（英语语言文学专业论文）英美现代主义小说的主题学研究.pdf

i 摘摘 要要 现代主义文学持续了半个多世纪，不仅影响了整个欧洲，而且波 及到了世界的许多地方。现代主义文学内容非常广泛，很难对其做出 精确的界定。作为英美现代主义文学的重要部分，现代主义小说的主 题、风格和创作技巧差异很大，任何对其定义、分类和诠释的尝试都 极具挑战性，也非常有价值。立足于主要现代主义小说家的优秀作品 以及相关的历史、文化和文学批评资料，利用主题学研究的方法，本 文对现代主义文学中经常出现的五个重要主题， 即异化、 荒诞、 救赎、 新女性的意识和城市青年的成长，进行研究。主题学主要研究相同主 题以及与主题密切相关的母题、情景、意象、套语等在不同国家和地 区的发展变化和不同作家的处理方式。显然，探讨英美现代主义作家 对上述五个主题不同的处理方式， 不仅有助于理清现代主义小说的复 杂现象及其成因， 也有助于理解现代主小说与现代主义社会之间的复 杂关系。 有鉴于此，本文共分七章。第一章简单介绍现代主义文学的历史 背景，并论述了主题学研究发展的历史和研究方法，同时说明了论文 的研究目标。第二章到第六章分别讨论上述五个主题。每章分三个部 分： 主题的内涵、 主题所处的特殊历史背景以及主题不同的表现层面。 第二章从社会、自然、他人以及自我等四个方面分析了异化主题，说 明了现代社会中异化的全面性和严重性； 第三章从现代社会的非理性 和无意义性两个方面探讨了荒诞主题， 说明了现代社会的荒诞性是现 代社会精神危机的主要根源之一； 第四章从现代主义小说的形式和内 ii 容两个方面分析了救赎主题， 说明了现代主义小说是对改变现代人的 异化和现代社会的荒诞性做出严肃的思考；第四章从新女性对生活、 独立性和女性美等三个方面分析了新女性觉醒意识的主题， 说明了现 代社会对新女性群体既异化又解放的双重作用； 第六章从青少年与现 代社会的相互关系角度分析了成长主题， 说明了青少年接受并直面现 代社会的过程和重要性。 最后一章为本文的结论部分。 本文认为现代主义小说既是现代社 会的产物又是现代社会的一部分； 它们是现代主义小说家对现代人类 生存状况与命运的严肃探讨和思考； 现代主义小说内容与形式的种种 实验不仅是一种艺术的自由， 更是一种艺术的必需。 由于时间的不足， 作者知识和视野的局限性以及现代主义小说的复杂性， 本文只涉及了 很小一部分现代主义小说， 而且仅从主题学研究的一个方面探讨了有 限的五个主题。 有鉴如此， 笔者强烈希望学者们从主题学的其它层面， 如母题研究、情景研究、套语研究等，对上述主题以及现代主义小说 中的其他主题如“爱”做出进一步研究和探讨。 关键词关键词： 主题学, 异化, 荒诞, 救赎, 新女性, 城市青年的成长 iii abstract the modernist period covered more than half a century, and modernism influenced the whole europe and some regions of other continents. modernism is too inclusive a concept for anyone to define; modernist novels demonstrate too wide a variety of themes, styles, and skills for any research to pinpoint. the mystery and complexity of modernism makes any attempt of defining, classifying and interpreting heroic and promising. this research is one of the many ambitious projects. yet this research is not only an adventure. it is based on a critical selection of about a dozen of modernist novels, and reliable sourceshistorical, cultural, and critical documents. besides, it employs a practical methodthematology. generally speaking, thematology is the study of the changes and evolvements of themes, motifs, situations, images and topos occurring among different nations, and the treatments of different writers with the same themes, motifs and so on. when we unmask how these themes are treated by different modernist authors within the social backgrounds of the 20th century, we could understand the conflicting phenomena and their sources in modernist novels and the special relationship between modernist novels and modern society. in accordance with the approach of thematology, this thesis is intended to interpret five major literary themes that are recurrent in modernist novels and still influential in early years of the postmodern period. the five significant themes are alienation, absurdity, salvation, the awakening consciousness of new women, and bildungsroman of modern urban youth. this thesis consists of seven chapters. chapter one deals with the general backgrounds of the five themes, a brief introduction to the approach of thematology, and the aims of this thesis. chapters two to six are explorations into the five themes. each chapter is mainly made of three sections: the definition of the theme, the historical background of the theme, and a detailed analysis of the theme. chapter two analyzes the theme of alienation in terms of society, nature, other individuals and the inner self, and points out that the alienation of modern man is very serious at all levels; iv chapter three analyzes the theme of absurdity in terms of the meaninglessness and irrationality of modern society, and points out that the absurdity of modern society is one major source of modern spiritual crisis; chapter four analyzes the theme of salvation in terms of the form and content of modernist novels, and points out that modernist novels are serious reflections on how to handle the alienation of modern man and the absurdity of modern life; chapter five analyzes the theme of the awakening consciousness of new women in terms of the concepts and ideas of new women on life, women independence and feminine beauty, and points out the double functions of modern society, which alienates and liberates new women; chapter six analyzes the theme of bildungsroman of urban youth in terms of the relationship between modern society and urban youth, and points out the process and significance of urban youth learning how to face modern life. the last chapter is the conclusion of this thesis. this thesis comes to the conclusion