@misc{Sun, author = {Sun, Yao}, title = {An Analysis of the Protagonist Kate's Road to Positive Freedom in >The Summer Before the Dark< Based on Fromm's Theory of Freedom [弗洛姆的自由理论解读《天黑前的夏天》主人公凯特的追寻积极自由], Master thesis, World Literatur, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, Liaoning, China 2021 [application of Fromm's theories to art].}, abstract = {[Chinese abstract not available] >The Summer Before the Dark< is a novel written by Doris Lessing, which is praised as the best novel after Gabriel Garcia Marquez's >One Hundred Years of Solitude< by New York Times. The novel tells the story of the middle-aged woman Kate Brown who has been working for the family for more than twenty years since marriage. One summer, her husband went on business and her children had their plans, so she could go on a journey. During the summer journey, she began to rethink the role she had played for more than twenty years and the relationship with her husband and children, finding that she had been living under the camouflaged mask and negative freedom. Living with Maureen, she gradually knew who she was and her self-awareness was awakened. At the end of the journey, she completed self-realization and gained true inner freedom, that is, positive freedom. This paper firstly makes an introduction to Doris Lessing and >The Summer Before the Dark< and reviews the studies at home and abroad. Based on the studies, the significance of this paper is put forward. Next, it takes Erich Fromm's theory of freedom as the theoretical framework to point out the negative freedom embodied in the protagonist Kate including authoritarianism, destructiveness and automaton conformity. Besides, this paper analyzes the three stages of the protagonist Kate to achieve positive freedom including the sprouting period, the development period and the achievement period. Fromm points out that the achievement of positive freedom depends on self-realization. After experiencing negative freedom, Kate starts to realize herself step by step and moves towards positive freedom. Finally, it concludes that Kate achieves positive freedom based on the above analysis. This paper applies Erich Fromm's theory of freedom to analyze >The Summer Before the Dark<, which aims to inspire people to think about which kind of freedom they are in under the rapid development of science and technology, hoping that people can attach great importance to the negative freedom in the present society. [English translation: www.cnki.net, 9/2021]}, language = {zh} }