（英语语言文学专业论文）《阴影线》成长主题的原型批评分析.pdf

descriptive chinese abstract i 摘 要 约瑟夫康拉德（1857 1924）是英国文学史上的一位奇才。在伟大的传统中， f.r.利维斯将他与乔治艾略特和亨利詹姆斯并列为“伟大的小说家” 。自此以后， 这位波兰裔英国作家便引起越来越多西方评论家的关注。 近年来康拉德研究更是成为国 内学术界的热点。 阴影线是康拉德最后一篇航海小说，也是其为数不多的自传体小说之一。年轻 的船长“我”首次独当一面指挥航行，却遭遇了种种困难与灾祸。但“我”带领所有船 员，克服重重困难，历尽艰辛后终于抵达港口。在此过程中， “我”摈弃了年轻的无知 和幻想，驶过了分割青年与成熟阶段的“阴影线” ，在风浪之中，成长为一位成熟、稳 重、富有责任感的船长。 阴影线因此成为英国文学中一篇公认的成长小说。国外文 学评论界对这部小说的成长主题的研究不少， 但大多都只对主人公的成长历程进行了简 单或复杂的分析，却似乎忽视了小说所体现的一些人类成长过程中的共性。 原型批评是二十世纪五六十年代流行于西方的一个重要的批评流派。 在批评实践中, 原型批评试图发现文学作品中反复出现的各种意象、叙事结构和人物类型, 找出它们背 后的基本形式。批评家强调作品中的神话和仪式类型，认为这些神话与仪式同具体的作 品比较起来是更基本的原型，并把一系列原型广泛应用于对作品的分析、阐释和评价。 作为成长小说的阴影线包含了较丰富的原型经验。笔者要指出的是：阴影线不 仅展现了主人公“我”在航海过程中的逐渐成熟，而且体现了人类共同的成长经历;主 人公个人的成长体验以及作品中其他人物对他成长的影响也反映了人类成长过程中的 原型经验。 本文运用原型批评理论， 着重对作品中主人公成长的叙事结构以及他的成长引路人 进行了分析。文章继导论部分介绍理论背景和课题价值后，首先分析了主人公的成长叙 事结构，展现了主人公成长的过程是如何体现成人仪式原型，又是如何模仿人类共同成 长经历的；文章然后分析了主人公的三位不同类型的成长引路人，他们在主人公的成长 中起着不同的作用，反映了不同的原型；文章进而将成长主题放在一个更广阔的伦理道 德语境中去研究，分析了道德对主人公成长的影响；最后得出结论：作为一部典型的成 长小说， 阴影线是以人类成长的基本模式为原型的，它既体现了人类成长过程中的 共性，又具有自己的特色其成长被赋予了深刻的道德意义。 关键词：约瑟夫康拉德； 阴影线 ；原型批评；成长；道德关怀 english abstract ii abstract since f. r. leavis commented in the great tradition (1948): “ conrad is among the very greatest novelists in the language or any language” (257), this polish- born english writer has received constant attention from the critical world, and has become the hot issue in chinese academe in recent years. the shadow- line, conrad s last sea story, is one of his autobiographical novels. it is a first- person retrospective account of a young captain s coming of age through his first command. the young protagonist receives his first command as captain and directs a course independently. during the voyage, the ship is surrounded by mysterious atmosphere as if being cursed by the late captain who dies on sea. finally, the protagonist successfully directs the ship across “ the shadow- line” , where the late captain is buried. in this process, he grows up to be a mature, sedate and responsible man. therefore, the shadow- line is generally acknowledged as a typical initiation story in english literature. there are many studies on the initiation theme in the shadow- line in literary criticism abroad. most of them make analysis, simple or complex, on the protagonist s initiation experience, but seem to neglect some commonness in human beings initiation embodied in the story. archetypal criticism, a powerful movement in the history of recent literary theory, flourished especially during the 1950s and 1960s. it is a type of critical theory that interprets a text by focusing on recurring myths and archetypes in the narratives, symbols, images, and character types in a literary work. the critics emphasize the type of myths and rites rather than the specific works, reckon the former to be more basic archetypes and apply a series of archetypes to analyze, interpret and evaluate the literary works. as an initiation story, the shadow- line is rich in archetypes. the thesis holds that the shadow- line not only displays the protagonist s gradual maturity during the voyage, but also embodies the common experience of human beings initiation. the protagonist s personal taste in initiation and other characters influence on him reflect many experiential archetypes in human beings initiation. in the light of archetypal criticism, this thesis focuses on analyzing the narrative structure of the protagonist s initiation and major characters influencing his initiation. after introducing the theoretical background and significance, chapter one of this thesis gives a detailed analysis of the narrative structure of the protagonist s initiation and shows how the narrative structure embodies the archetype of initiation rite and how it imitates the common experience of human beings initiation. chapter two deals with the archetypal analysis of the protagonist s three initiation guides. they play different roles in the protagonist s initiation, reflecting various archetypes. in order to interpret initiation theme from moral perspective, a larger context, chapter three analyses the moral concerns behind the archetypal initiation. in conclusion, the thesis makes a brief summary, pointing out that the shadow- line not only english abstract iii embodies rich archetypes and reflects the common experience of human beings initiation, but also bears its peculiarity: the initiation is endowed with profound moral significance. key words: joseph conrad; the shadow- line; archetypal criticism; initiation; moral concerns 湘潭大学 学位论文原创性声明 本人郑重声明：所呈交的论文是本人在导师的指导下独立进行研究所取得的 研究成果。