从西方小说中吸血鬼形象的演变看人性的解放和升华.doc

On the Emancipation and Sublimation of Humanism in the Evolution of Vampire in Western Fictions从西方小说中吸血鬼形象的演变看人性的解放和升华AbstractIn western world, the legend of vampire has been in existence since the birth of history. After that, literature and movies on vampires are enduring and prosperous through centuries. Vampire culture plays an important role in the western mass cultural traditions, and has great influence on them. One of the most well-known products is the fiction Dracula (1897) written by Ireland author Bram Stoke at the end of 19th century. There are over 100 adaptations which are based on the fiction. Therefore, Stoke is regarded as the founder of vampire fictions and the image of Dracula dominates in peoples mind as the authoritative and prototypical image of vampires. Nevertheless, Anne Rice, an American contemporary writer, wrote The Vampire Chronicles at the end of 20th century, which is called the Bible of vampires by vampire fans and vampire researchers. She overthrows the traditional rigid figure of the vampire, reveals the truth of realistic world by describing unrealistic world, digs arcanum of the deep human nature from vampires inner being, and then reflects certain layers of the existent state. It is undeniable that Rice has inherited and also revolutionized the image of the vampire in Dracula. By comparing and analyzing the difference between the image and feature of the two group of vampires, we can find that every age does indeed seem to embrace“the vampire that it needs” (Gordon and Hollinger, 1997: 1), because each of them reflects the culture of their age to a large extent. And by examining the evolution of vampires, we can grasp the emancipation and sublimation of humanism in the two centuries. As the two works are representative and influential at each age, this thesis here interprets and analyzes the transformation of their cultural backgrounds to present the development of humanism in western society from 19th century to 20th century.Key words: vampire；humanism； comparison；culture； evolution摘要 在西方世界，关于吸血鬼的传说有史以来便存在。之后，以吸血鬼为题材的文学和电影便经久不衰，几个世纪以来仍欣欣向荣。 吸血鬼文化在西方大众文化传统中占据着举足轻重的地位，并对之有不可小觑的影响力。爱尔兰19世纪末作家布兰姆斯托克于1897年所著的小说德库拉是其中最著名的作品之一。之后大约有100多部基于该小说所作的改写本。斯托克因此被公认为吸血鬼小说的奠基者，而德库拉的形象也因此扎根于读者的头脑中成为吸血鬼的原型。20世纪末，美国当代作家安妮赖斯，撰写了一部恢宏的系列小说吸血鬼编年史，它被吸血鬼爱好者和专家誉为“吸血鬼的圣经”。安妮推翻了吸血鬼传统和刻板的形象，通过描绘一个虚幻的世界挖掘出真实世界的真相，从吸血鬼的内心世界探索人性深处的奥秘，并反映出了人类现存状态的某些层面。难以否认的是，安妮继承并且改革了德库拉中的吸血鬼形象。通过对比和分析两部吸血鬼作品所塑造的吸血鬼形象和特征的不同，我们可以发现似乎每个时代都在创造着“它所需要的吸血鬼”（Gordon and Hollinger, 1997:1），因为每一部作品都在很大程度上反应了它所处时代的文化。通过分析吸血鬼的发展变化，我们能看到一百年来西方社会人性的解放和升华。由于那两部作品在各自时代中都相当具有代表性和影响力，因此这篇论文便通过分析和解读两部作品中的文化背景的演变以展示西方社会从19世纪至20世纪人文主义的发展。关键词：吸血鬼; 人文主义；人性；比较法；文化；演变IntroductionVampires are popular figures, often appearing in Gothic fiction of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Among them, the most influential work at that time is Bram Stokers Dracula at the end of 19th century. The prime characteristic of his vampires is that they are mostly portrayed as monsters. They are nothing but a bloodthirsty killer. Opposing the monster there is always a hero or even a group of heroes who, at the end, will succeed in annihilating the fiend and saving humanity. An explicit separation exists between vampires and humans. The reader will identify with the human hero and feel completely detached from the monster that, along with its horrific characteristics, inhabits remote and ghastly locations.The resurgent vampire fiction of the late twentieth century presents us with a different image. Contemporary authors place “increasing emphasis on the positive aspects of the vampires eroticism and on his or her right to rebel against the stifling constraints of society” (Seaf, 1988:163). More and more authors explored a more natural, rather the supernatural vampire (I am Legend, Richard Matheson), or a vampire hero. The most typical work of this kind is Anna Rices The Vampire Chronicles at the end of 20th century.Vampires have transformed from their late nineteenth-century signification as monstrous Others into largely sympathetic characters. This literary domestication presents us a shift of humans perspective from which they go to approach and understand the figure of vampire. And this shift reflects a humanism development and sublimation in the western culture. This thesis aims to explore the cultural background behind the image of vampires in Dracula and