that modernist novels, which are the product and part of the shifting modern world, are serious individualist reflections of modernist novelists on modern mans living condition and destiny; and that the varied experiments and explorations of modernist novels are not arts freedom, but arts necessity. because of the limit of time, knowledge and vision of the author and the complexity of modernist novels, this thesis could only focus on a very small portion of modernist novels and deals with only five themes, leaving other themes, like love, behind, and leaving other aspects of thematology research, like motifs, situations, images and topos, untouched. therefore, it is the sincere hope of the author that some scholars could follow up this research in the above fields. key words: thematology, alienation, absurdity, salvation, new women, bildungsroman 上海交通大学上海交通大学 学位论文原创性声明学位论文原创性声明 本人郑重声明：所呈交的学位论文，是本人在导师的指导下，独立进行 研究工作所取得的成果。除文中已经注明引用的内容外，本论文不包含任何 其他个人或集体已经发表或撰写过的作品成果。对本文的研究做出重要贡献 的个人和集体，均已在文中以明确方式标明。本人完全意识到本声明的法律 结果由本人承担。 学位论文作者签名：白雪 日期： 年 月 日 上海交通大学上海交通大学 学位论文版权使用授权书学位论文版权使用授权书 本学位论文作者完全了解学校有关保留、使用学位论文的规定，同意学 校保留并向国家有关部门或机构送交论文的复印件和电子版，允许论文被查 阅和借阅。本人授权上海交通大学可以将本学位论文的全部或部分内容编入 有关数据库进行检索，可以采用影印、缩印或扫描等复制手段保存和汇编本 学位论文。 保密保密，在 年解密后适用本授权书。 本学位论文属于 不保密 不保密。 （请在以上方框内打“” ） 学位论文作者签名：白雪 指导教师签名：索宇环 日期： 年 月 日 日期： 年 月 日 v acknowledgements upon the completion of this thesis, i feel happy and obliged to express my heartfelt thanks to my supervisor, professor suo yuhuan. without his persistent guidance and constructive advice, i could not have produced this thesis in the present form and quality. in the past two years, he was always there whenever i met with difficulties in my school work, life, research, and even personal matters. he not only introduced me to the magic of literature and taught me the correct research methods, but also offered me many insightful opinions about life, which will help me confidently confront my future. i can never ignore the role my teachers at shanghai jiaotong university have played in strengthening my knowledge of literature. among them, professor hu quansheng specially impressed me. his lectures on modernist novels generated many smart ideas that come into this thesis. in fact his influence largely decided my choice of modernist novels as the object of my research. i am lucky to have shang biwu as my roommate because he has offered me prompt and unselfish help in the past two years, especially in the hard days of writing my thesis. and i am happy to have wei xiaodan and pan yulin as my faithful friends. attending the common seminars hosted by professor suo, we benefited from heated discussions and mutual criticism. i would not reserve my thanks to all other classmates at the foreign language school, with whom i spent a memorable and joyful time. last but not the least, i should extend my thanks to my girlfriend, wang yi, for her sweet company of me all the way through my graduate program, particularly the trying days of writing my thesis. she is a very important part of my life. 1 a thematic study of the british and american modernist novels chapter 1 introduction in their article “the name and nature of modernism” (1976), malcolm bradbury and james mcfarlane claim that the new art, that is, the modernist art, in the first half of the twentieth century, belongs to the third category of cultural seismology, whose “overwhelming dislocations, cataclysmic upheavals of culture, fundamentals convulsions of the creative human spirit that seem to topple even the most solid and substantial of our beliefs and assumptions, leave great areas of the past in ruins (noble ruins, we tell ourselves for assurance), question an entire civilization or culture, and stimulate frenzied rebuilding.” (1976： 19) in fact, at the beginning of the 20th century, many writers showed great concerns about their age. w. b. yeats says in the second coming: “things fall apart; the center can not hold; mere anarchy is loosed upon the world. the blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere the ceremony of innocence is drowned; the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.” (quoted in liu bingshan, 1996: 483) apparently, yeats drew a disheartening picture of the 20th century. when we look back at what happened in the 100 years between 1850 and 1950, we would readily agree with what yeats observed. 