selfish Humanity Dramatic Altruisms
By William W. Demastes
Copyright 2026
212 Pages
by
Routledge
212 Pages
by
Routledge
Also available as eBook on:
This book offers a timely exploration of how Western theatre has consistently challenged the notion that human nature is fundamentally selfish.
Through millennia of dramatic works, the theatre has served as a vital platform for examining the complex interplay between selfish and selfless behavior, contributing to a debate that remains at the heart of contemporary culture wars. While traditional... Read more
Acknowledgements
Introduction: Getting Beyond Selfishness
Chapter 1: Philosophizing Selfishness, Reciprocity, and Altruism
Chapter 2: The Dramatic Quality of Altruism
Chapter 3: The Strange Attraction of Sociopathology in Heroic Drama from Marlowe to Sheridan and Beyond
Chapter 4: American Theatre’s 1930s Assault on Social Darwinism
Chapter 5: Wives, Mothers, Altruists
Chapter 6: All My Cooperation
Chapter 7: The Bad, The Good, and The Hopeful
Conclusion: Altruism Now?
Works Cited
Index
Biography
William W. Demastes is Professor of English at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA.