The Vampire Chronicles respectively and by examining the transformation of vampires it presents the process of emancipation and sublimation of humanism in western culture from the 19th century to 20th century.This thesis starts from a brief introduction to the vampire. The second chapter explores the image of vampires in Dracula and its Victorian culture overtone. The third chapter focuses on the interpretation of the transformational characteristics of vampire sin in The Vampire Chronicles and examine how and in what ways this particular popular vampire character may reveal symbolically aspects of the hidden nature in contemporary western society. The last chapter compares the differences between the two representative images of vampires and explores the transformation and evolution of humanism theme in western culture. The thesis ends with a conclusion the evolution of vampires in western fictions is a process of the emancipation and sublimation of humanism in western culture.Chapter One Brief Introduction to the Vampire 1.1 Folk beliefsThe notion of vampirism has existed for millennia; cultures such as the Mesopotamians, Hebrews, Ancient Greeks, and Romans had tales of demons and spirits which are considered precursors to modern vampires. However, despite the occurrence of vampire-like creatures in these ancient civilizations, the folklore for the entity we know today as the vampire originates almost exclusively from early 18th century Southeastern Europe, when verbal traditions of many ethnic groups of the region were recorded and published. In most cases, vampires are revenants of evil beings, suicide victims, or witches, but they can also be created by a malevolent spirit possessing a corpse or by being bitten by a vampire. Belief in such legends became so pervasive that in some areas it caused mass hysteria and even public executions of people believed to be vampires. 1.2 Description and common attributesIt is difficult to make a single, definitive description of the folkloric vampire, though there are several elements common to many European legends. Vampires were usually reported as bloated in appearance, and ruddy, purplish, or dark in color; these characteristics were often attributed to the recent drinking of blood. Indeed, blood was often seen seeping from the mouth and nose when one was seen in its shroud or coffin and its left eye was often open. It would be clad in the linen shroud it was buried in, and its teeth, hair, and nails may have grown somewhat, though in general fangs were not a feature. Chapter Two The Attributes of Dracula and Its Victorian Culture Overtones2.1 The image building of Dracula and its attributes2.1.1 Its appearance and attributes The fiction gives a vivid and detailed description of the appearance of vampire Dracula: Draculas face was a strong - a very strong - aquiline, with high bridge of the thin nose and peculiarly arched nostrils; with lofty domed forehead, and hair growing scantily round the temples, but profusely elsewhere. His eyebrows were very massive, almost meeting over the nose, and with bushy hair that seemed to curl in its own profusion. The mouth, so far as I could see it under the heavy moustache, was fixed and rather cruel looking, with peculiarly sharp white teeth; these protruded over the lips, whose remarkable ruddiness showed astonishing vitality in a man of his years. For the rest, his ears were pale and at the tops extremely pointed; the chin was broad and strong, and the cheeks firm though thin. The general effect was one of extraordinary pallor.（Jonathan Harkers Journal, Dracula, Chapter 2） Their residence mostly is a dilapidated castle built on the top of a remote mountain, filled with rats, bats and spiders. They sleep in a coffin with mud and dirt on it. At night, they rise from the coffin to suck the blood of sleeping people. In Dracula, vampire is such a cruel and disgusting monster who is only a reanimated corpse without soul and emotion. They are evil and appalling, and stand an opposite position against human being. They belong to the long dark night and are afraid of sunlight. They aim to destroy human being and rebuilt a world under their command and order. In this novel, vampire is associated with cold, death, horror, darkness, wickedness and sin.2.1.2 The narrative mode of vampires image-building Dracula is an epistolary novel, written as a collection of diary