1.1 social changes in the first half of the 20th century the period from 1850 to 1950 is generally described as the second industrial revolution. (schleifer, 2000: 108) the second industrial revolution achieved the 2 transformation in western europe and america of the relatively small-scale entrepreneurial or industrial capitalism into large-scale financial capitalism and established new modes of life. firstly, city took the place of the country as the major living space for human. “by 1860 the proportion of people living in cities in the united states is one-sixth, and by 1900 to one third. by 1910, nearly one person in every two lived in cities”. （litwack, 1987: 478）in britain, by 1910, two-thirds of the population had lived in cities. meanwhile, city assumed a totally new position and role in the national life. it became the generator of wealth and the financial, commercial and/or production center as well for britain and the united states, and even for the world. (来安方, 1995:124-5) for example, glasgow in britain and detroit and los angeles in the united states were (and still are) the industrial centers, which produced huge volumes of products and profits, while london and new york were (and still are) not only the financial centers in their own countries but also in the world. secondly, the 2nd industrial revolution inspired new modes of production. there were assembly line production, and electrically motivated and standardized production that not only multiplied output but also offered a new experience of work unimaginable in the age of the family-centered production. in addition, new agricultural machines, the application of new agricultural science and technology, and the extended domestic and international markets oriented agriculture in the direction of modernist farming, which consumed less and less manual labor but yielded larger and larger harvests. in the 1920s, the farming population in the united states and britain dropped to less than 20 percent of the total worker power and the percentage of agriculture in the national economy dropped to a second place, which means the dependence of the united states and britain on agriculture as their lifeline ended and the age of modern industry had come. (burns, 1973: 628) thirdly, the 2nd industrial revolution revolutionized the traditional social structures. the western society was divided into three parts, the capitalists, the middle class and the industrial workers. the middle class mainly included managers, professional people such as doctors, lawyers, artisans and business clerks. (beers, 3 1983: 423-4) with the development of tertiary industry, more and more new occupations emerged, which opened up new fields and job opportunities, especially for young people. meanwhile, women became more and more active out of houses and enjoyed more chances of employment, which freed them from their dependence on family. compared with the past, modernist social structures were vague and fluid. the middle class was a typical example. the members of the middle class could step as easily up into the upper class as down right into the workers. (beers, 1983:423-4) at the same time, large migrations of people from country to city and from one country to another shattered the differences of the traditional social classes and offered them opportunities to change their former social positions. besides, with womens more involvements in jobs outside their houses, the traditional differences of social roles based on natural sex began to thaw. (litwack, 1987:479-486) accompanying the social restructuring, many other factors also played their role in the process of shaping society. in social science, marx analyzed “the external realm of social and economic process and laid bare the false consciousness by which the advantaged class unwittingly rationalized their own condition”. (levenson, 2000:9) freud investigated the inner realm of the psyche and showed how, through the process of sublimation, consciousness may itself act as a sophisticated barrier to recognizing the true nature of intellectual desire. he insisted that this was not just a personal problem; it was the necessary basis of civilization. meanwhile, nietzsche diagnosed the whole tradition of western metaphysics from socrates onwards as a subtle form of falsehood reflecting an inner suppression and outer domination. “christianity in particular was