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...apparent simplicity, encompasses a great ineffable force centered around the moon. To achieve a better understanding of this mysterious power, we may explore the playwright's thoughts on playwriting.
Thornton Wilder believes that "the theater is an art addressed to a group-mind," which "imposes upon {...} {the dramatist} the necessity of treating material understandable by the large number" (Intent 90-92). The meaning of this "group-mind" idea is twofold: one, it aims at the collective experience of the audience as a whole, and two, it requires a special way of presenting the play so that it will bring about a common response in the collective mind of the audience. A striking parallel exists between Wilder's "group-mind" idea and Jung's theory of collective unconscious, which is "of a collective, universal, and impersonal nature" and is "identical in all individuals" (Jung 43). The collective unconscious consists of archetypes generally represented in symbolic patterns or images, among which the moon stands out significantly in Our Town.
The archetypal moon has a long association with feminine modality. (2) It was viewed as male, female or hermaphrodite in ancient mythology, folklore, and rituals around the world, (3) but in his essay "The Moon and Matriarchal Consciousness," Erich Neumann states that "in every case it belongs among the central symbols of the feminine" (Feminine 71-72). The positive qualities of the feminine--or the Great Mother--archetype according to Jung, include "maternal solicitude and sympathy; {...} the wisdom and spiritual exaltation that transcend reason; any helpful instinct or impulse; {...} {and} all that cherishes and sustains, that fosters growth and fertility" (82). The feminine thus described is very much moon-attuned, with "one of the typical equations" resting on the moon's "character of swelling up and of shrinking connected with fertility" (Neumann, Feminine 70). Apart from the cyclic phases associated with menstruation, life, and rebirth, the moon's trek across the night sky also promises creative inspiration and qualitative timing, which lead to feminine wisdom. The archetypal feminine principle as manifested by the moon finds its rich embodiment in Our Town, imbuing the play with harmonious beauty. The feminine archetype--specifically fertility and feminine wisdom--points directly to the audience's "group-mind" and contributes to the play's universal appeal.
The structure of Our Town forms a clearly visible cycle. It begins with the act entitled "Daily Life," where the first conversation tells of "some twins born over in Polish Town" (8). The birth motif having been emphasized five times (7, 8, 9, 10, 15), the play then proceeds to show the daily life of the town, represented by the Gibbs and the Webbs: children getting up, having breakfast, going to school, returning home, and doing homework while parents guide and provide for their natural growth. With its serene mood, Act I sets the tone of praising life for the entire play. In the second act, "Love and Marriage," the stage manager takes some time commenting on the passing of time and on nature's "pushing and contriving" (30), while the audience is also presented with characters as they grow up and fall in love, followed by a ritualistic wedding ceremony. Here we see life prospering in love and marriage, but more notably, in growth. In Act III, Emily dies giving birth to her second child and subsequently relives her twelfth birthday. Her firstborn son, however, lives and he loves "spending the day" at Mr. and Mrs. Carter's (56), which signifies the continuity of life and the growth nurtured by the community in the town. Wilder does not explicitly tell us the name of this act. However, it might be appropriately called "Death and Rebirth." After she dies, Emily is physically born to life again on her twelfth birthday; and in death, Emily realizes the value of life, achieving spiritual rebirth both for herself and for the group-mind of the audience.
This birth-growth-death-rebirth cycle corresponds to the moon's phases of waxing and waning, which could be...
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