entries, telegrams, and letters from the characters, as well as fictional clippings from the Whitby and London newspapers and phonograph cylinders. This literary style adds a sense of realism and provides the reader with the perspective of most of the major characters. By use of the epistolary structure, Stoker, without employing either an omniscient narrator or any awkward framing device, maximizes suspense by avoiding any implicit promise to the reader that any first-person narrator must survive all of the storys perils. Nevertheless, this narrative mode avoids any descriptions about vampires inner world or thoughts, thus readers have no idea of what they think and their emotions, if they have any. The novel puts vampires in a remote and defamliar position who are totally alien and incomprehensible. The attitudes people take towards vampires are detached and hostile. That is all the narrative mode creates. And a strong feeling of hatred against vampires prevails the whole novel.2.2 Its Victorian culture overtones 2.2.1 Religion overtoneThe novel saturates itself with a strong sense of religion. In it, the vampire is the embodiment of Satan, the foe of God. It represents all the evilness, fall, and moral depravation. Vampire plays the role of a villain, and it is a common scene in the novel that a churchman holds the bible and the cross to destroy vampire, and in the end, it is the victory of Christianity over the vampire, the paganism.It is known that in the year of 1897, Queen Victoria witnessed her Diamond Jubilee, and her son and successor was only a fatuous playboy. In a period of political riots and a reign of chaos, the revolutionary enthusiasm brought by the French Revolution only to add insult to injury. In order to keep the prosperity and stability of the empire, the authorities need to repress any kind of invasion from alien races and religions. Dracula, as a vampire of Transylvanian origin, implies an alien and a pagan. The common destiny of vampires is to be exiled and abandoned, which can be easily associated with the destiny of those aliens and pagans at a time of imperialism and xenophobia. The cruel slaughter of Dracula in that novel to some extent reflects the merciless repression of the paganism at that time. And from that readers can get a glimpse of the severe religious conflicts between Christianity and paganism, and also the brutal and inhuman suppression. 2.2.2 Morality overtone: good vs. evil, light vs. darkness-survive or perish An intense conflict between vampires and human beings is that they can not coexist. Vampires have to kill human beings to survive and human beings vice versa. Clearly, vampires are the speaker of evil and darkness, while human beings of good and light. Van Helsing, a character in the novel who kills Dracula in the end proves that good can always defeat evil. A simple moral duality exists and each of which takes an opposite end without compromise and reconciliation. Dracula and Van Helsing, each belongs to darkness and light, are fated to fight each other to survive, and the final victory of Van Helsing tells that evil is doomed to fail. All of these imply that the moral system of Victorian society is dual, strict, extreme and cruel.2.2.3 Sexuality overtoneIn the novel, Dracula is a typical demon gathering all kinds of sins, among which is a “dark desire”, i.e., the lust for sexuality. Some critics say that the novel is somewhat crude and sensational, and the sexual longings underlying the vampire attacks are manifest. As one critic wrote:What has become clearer and clearer, particularly in the fin de sicle years of the twentieth century, is that the novels power has its source in the sexual implications of the blood exchange between the vampire and his victims.Dracula has embedded in it a very disturbing psychosexual allegory whose meaning I am not sure Stoker entirely understood: that there is a demonic force at work in the world whose intent is to eroticize women. In Dracula we see how that force transforms Lucy Westenra, a beautiful nineteen-year-old virgin, into a shameless slut. (Leonard Wolf, Introduction to the Signet Classic Edition, 1992) Dracula represents the strong desire to monopolize and the liberation of womens sexual desire. His kiss of death symbolizes males possessive desire to female. In the meantime, female also get lots of satisfaction with their sexual demand in that process. This wicked