gigantic fraud perpetrated by psyche on itself”. (levenson, 2000:10) in all three cases it is not that external appearances, and the commonsensical or rational means of understanding them, are limited and fallible. it is that such appearances and reasoning may be actively disguising contrary truths to which, by definition, there is no other access. the very principle of reason collapses unnervingly into possible rationalization while reason remains the only means of negotiating this recognition. (levenson, 2000:10) that is to say, marx, freud, and nietzsche recognized the power and function of unreason in an age of reason and stressed the importance of unreason, 4 while they never negated reason because what they opposed is the only and absolute reign of rationalism, not ration itself. meanwhile, the field of natural science and technology echoed the discoveries in the social science. in the process of the 2nd industrial revolution, science and technology achieved great advancement, whose wide application into production greatly improved the productive power and capacity. electricity, steel, and oil not only generated new ways of production and factory management, but also supplied great variety and quantity of products for the whole society. auto, phone, cinema, etc. all changed the ways of life, of thinking and of expressing. of the new novel commodities, fewer and fewer items were connected directly to the necessities of life, such as food, clothes, and so on. therefore, daily consumption changed from need to desire of an abundant-product society. (scheleifer, 2000:112-114) to make things complicated, the new theories of science investigated a total different way of looking at the world. in his theories of relativity, einstein suggested that no law or observation can be universally reliable, but depends, among other factors, on the position of the individual observers. as if to reinforce einsteins idea, heisenberg announced his uncertainty principle in 1923. with all the rigor and logic of mathematics, the principle stresses the incapacity of science to establish anything about the physical universe with absolute certainty. their conclusions not only interested scientists but also novelists and poets. as “the new science exploded world, it exploded with it the novel as well.” (mellard, 1980:30) on the whole, the discoveries and inventions, together with the technology of the first decade of the 20th century, signified that “the old religious world, the world of the virgin, was over; new powers dominated modern existence.” (bradbury, 1984:20-21) they affected all societies, “driving the modern world into entropy, the modern mind into chaos”, made the modern man easily think that the modern world was discontinuous with the past. (hu quansheng, 2003: 3-4) facing the substantial changes of society, modern man found times again the correctness of the social and scientific ideas. a most cited example is the two world wars, especially the first world war. for the first time people under the guide of the 5 same god fought and killed each other, claiming 30 million people and 86 billion dollars at the end of the war. but the aftermath of the first world war was more than material loss. it brought the bankruptcy of the western value system. freedom, equality and fraternity, which were the spiritual cornerstones for the 1800s western capitalist world, together with justice, love and loyalty, and so on, served as the pillars for value system based on christianity, were shattered by the war because they were also the slogans of the involved fighting countries, whose new weapons of killing were the product of modern science and technology. (刘象愚、曾艳兵,2003:2; 李维 屏, 2000:253-4) besides war, social unrest caused by economic crisis, particularly the 1929 great depression, the confrontation between the soviet union and the western powers, the anti-colonial movement, and so on, never left a comparatively stable life as before. with the old social convention broken and the new one to be built, people were thrown onto a cold and hostile world, where they felt a deep sense of alienation, absurdity and futility. the chaos caused by the transformation of society also found their voice in artistic field. like what yeats did, artists from different fields, such as the paintings of picasso, tried to express new experience of their age. on the whole,