（英语语言文学专业论文）《诺斯托罗莫》自由主题的存在主义解读.pdf

descriptive chinese abstract i 摘 要 作为二十世纪最重要的文学家之一，约瑟夫康拉德水手兼作家的双重身份决定了 他在文学世界的与众不同。康拉德是一位走在时代前列的作家。他以独特的视角敏锐地 捕捉到了世纪之交的社会变迁和人性变化，忠实记录了人类的生存困惑以及焦虑、痛苦 等复杂情绪，并且预见了被同时代人忽视的诸多存在难题。康拉德研究不仅有助于人们 理解康拉德时代人类社会历史发展状况， 而且对于我们思考二十一世纪人类生存方向也 具有重要意义。 近年来康拉德研究已经成为一门显学。研究者们从各种理论视角研究康拉德的作 品，有力推进了康拉德研究的深化和扩展。但是，从存在主义角度对康拉德作品的自由 主题进行的研究似乎并不多见。自由是存在主义的核心，也是康拉德和存在主义者们探 询人类出路的重要目标。由于亲身经历过国破家亡的打击，以及常年漂泊异乡的失根之 痛，康拉德热切关注人类生存困境，对人类自由问题作出了深刻思考。这种思想与存在 主义者的观点不谋而合。本文试图以自由这个关键词为切入点，在以萨特为代表的存在 主义理论背景下探讨康拉德在诺斯托罗莫中对人类自由的追寻、思考和表达。 本论文首先简要梳理了中外学界对康拉德及诺斯托罗莫的研究历史和现状，指 出自由主题在存在主义中的核心地位，以及康拉德自由观中的存在主义倾向，然后概述 了确立 诺斯托罗莫 自由主题研究的思路和研究价值所在， 最后介绍论文的理论背景， 对存在主义及其自由观作了简要介绍。 论文随后分别论述了诺斯托罗莫这部作品中各种人物自由的丧失、对自由的追 寻、以及康拉德对自由之路的思考和实践。由于世界的荒诞和人类本身对物质和其他欲 望的追求，人类遭受重重束缚而失去了完全的自由。失去自由的人类反应各异：有的未 意识到自由的失去； 有的因怀疑自由而陷入矛盾； 有的奋力挣扎追求自由， 却误入歧途； 还有的最终实现了道德救赎，重新获得精神自由。通过对小说中不同人物围绕自由而展 开的各种行动的生动叙述，康拉德深入刻画了人类由此产生的焦虑、矛盾和痛苦等心理 历程，并由此表达了对人类生存状况的热切关注，以及对人类真正的自由之路的思考。 此外，康拉德还通过对写作方式的创新实践他对自由的追求。 通过对诺斯托罗莫自由主题的存在主义解读，本文得出如下结论。第一，人类 要真正获得自由，必须正确认识自己和世界，同时要承担自由选择的责任，自由创造存 在的价值。第二，康拉德对人类境遇的关注和思考对现代人类有积极的警示作用。康拉 德研究对于现代社会仍然具有重要意义。第三，虽然康拉德不是存在主义作家，但他同 样对荒诞的世界和人类的痛苦有着深刻的洞察， 对人类的自由之路进行积极的思考和实 践。或许，我们可以因此称他为一位伟大的存在主义先行者。 关键词：约瑟夫康拉德； 诺斯托罗莫 ；自由主题；存在主义关键词：约瑟夫康拉德； 诺斯托罗莫 ；自由主题；存在主义 english abstract ii abstract as one of the most important litterateurs in the twentieth century, joseph conrad, both a sailor and a writer, proves to be unique in literary world. conrad is a writer ahead of his time. with his unique perspective, he captures the dramatic changes in society and human nature, precisely describes human beings existential puzzles and complex feelings such as worries, anxieties and angst when facing those changes, and prophesies lots of existential problems ignored by most of people of his time. the study of conrad and his works can not only contribute to the understanding of human history in conrads time, but also help modern people reflect on their existence and human future. in recent years, conrad criticism has become a cultural industry in literary world. various studies by researchers have greatly deepened and widened conrad criticism. however, the research that analyzes conrads freedom theme from existential perspective can rarely be seen. freedom is the core theme of existentialism and also a goal of conrad and existentialists in pursuit of human future. the loss of both country and family in childhood and pains of long-term living in foreign countries cause conrads pessimism on human existing conditions and deep reflection on human freedom in his works, which are also the concerns of existentialists. by focusing on the existential analysis of nostromo, the present thesis attempts to reveal conrads pursuit, thought, and interpretation of human freedom. this thesis begins with a general survey of criticism on nostromo in the west and in china, pointing out conrads existential dimensions in his perspective of freedom, and then briefly introduces the feasibility and significance of the analysis of nostromos freedom theme, followed by the methodology, an introduction on existentialism and existential freedom. the following chapters deal with conrads freedom theme in nostromo, including loss of freedom, pursuit of freedom, and roads to freedom. human beings lose freedom in the absurd world for their lust for material interests and other desires. they respond to the loss in different ways. some are not aware of loss of freedom. some suspect freedom and lead to contradiction. some struggle for freedom, only to lose more. and others regain freedom through self-redemption. by presenting different peoples activities around freedom, conrad precisely reveals human beings feelings such as anxiety, contradiction, and anguish, etc., and shows great concern about human existence and deep thought on the right road to human freedom. in addition to that, conrad also creates his own way of pursuing freedom in his free writing. the conclusion summarizes conrads ideas on mans freedom and the significance of his thought to modern society. firstly, to acquire real freedom, human beings should first discover the true self and know the real world, and then take full responsibility for what he english abstract iii has chosen by his free will, thus creates purposes and values for his own existence. secondly, conrads existential thoughts will have positive influence on modern people by encouraging readers to reflect on their existing conditions and their ways to freedom. the study of conrad and his works are still of great importance in modern society. thirdly, considering his deep concerns about existential themes and great prophecies on the future world, we may regard conrad as a forerunner of existentialism. key words: joseph conrad; nostromo; freedom theme; existentialism 湘潭大学湘潭大学 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 0.1 1 introduction 0.1 critical review of nostromo joseph conrad (1857-1924) is acknowledged to be one of the most important literature figures in the twentieth century. as a peculiar writer in the transition of victorian era and the twentieth century, he is famous for the deep insight into human nature and great concern for human existing conditions. owing to his own various life experiences, his special years on the sea and his long-term living in various countries, his writings are full of colorful stories, various characters, and show special interests in human thought and activities in strange land and extreme conditions. because of conrads great moral concern for life, english critic f. r. leavis speaks highly