英语本科毕业论文-劝导与傲慢与偏见的比较研究.doc

论文序号： 江西省高等教育自学考试英语专业本科毕业论文论文题目: the comparative study between persuasion and pride and prejudice论文作者：准考证号：工作单位：指导老师：主考学校：南昌理工学院完成时间： 2015 年3月26日劝导与傲慢与偏见的比较研究abstract: jane austen was a popular english novelist in late 18th and early 19th centuries. during her short span of life time, she completed 6 novels, with 4 of them published in life, sense and sensibility (1811), pride and prejudice (1813), mansfield park (1814), emma (1816), and the other 2, northanger abbey and persuasion were published posthumously in 1818, sanditon a novel she died before completing it. yet, most of her works received only lukewarm attention at the time of their publication. persuasion, a posthumously published novel which tells a love affair between anne elliot the heroine and captain wentworth, is a typical example, out of speculation of jane austens inability to produce quality prose for her deteriorating state of health, literary reviews and critics at the time viewed persuasion as an “unfortunate performance” when compared to her previous works. a novel lacked invention and was merely viewed as a better version of her practice of story writing. however, through comparison with her earlier canons, especially pride and prejudice, persuasion for the first time in history introduces a heroine who is attempting to value emotion over reason, individual happiness over propriety, and it marks jane austens final assertion of the validity and worth of female emotions that it is the right of woman to fulfill her own happiness instead of her duty to family and society.through looking into the issues of first impressions, judgement for personal merits and the revolutionary influences. this comparative study proves that instead of being lowly credited as a mediocre performance of the author, persuasion stands out as a revolt against jane austens usual ideas and perceptions of the worth of female emotions. in addition, by comparison of the allusive elements existing between persuasion and pride and prejudice, this thesis reveals jane austens shift in value and her core concern towards what is reasonable and what is desirable, which may just be the motives that compel the author to write especially persuasion and pride and prejudice.keywords: jane austen ; persuasion; pride and prejudice; female emotions; persuit of happiness摘要：简奥斯丁，一个受欢迎的18世纪末、19世纪初的英国小说家，在她生命的短时间，她完成了6个小说,其中4发表在生活中，理智与情感(1811)，傲慢与偏见(1813)、曼斯菲尔德庄园(1814)，艾玛(1816)，另外两篇，诺桑觉寺和劝导是在1818年去世后出版，她去世之前完成了桑迪顿这篇文章。然而，她的大部分作品，在其发布时只获得了不冷不热的关注。本文通过对简奥丝汀去世后才发表的作品劝导与傲慢与偏见进行对比研究，以分析证明劝导这篇作品其重要的意义，以及表述我对奥斯丁其本人的一些思想上的理解。劝导，是一篇奥斯丁去世后出版的小说，它描写着安妮埃利奥特的女主角和特沃思上校之间的恋情，这在当时是一个经典的剧本，这也从侧面说明了简奥斯汀因为她不断恶化的健康而无法写出高质量的散文。当时的文学评论和批评人士认为相比她以前的作品劝导就像是一段“不幸的婚姻”。他们认为小说缺乏创新。然而,通过与她早期经典傲慢与偏见和劝导这两篇文章，首次引入了一个女主角的价值情感原因，表述个人幸福高于整体，这是简奥斯丁对女性情感的价值的最后断言，她选择满足她自己的幸福而不是家庭和社会的义务，这就是女性的权利。本文通过对比劝导与傲慢与偏见之间的实质内容及其作者对不同的两篇小说中人物的刻画的差异来揭示简奥丝汀的个人价值观。通过第一印象的刻画,判断作者的个人优点其作品的革命性的影响。这种比较研究能够较为严谨的去证明我的观点。而不是随意的把作者当做是一个平凡之辈来看待。劝导是简奥斯丁反抗当时的主流思想和当时对女性情感的价值的态度。此外，在劝导和傲慢与偏之间还有一些作者想要表达的一些深层意思，本文揭示了简奥斯丁的“转移价值”和她对“什么是合理的”“什么是可取的”等一些问题的看法。这可能是一种使作者写劝导和傲慢与偏见的动机。 contents. introduction51.the research background52.the framework53.research purpose5.value and philosophy61. first impressions72. judgement for personal merits83. revolutionary influence9. the framework characteristics101. misrecognition112. middle daughters and missing parental guidance123. letters13. reason and desire14. conclusion16references18. introduction1.the research backgroundjane austen, an english novelist of late 18th and early 19th centuries, during her short span of life time, she completed 6 novels, with 4 of them published in life, sense and sensibility (1811), pride and prejudice 1austen, jane. 2003 . pride and prejudice m. penguin books, version 3 page 3. (1813), mansfield park (1814), emma (1816), and the other 2, northanger abbey and persuasion 2austen, jane. persuasion. http:/ . on april 3 , 2015.were published posthumously in 1818, sanditon a novel which death had forced her to abandon. jane austen, a beloved literary figure whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most popular female writers in english literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.2.research frameworkthroughcomparingandanalyzingthedifferentvalueoftheirrespectivecharacteristics.underthesocialbackgroundofthattime,theanalysisofthetwoworkshaveavatalsignificance.finally,analyzingjaneaustensworkanditssocialmeaning,andthenreachingsomecorrespondingconclusions. 