Date Published:

Abstract:

Against the methodological context of play theory, this article revisits the theme of determinism and free will in Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian: Or, The Evening Redness in the West. Highlighting the paradoxical coexistence of determinism and indeterminism in the book, it shows how Judge Holden abuses the appeal of play to lure the Glanton gang into his evil enterprise of a false game of war, which by necessity embraces deterministic rules and the freedom of play. The rules of this false game, however, are violated and neglected by the kid, who thus becomes a spoil-sport, endangering the continuity of the game. To protect his game the judge outlaws the kid, yet the threat will not dissolve: as long as the judge relies on the witnessing of other agents to validate his victory and his game, his self-determination is at risk.

September 2022: Wei Feng received his Ph.D. degree in Drama and Theatre Studies from Trinity College Dublin, and is a professor in the School of Foreign Languages and Literature at Shandong University, China. His research interests include intercultural theatre, traditional Chinese theatre, and (post)modernist English literature. He translated Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian into Chinese.