of him and announces him to belong to the four “great english novelists” (9). conrads literary career is usually divided into three periods. the first period is a short period with largely malay fictions ending in 1896. the major phase extends from 1897 to 1911, and the last period consists of later fiction from 1911 to his death in 1924. his second period extending from the nigger of the narcissus (1897) to under western eyes (1911) is regarded to be most important. the works in this phase establish conrads stature as “one of the dozen greatest fiction-writers in english” (watts 31). among those works nostromo of 1904 alone would “have sufficed to give conrad an enduring reputation as a major writer” (ibid.). the present study will center mainly on one of conrads influential novels in this period: nostromo. nostromo is regarded by f. r. leavis to be conrads “most considerable work” while doesnt have its “due recognition” (218). since its first publication in 1904, nostromo has caught the attention of a great number of critics devoted to its interpretation and appreciation. as a matter of fact, with its significant events, grand-scaled scenes and numerous characters, nostromo impresses lots of readers as a record of history of the whole world and human beings existing in it. nostromo is later proved to be joseph conrads crowning achievement for its broad background, multiple characters, unique structure, and effective depiction of human nature. for the very vastness and profundity, however, it is also considered the most introduction 0.1 2 obscure and difficult work in the conrad criticism, which has aroused numerous critiques and still calls for further analysis. up to now, the study of this novel is far from enough and cannot match its significance. according to the above reasons, the further study on nostromo is very necessary and worthwhile. ever since its publication, critical interest in nostromo has always been strong in the western world. during more than one hundred years, it has aroused the interest of generations of critics and literature learners. numerous books, essays, theses are written to study this novel from various perspectives. being conrads greatest achievement of imagination and the supreme effort of his creation, nostromo attracts generations of critics giving controversial criticism. on the one hand, it is considered as a whole “disappointing, not on a level with mr. conrads best work”, and on the other hand, it is said to be “so excellent a novel that it demands judgment of the highest standards, originality” (berthoud 175). in 1948, the influential cambridge critic f. r. leavis published the great tradition, in which he acknowledged that conrad had “long been generally held to be among the english masters” (200). his acknowledgement firmly established the centrality of conrads position in the mainstream of literature. and most importantly, the literary world began to pay more attention to nostromo, which was, to a considerable degree, the favorite of f. r. leavis. albert guerard suggests that nostromo is “a more difficult and more baffling novel than lord jim.” and there is also certain critic declaring the novel to be a response to conrads concerns and attitudes as a philosophical novelist. stephen arata thinks that in nostromo, conrad tries to “create a great, massive, multiphase symbol that would render his total vision of the world, his sense of individual destiny, his sense of mans place in nature, his sense of history of society”(qtd. in xiong hui 熊卉 1-2). in the twentieth century there were three important critical monographs on nostromo respectively written by juliet mclauchlan (1969), anthony strange (1980) and ian watt (1988). these three books contribute to peoples deeper understanding and appreciation of nostromos background, narrative technique, and the characterization of the major characters. nostromo, as well as secret agent (1907) and under western eyes (1911), is regarded as a political novel, and a lot of critics try to interpret it from the perspective of politics. cedric introduction 0.1 3 watts claims conrad to be politically janiform, because of his conservation in some respects and at the same time “a keen radicalism of temperament which can lead him to observations which seem socialistic or even anarchistic” (55). he also thinks that nostromo reveals conrads viewpoint on marxism. besides the views mentioned above, many critics and researchers have pointed out the theme of imperialism as the main focus of nostromo. history is another important issue attracting researchers interests, so is human nature. apart from that, the study of nostromo has attracted the attention of feminist researchers. some of them scold conrad for the lack of womens importance in most of his works. according to the research of wang xiaolan 王晓兰 and wang songlin 王松林 in their essay, the recent years conrad study in china is resultful. researchers have been studying conrad from almost all the aspects including moral criticism, psychoanalytic theory, narrative techniques, feminism, post-colonialism, racist criticism and influence study and so on. however, their focuses mostly center on heart of darkness and lord jim, relatively neglecting the study of nostromo. in contrast to the flourishing studies abroad on nostromo, the study in china remains far from enough in the twentieth century. the primary reason, in my opinion, is that nostromo is relatively difficult to read. it is a fact that not a few readers have complained that nostromo is difficult to read because