3.research purposeafter its publication, persuasion did not receive much favourable attentions, literary reviews and critics at the time hold that persuasion is a mediocre performance when compared to her previous volumes, “a much less fortunate performance thanher previous novels” and was viewed as little more than a substandard version of her practice of writing stories, “devoid of invention.obviously all drawn from experience” (southam3southam, b c. e d. jane austen. 1968. the critical heritage m. london, routledge & kegan paul, version 1 page 3.). for years, these kinds of opinion consisted the consensus about jane austens final contribution to the world of literature. however, through comparing to her earlier canons, especially pride and prejudice, persuasion for the first time in history introduces a heroine who is attempting to value emotion over reason, individual happiness over propriety, and marks jane austens final assertion of the validity and worth of female emotions that it is the right of woman to fulfill her own happiness instead of her duty to family and society. through carefully examining the similarities and differences existing between persuasion and pride and prejudice, this thesis intends to prove that instead of being lowly credited as a mediocre work of the author, jane austen wrote a revolutionary volume, for in persuasion she reflects her renewed and final assertion of the worth of female emotions and individual happiness upon creating anne elliot the heroine who is a woman attempting to unchain the societal and familial constraints in her pursuit of love and happiness. in addition, this thesis is to discuss the possibility of a framework of language of allusion existing in these two bookends of her career, and to argue austens intention to write persuasion as a reconsideration of her world view and perception on the value of female emotion in love and marriage in writing pride and prejudice. finally,byextendingtosomeeventsoftheauthor,thisthsisrevealsjaneaustensconcerntowardsreasonanddesire,whicharethetruemotivesthatshehadinmindinwriting persuasion and pride and prejudice. value and philosophypersuasion, after its publication, did not receive much favourable attentions. literary reviews and critics at the time hold that persuasion is a mediocre performance when compared to her previous volumes. since these kinds of opinion were mainly based upon the popular assumption that persuasion was written in a hurry as jane austen was at the twilight stage of her life, it must be admitted that compared to her previous works, in this thesis, pride and prejudice, it is both shorter and arguably less polished, but a criticism of persuasion as lacking invention and as the same old story is both inapt and unjust, for a closer look at persuasion, reveals it to be an attempt of the author to revolt her mindset and perception reflected in her previous canons or more specifically in pride and prejudice. through analysis of the following issues: first impressions, judgement for personal merits, and revolutionary influences, the true worth of persuasion would be revealed.1. first impressionsthe legitimacy and accountability of first impressions has always been contemplated by jane austen, who, both in pride and prejudice and persuasion, dedicates considerable portion of the plots to explain her position on the matter. at the start of pride and prejudice, mr. darcy was portrayed as a proud aristocrat with a snobbish tast, a man who deliberately distances himself from the rest, gives a general impression as“a most disagreeable, horrid man, not at all worth pleasing. so high and so conceited that there was no enduring him! . fancying himself so very great! not handsome enough to dance with!.”, and as for elizabeth bennet, after overhearing mr. darcys casual opinion of her being “tolerable; but not handsome enough” the proud image of mr.darcy is once more reinforced, even mr. darcy s rigid behaviour is not without ground, as when he is encouraged by mr. bingley to find a partner for dancing, he explains his unwillingness as “unless i am particularly acquainted with my partner”that he would remain as unobliging as he is. nevertheless, mr. darcys prudence is