breakthrough, brought by Dracula, of the tradition that female is not in a position to be satisfied but to satisfy the male during the sexual relationship, is horrible to the Victorian people.Lucys death and Minas salvation in the novel also reflect Victorian norms about women. Lucy is beautiful and innocent, but also conceited and ignorant. She juggles three men at the same time and doesnt know who to choose. She vexes: “Why cant they let a girl marry three men, or as many as want her.” (Chapter 5); she is totally ignorant of the danger that approaches her, let alone death: “There was a sort of scratching or flapping at the window. But I did not mind it.” (Chapter 9) In contrast, Mina, who gives first priority to husbands career, earns many compliments from Van Helsing “so clever woman”, “believe me that I came here full of respect for you, and you give me hope!” (Chapter 14) In comparison, it is easy to find that, according to the traditional ethical and moral standards, Lucy represents depravation and ignorance, while Mina embodies intelligence and braveness and she sets a good model for Lucy, and for all other women. Lucy fails to resist Draculas enticement and is finally drained to the point of death; while Mina, resisting Draculas powerful temptation with the strength and discipline of strict traditional female ethics finally survives. Here, as a matter of fact, the writer punishes those licentious women who violate the female ethics and indulge in sex in the name of Dracula, from which, we can see the sexual constrain on women in Victorian times. That is because, to the author living in the late Victorian times, sexuality is usually associated with bestiality, pollution, filth, evil, crazy, lowliness and death. But to the women, the dark kiss of Dracula is what they pine for. So “Dracula”, in this sense, is a symbol of humans self denial of their inner sexual desire.Chapter Three The Attributes of Vampire by Anna Rice and Its Contemporary Culture Overtones3.1 The image building of vampire and its attributes3.1.1 Its appearance and attributes: counter-tradition Its undeniable that The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice has revolutionized the image of vampire. Firstly, all the vampires in it are handsome and gorgeous, look like angels in the Bible, and are fascinating to human beings. Lestat, a vampire in it, is a blond and elegant up-class gentleman; Louis de Point, another vampire, is compared to Wilde, a writer in the decadence period in the late 19th century. Lewis has dark-colored curls, and is handsome, graceful and also gentlemanlike. Claudia, a girl vampire, is a beautiful and intelligent child who looks like a princess. All of these transformations on appearance has added a luster to vampires image and reduced its horror effect.On top of that, Rices vampires still live on human beings blood, which is the same as Dracula, yet it is out of their instinct biological need but not to create any terror as Dracula does. They seclude themselves from outside world and cover their true identity in the hope of avoiding attack from human beings, while Dracula conceals his vampire identity to wait for his chance to conquer human beings. As a result, the holy water, the cross and the mantra have no threatening effect to them but are lethal to Dracula.Last and the most important is that all these vampires of Anne Rice have been endowed with a rich inner world and distinct personality. They have affections and desires, love and hates. They may fall in love desperately with someone. Love, the most invaluable emotion in humanity still remains in them. Its this touch of humanity that gets them rid of the unicity of a monster.In this novel, different from the detestable, monstrous and low vampires in Dracula, the vampires here are depicted as noble and emotional beings.3.1.2 Narrative mode of vampires image-building Interview with the Vampire, a famous volume of The Vampire Chronicles, will be taken as a sample for my analysis. For an author, its one of the most important choices she or he makes about telling the story. A first-person narrator puts the reader into the action but requires that the author report all events from the narrators experience and in the narrators voice. A third-person limited narrator distances the reader from the story, but allows the author more freedom to use a more authoritative voice and to make more de