除了文中特别加以标注引用的内容外，本论文不包含任何其他个人或 集体已经发表或撰写的成果作品。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后果由本人承担。 作者签名： 日期： 年 月 日 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。 本人授权湘潭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。 涉密论文按学校规定处理。 作者签名： 日期： 年 月 日 导师签名： 日期： 年 月 日 introduction 1 introduction joseph conrad (1857 1924), british novelist and short- story writer of polish descent, 1 is now widely accepted as one of the modernist masters of serious narrative fiction. historically placed, he is an “ intermediary between romantic and victorian traditions and the innovations of modernism” (watts 171). his influence on later novelists has been profound both because of his masterly technical innovations and because of the vision of humanity expressed through them. primarily a commercial storyteller aiming at the popular market, during his lifetime conrad was highly praised for the richness of his prose and his renderings of dangerous life at sea and in exotic places but his reputation diminished consequently after his death. however, now conrad has been increasingly regarded as one of the greatest english novelists and has turned to be one of the most read british novelists of his period, thanks in part to f. r. leavis comment in his the great tradition: “ conrad is among the very greatest novelists in the language or any language” (257). a handful of conrad s works, such as heart of darkness, nostromo, lord jim, the secret sharer and the secret agent, are generally acknowledged to be outstanding. his novels and stories transmute the adventures of his early life and evoke a godless universe rich in ambiguity. his great achievement, and the impetus behind his experimentation with language and form, is his probing analysis of human character under psychological and moral strain. conrad explores the obsessive pursuit of goals (material and idealistic), the illusions and limitations that obscure reality and thwart action, and confrontations with natural and human obstacles. he is fascinated by mental states associated with isolation, ambition, moral failure, and the fear of death. conrad s last masterpiece2 the shadow- line, well received by reviewers, is among his best works. it was written during the first world war, 3 first published in 1916- 1917 in the english review and the metropolitan magazine, and then appeared as a book. it was a successful novella4 for not only were the 5000 copies of the first edition in march 1917 sold out within four days, but the reviews following its publication presented a chorus of praise. norman sherry summarizes the reception, quoting, among others, the nation: “ one of the great ones, not of the present, but of the world” ; the spectator: “ the genius of mr. conrad introduction 2 disarms criticism” ; and the sphere: “ it is a great and never- to- be- forgotten book” (32). f. r. leavis, not only agrees with the “ common recognition” that it is “ one of conrad s masterpieces” , but also believes it is “ superior to heart of darkness and even to typhoon” and even reckons it to be “ a supremely sinister and beautiful evocation of enchantment in tropic seas” (215). the shadow- line is based on conrad s early personal experience.5 in early 1888, for no better reason, apparently, than boredom, he resigned his position as first mate of the vidar. while waiting in the sailor s home in singapore for a passage home, he was offered unexpectedly his first and only command of a barque, the otago, sailing from bangkok. the captain conrad replaced had died at sea, and by the time the ship reached singapore, a voyage of 800 miles that took three weeks because of lack of wind, the whole ship s company, except conrad and the cook, was down with fever. conrad then discovered to his dismay that his predecessor had sold almost all the ship s supply of quinine. based on conrad s early personal experience, the shadow- line is a first- person retrospective account of a young captain s coming of age through his first command. the protagonist (the narrator) 6 receives his first command as captain and directs a course independently. during the voyage, the