of its discontinuity, disorderly structure, and lack of detailed description of characters except scattered color spots, and so on. compared with heart of darkness and lord jims quick acceptance and deep study in china, nostromo wasnt translated to chinese until the year 2001 by liu zhuhuan. since that, the chinese literature field began to take increasing notice of the study of this novel. after that, critics in the 21st century have become increasingly interested in nostromo these years. in recent years, more and more researchers have realized the importance and value of the study on nostromo and show increasing interest in it. however, the study of nostromo is still not enough compared with its importance. when it comes to nostromo, researchers interest mostly concentrates on conrads original writing techniques, politics and history themes, and the analysis of single characters. in contrast, just a few of them have touched on his concern about human existence, especially the freedom theme of nostromo. introduction 0.2 4 0.2 conrads existential dimension in his perspective of freedom to analyze nostromos freedom theme from the perspective of existentialism, it is necessary to first interpret the relationship between the two terms. freedom is one of the most important key words and the core concept in the theory of existentialism, which emphasizes individual existence, freedom, and choice. freedom, meaning to existentialists the right to exercise free will, is a universal truth in existential philosophy. existentialist view of freedom, in general meaning, refers to the positive motive force behind behaviors. “freedom needs no proof: it is already there as a condition of our existing”. it is “baseless, neither determined by born of being” (qtd. in bohlmann 104). from the standpoint of existentialists, human beings do not first exist and then become free, because the fact of being a human means he is free. existentialists insist that one must always view himself or herself as an agent as necessarily free. sartre argues that we are always absolutely free. in his being and nothingness, sartre says, “freedom is identical with my existence” (44). this means that insofar as we act, our decisions and our actions cannot be viewed as having any causes whatsoever. desires may enter into consideration, but they can only have some influences instead of making decision, because we can always act against a desire. for human beings, there is no escape from freedom, for it is freedom that makes us human. since freedom plays such an important role in human life, existentialists actively promote the freedom of individuals. an existentialist hopes to express ideas and engage in actions likely to promote or protect the freedom of others. freedom is, apart from the core of existentialism, also the goal pursued by existentialists. freedom theme is also a frequently depicted literary topic in victorian era and also in the twentieth century. at that time, a lot of writers discuss the theme of freedom from the angles of family, marriage and love. the most popular stories are about women in pursuit of her freedom of love, or struggle for her freedom to escape from the unhappy family. conrad, as a peculiar writer with painful early experiences and wide horizon of a sailor, is quite different from these writers. it is true that freedom is a pervasive theme in conrads works, but his concerns are not about the popular ones of that time. he is more farsighted, looking into the heart of human society and human nature, thinking about things that may introduction 0.2 5 happen to the whole human beings in future. from a lot of aspects, conrad is ahead of his time, including his perspective of freedom, which is similar to the perspective of existentialists. in heart of darkness, kurtz has no societal restrains and no outside guide except his own mind. he is a particularly naked free man with “no limitexcept freedom itself”; he is “condemned to be free” (sartre 439). conrad obviously shows existential dimension in his perspective of freedom. in conrads life, he had never stopped the pursuit of freedom. the pursuit of freedom in both his life and his writing was also the heart of his existence. to analyze conrads freedom theme in his novel, it is necessary and useful to learn about his pursuit of freedom in his own life. in one of conrads letters to barrett h. clark, he summarized his style of twenty-three years writing. we can see that his attitude on themes, narrations and methods were constantly changing, because he was a free man, or more precisely, he was trying to seek freedom, with great efforts. like existentialists, conrad regarded freedom as equated with his existence. it is one of the reasons that make the study of conrads freedom theme feasible. conrads attitude toward freedom can be analyzed from two aspects: the sense of disillusionment with freedom and the aspiration after freedom. on the one hand, conrad often shows great skepticism at the possibility of individual freedom, which is part of his pessimism and nihilism, mostly attributes to his early painful life as an orphan and an migr and his later identity of a foreigner. conrad was born in poland, which was and is still a strongly patriotic country. the people of poland are proud of the nations liberal traditions and their heroism down the ages in defense of their homeland. there were numerous people who held the stubborn spirit of independence and the hunger for individual and national freedom, among whom was conrads fatherapollo korzeniowskia famous