Abstract Biographers tend to be influenced by their attitude toward subject and produce different or even contradictory portraits of one shared biographee. With two polar attitudes of sympathy and hostility as footholds, this essay reviews and analyzes related biographies and memoirs about Woody Allen, so as to illustrate that various versions of life might contradict and accuse each other, which resembles a courtroom drama: some texts act as indictment, while others as defense. An honest biographer should maintain his/her poise and avoid choosing between the role of either prosecuting attorney or defense counsel.

Keywords: Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, sympathy, hostility

Mao Xu, focusing on biography study, is a PhD candidate in World Literature Research Institute of Peking University. His most recent publication is “Absinthe, Moulin Rouge, La Belle Époque: Lautrec’s Life Told Backward” in World Culture(2017.12). E-mail: maoxu@pku.edu.cn.