misrecognized for arrogance by the heroine, and it paves the way for her rejection of his first love proposal. here, jane austen questions the legitimacy and accountability of ones first impressions, as she continues the plot to clarify the true characters of mr. darcy as a considerable and sensible gentleman with dignity and principle. however, in persuasion, jane austen takes a totally different position as she portrays anne elliot to possess a much better judgement for characters, “a remarkably fine young man, with a great deal of intelligence, spirit, and brilliancy”sums up her initial impressions of captain wentworth; “rational, discreet, polished, not open, no burst of feeling”as her initial impressions of william elliot, and both impressions prove to be accurate at the end of the plot. unlike the “spoiled” elizabeth bennet, anne elliot is not among the favourites of her family, her unspectacular life of a commoner offends her father, who appreciates nothing but elevated ranks and appearance, and her older sister elizabeth only sees her as a nobody but an instrument for practical use, her only consolation comes from the guidance of a lady russell whose help happens to be not so “helpful”. for anne elliot lives in such an unsupportive surrounding, she must rely upon her own good judgement, which to a great extent, roots in her instinct for genuineness in affection, and a longing for an unwearied marriage with simple happiness, of which in the end of the plot becomes eventuated. 2. judgement for personal meritsthe author had, both in pride and prejudice and persuasion, discussed the issue of jugdement for personal merits, which evolves from admiring mr. darcy, a young aristocrat with large inheritance to eulogizing the rising bourgeoisie represented by captain wentworth and the crofts, who come from common lineage, acquire their wealth and social prominence through sacrificing and toiling for the country. “they were of a respectable family in the north of england; a circumstance more deeply impressed on their memories than that their brothers fortune and their own had been acquired by trade.”, in pride and prejudice, though as wealthy as mr. darcy, mr. bingley is still treated to be somewhat inferior by the general opinion, for mr. darcys elevated rank is naturally inherited, and mr. bingley, a rankless man, only with money to be recommended with. it is certainly convenient for jane austen to arrange elizabeth bennet to be coupled with the wealthiest and most aristocratic man introduced in the novel, and her older and simpler sister marries the man whose money was acquired through trade. yet, in persuasion, jane austen demonstrates her evolved perception for the same issue. “first, as being the means of bringing persons of obscure birth into undue distinction, and raising men to honours which their fathers and grandfathers never dreamt of”. as one of the two objections, sir. walter elliot has against the navy, it clearly expresses his disgust at the profession, through which a commoner may rise into prominent position, where under normal circumstances, they would not be dreamt of. however, the baronets embarrassing financial situation speaks for the general trend of a waning aristocrat, his vanity and extravagant life style has forced him to be removed from kellynch hall his usual manor, which is ironically leased by a retired admiral croft, and of course, his daughter the heroine marries a naval captain as well. at persuasions conclusion, instead of a confirmation of the world being at peace the way it was with inherited wealth reigning supreme over englands economy, jane austen shows her readership a radical assertion that money and power are indeed shifting away from the impotent aristocracy, and instead to this class of self-made individuals.3. revolutionary influence the turn of the 19th century is a time when great changes have happened to challenge the existing values and social orders. politically, it is called an era of revolutions, intellectually it is called an era of enlightenment. in the continental europe, the old feudal lords tremble at the feet of napoleons troops, in the new world across the altantic ocean, the american colonists have just gained their independence through a bloody struggle, and for the first time in history, “persuit of happiness” has been recognised as an