In the history of Chinese dramatics, there are no other images as disputatious as Fan-Yi in 《The Storm》. By her extreme personality, the character presents her typical characteristics, becomes the most moving image within those in the Chinese Neo-Literature after the May Fourth Movement, and becomes a typical artistic model. In the past sixty years, there have been many articles and great achievements in studying and discussing Fan-Yi. However, although there have been so many discussions on this character in many dimensions in the past, there are still needs to explore deeper on the ground of the current points of view. The author in this study focuses on three aspects in studying Fan-Yi. The first is the “flowing" process of her personality. The author believes that the success in the description of her personality development is one of the essential factors that make the image a long lasting artistic fascination, and it is also the key-point of her typicalness. By studying the developmental process of her personality on the base of the former studies, we can not only get a more comprehensive picture of the image with her complexity, liveness, and richness, but also induce the successfulness in presenting such a typical image. The second is the driving effect of the inner vitality on the behaviors of the character. Fan-Yi is not a pursuer of “-ism", but she resists when she is repressed on thinking and behaviors. Why she resists? In what dimensions she resists? What does she want? Regarding these questions, we can look for the essential answers from the basic inner needs of the human-being. The third is the philosophical thinking raised by this artistic image. 《The Storm》 is not simply a play reflecting social problems. The character brings us many thorough reflections on human history, human development, and human self-contradictory nature, and indicates many richer and deeper meanings than that of a play on social problems. Using the methods of historical criticism and comparison, the author studies these three aspects systemically, and discusses from the lower to the deeper levels. The author expects that this article can make its own contribution to the dramatics on the foundation of the achievement of many former studies.

在中國戲劇史上，從來没有一個藝術形象如蘩漪般惹人爭議，她以極端的性格展示出鮮明的個性特徵，成為“五四”以來新文學人物畫廊裡一個最動人的形象，是不可多得的藝術典型。六十多年来，曾經評論過蘩漪的論文、專著無数，成果豐碩。不過，儘管前人已經從多方面對該形象进行了不同層面的探討，但站在今天的立場和角度看，這些探討確乎存在著進一步深入的需要。 就本人的研究而言，著力點主要在三個方面：第一，蘩漪性格的“流動”過程。本文認為，刻劃性格發展過程的成功，是該形象能夠散發恆久藝術魅力的根本因素之一，也是其典型性的關鍵所在。我們從其性格發展的過程去研究，可以在前人的基礎上更全面地把握該藝術形象之生動性、複雜性、豐富性，並從另一個側面總結出塑造該藝術形象的成功經驗。第二，人的內在生命力對蘩漪行為的驅動作用。蘩漪並不是甚麼“主義”的追求者，她在受到思想、行為上的禁錮和壓制時，為甚麼要反抗？從哪些方面进行反抗？她要得到的究竟是甚麼？這些問题，我們都可以從人類內在需要方面尋找到本質上的答案。第三，蘩漪這個藝術形象誘發的哲理思考。《雷雨》並不是一部社會問题劇，蘩漪带給我們的是對人類歷史、人類的發展以及人類自身矛盾的深層思考，它比一部社會問題劇所包含的意義要豐厚、深遠得多。 本文從以上三個層次，通過系统論的觀點，採取史批評和比較的方法，由淺入深、由表及裡進行論證，以期踏著巨人的肩膀——既有的研究成果——進一步為戲劇研究作出微弱的貢献。