Existential Subjective Violence in A Lie of the Mind

A Lie of the Mind (1985) is the last play of family quintet written by Sam Shepard (1943-2017), a contemporary American playwright. Human beings’ existential problem has been revealed through the theme of violence and psychological mechanism of characters’ subjective violence in this modern tragedy. Through the representation of subjective violence, which is epitomized by Jake, Mike and Baylor, Shepard points out modern people’s existential despair, an impossibility and impotence of self-affirmation, the futility of finding the meaning of existence. While providing women’s paradigm of reasonable means of reaction towards violence in locating one’s selfhood, Shepard brings out the possibility of love, courage and freedom as a way of asserting one’s existence.