ship is surrounded by mysterious atmosphere as if being cursed by the late captain who dies on sea. finally, the narrator successfully directs the ship across “ the shadow- line” , where the late captain is buried. the title of the shadow- line refers both to latitude that the becalmed ship cannot cross and to the transition each person makes from youth into youthful maturity. after his initial pride at his unforeseen appointment and his rediscovery of his devotion to the sea and ships, the captain blames himself for not checking the quinine and falls into despair and a sort of madness. yet he fulfills his responsibilities and responds calmly to challenges from the crew, the ship, and natural forces. his companions, the insecure and distraught chief mate burns and the confident though weakened ransome, symbolize aspects of the captain s personality, as do the stagnant sea and crew. the strengths the novella has are the vivid descriptions of the malignant weather, but the heavily jocular opening, the belabored theme of endurance, and the sentimental handling of characters. the shadow- line consists of six chapters. the first three chapters reveal the captain- introduction 0.1 3 narrator s character before he is tested at sea. the young man impulsively resigns as first mate of a ship and checks in at a sailor s home, where he meets two contrasting seamen. the wise captain giles helps him obtain the command of a ship, and the arrogant hamilton is denied the position he covets. the narrator s lethargy gives way to enthusiasm when he travels to bangkok and sees his ship. on board he is filled with wonder but, he soon faces two serious problems: an envious chief mate obsessed with the previous captain s irresponsible behavior and death and a fever among crew members that delays their departure. when the ship departs the captain feels not elation but weariness after an inglorious fight. he can depend only on one man: ransome, an experienced mate whose heart condition has reduced him to the position of cook. in the last three chapters the young captain is tested and suffers. within a day after the ship sets sail, as it comes near the island of koh- ring and the latitude where the old captain s body is buried at sea, two parallel natural forces, which the superstitious chief mate, burns, attributes to the old captain s spirit, bring stagnation: a total calm in the ocean and a fever that spreads rapidly because the old captain secretly sells the ship s quinine. only the young captain and ransome escape infection. when the weather changes, a threatening darkness envelops the becalmed ship, whose pathetic crew members somehow manage to haul up the mainsail. the chief mate urges the captain to challenge the spirit of his predecessor. when a breeze finally arises, only the captain and the fragile ransome remain on deck to unfurl the sails. their efforts allow the ship to return to port and obtain desperately needed medical assistance. 0.1 critical review of the shadow- line in general, the shadow- line is by no means a recondite piece of writing, and its main ideas are stated with such unusual explicitness that it hardly seems to call for analysis in the very beginning. the book was first charged with being “ a ghost story” (jean 195), or merely “ an illustration of the taste for the morbid of the english review, in which it was serialized” (185). conrad s art in the shadow- line, however, later received sympathetic and intelligent attention from some famous critics. f. r. leavis, an early champion of conrad s work, described the shadow- line as central to conrad s genius: introduction 0.1 4 it has been acclaimed as a kind of prose ancient mariner, and it is certainly a supremely sinister and beautiful evocation of enchantment in tropic seas. but the art of the evocation is of the kind that has been described; it is not a matter of engendering atmosphere adjectively, by explicitly significant vagueness, insistent unutterablenesses, or the thrilled tone of an expository commentator, but of presenting concretely a succession of particulars from the point of view of the mast of the ship, who, though notably sensitive, is not a malow, but just a ship s master; an actor among the other actors, though burdened with responsibility toward the crew, owners, and ship. (215) another famous critic albert