unalienable right of a human being. in 1792, 26 years prior to the publication of persuasion, mary wollstonecraft wrote the vindication of the rights of woman, in which, she speaks of a melancholy truth-“the most respectable women are the most oppressed” and she cries for the equality of woman as she points out the potential that her gender possesses, “women who might have practiced as physicians, regulated a farm, managed a shop, and stood erect, supported by their own industry”. then, she reveals the consequence of being a contemptible woman as she speaks “if they women will make themselves insignificant and contemptible,. let them not expect to be valued when their beauty fades” (spievogel4spielvogel, jackson. cite. mary wollstonecraft. 2005. vindication of the rights of woman. western civilization a brief historym. boston, wadsworth, a division of thomson learning,version 2 page 5.) . those are just the realities that jane austen had put anne elliot into. as an old maid with faded youth, would she be able to summon enough courage to overcome the guilty feeling of rejecting wentworth 7 year ago? has she got the gut to break loose the societal and familial expectations and follow her own heart which is set for wentworth, a man who is despised by her own family? the answer that jane austen gives clearly indicates her evolved perception of the true worth of female emotion that it is right of woman to pursue her own happiness regardless the expectations placed upon them by society and family, a perception surely qualifies for a revolution.persuasion is also the first novel where jane austen portrays genuinely impoverished and lower class characters like mrs. smith and her nurse. mrs. smith used to be a member of the gentry, but after the death of her husband, she lost everything and became destitute in her widowhood. considering that most austens heroines are gentlewomen on the brink of poverty. mrs. smith is certainly a very unconventional character for anne elliot to befriend with. in her last novel, jane austen finally shows her readership the darker side of the social and economical issue that she has been tiptoeing around for her entire career. women can not own or inherit property, and so without advocacy and support, and as a result, they are prone to fall into destitution. in anger to annes association with mrs. smith, sir. walter elliot says that “everything that revolts other people, low company, paltry rooms, foul air, disgusting associations, are inviting to you” (austen). and indeed, anne dose not shy away from her visits with the lower class, which serves to show her defying character that she sees the worth of people from another dimension and it does showcase annes personal and revolutionary goodness. the framework characteristicssome argue that in order to show her own shift of ideals, valuing the emotional over the reasonable, and demonstrate how a woman can adapt to such shift in values, jane austen wrote her last novel persuasion to be in dialogue to her earlier work pride and prejudice. “almost as a privatized discourse for austens own benefit.” tarlson5tarlson, c eileen. jane austen. 2006. persuasion and the pursuit of happiness m. lethbridge undergraduate research journal，volume 1 number 1., the form of which this dialogue has taken is made of various elements of allusion, which superficially may find their resembling correspondents in pride and prejudice, but the guiding philosophy and principles in portraying these elements are in stark contrast. and the following part of this thesis will discuss a possible framework of allusion existing between persuasion and pride and prejudice through discussing the following issues. the philosophical concept of “misrecognition”; the middle daughters and the missing parental guidance; and the letters.1. misrecognitionin both persuasion 6wikipedia . jane austen . online source : /wiki/jane austen. on april 5,2015.and pride and prejudice, jane austen employs the philosophical tool of dialectical progression to help her heroines to reach a better understanding of both herself and people around her, and eventually to discern a general truth. “hegel in literature,” philosopher zizek once rated the author. whether jane austen read about hegel or not, she has been widely recognized as the one writer who has a refined understanding over human inte