guerard, claimed that “ the shadow- line and the secret sharer perhaps his two great triumphs of a style plain and pure but heart of darkness and the secret sharer and the shadow- line belong not only with that best. historically speaking, they are among the first and best one is tempted to say only symbolist masterpieces in english fiction” (59). for gary geddes, the shadow- line was “ without doubt conrad s purest and most beautiful story” (83), and keith carabine thought the shadow- line was “ the simplest and most direct work he ever wrote and its designs upon its readers are the most palpable” (xxxviii). by now, the shadow- line is generally agreed as one of conrad s masterpieces and one of his most typical works. the compelling richness of the novella has prompted a wide critical discussion in modern literary field. critics attempt to view the novella from different angles. biographical study, especially conrad s relationship to his young protagonist in the novella, has been a constant subject for exploration. norman sherry s biography conrad s eastern world is the most notable study in this area. in this book, sherry checks conrad s claims to the authenticity of the shadow- line, and reconstructs the circumstances of his first command. sherry identifies the captain who dies at sea and confirms the delay of the otago due to malaria among the crew. he verifies the originals of mr. burns and captain ellis and the itinerary and chronology of the story. biographical studies are of special value since conrad s structural plan for the novella can be revealed through the biographical sources. the technique of the novella is another topic under constant speculation. jakob lothe s “ the shadow- line: ultimate, intense personal narrative” is a valuable essay on this subject. introduction 0.1 5 in this essay, lothe discusses narrative techniques used by conrad in the shadow- line. he concludes that the principal characteristics of the personal narrator s discourse in the shadow- line are these: honest presentation of early inertia and youthful impatience, excitement intensified through an extraordinary vividness of memory, self- conscious reflection arising from the incidents and sense impressions with which the voyage confronts him, growing and then at last relieved tension, threatened self- possession, and a significant learning process. another book, a preface to conrad by cedric watts explores conrad s attempt to defraud the hero in the shadow- line. watts thinks that one of conrad s strength as a narrator lies in engaging our interest in a protagonist who has much to learn and who is aware of facts which he is only tardily learning to comprehend. the elliptical mode of narration obliges the reader to share that process of tardy comprehension. conrad thus emphasizes the contrast between meaning which is correctly construed and meaning which is erroneously constructed. in addition, a great deal of attention has been paid by critics to the analysis of the characters in the novella. while in his essay “ conrad s two stories of initiation” , carl benson points out that: “ the shadow- line is a small canvas on which conrad has painted a single figure surrounded by a group of associates who, though carefully drawn, are chiefly interesting as they are used in the articulation of the chief portrait” (92), another critic keith carabine, in his “ introduction to sea stories: typhoon, falk and the shadow- line” , analyzes two important associatesburns and ransome vividly: burns functions as the captain s double and his irrational resolution is a superstitious and, in its own way, courageous version of the captain s crossing of the shadow- line, whereas ransome s serene temperament and modest purposefulness are the antithesis of burns deranged resolution, and embodies the very qualities the volatile captain struggles to attain. the literary theme of the shadow- line has also been a constant concern to the early critics, which results in much of the best criticism. ian watt, in his “ story and idea in conrad s the shadow- line” , first claims that: “ the nature of the personal experience, moral initiation, is one of conrad s dominant literary themes ” (134), then points out: conrad, then, is dealing with a particular version of a more general shadow- line which, under a host of different social and