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A Necrophilous Character vs. a Biophilous Character [恋死性格与恋生性格 - 《收藏家》中的两个对立人物的存在主义心理分析], PhD thesis, English Language and Literature, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China 2005, 121 pp. [Application of Fromm's theories to art].

  • 本文主要从存在主义和精神分析性格学的角度来分析约翰•福尔斯的两个对立的文学典型:一个是极端病态的、不易觉察的恋死性格典型克莱格,另一个是高度健康的恋生人格、潜在的存在主义者米兰达。我们的研究方法基本循着弗洛姆的人本主义心理分析方法、霍妮的社会文化理论和存在主义等等侧重于人的社会性的心理分析方法来分析文学人物的性格结构。这是一种跨学科的尝试,而且恋死癖与恋生的性格结构还非常新颖,目前国内无人涉猎。存在主义精神心理分析学派认为人内在有一种天生的成长因子,爱生倾向是人生的第一潜能,但是当环境极度恶劣,爱生不得之时,人就会发展恋死潜能,表现出破坏性。恶性的破坏性表现为恶性自恋,虐待-受虐情结,恶性窖藏性格和恋死性格。爱生性格则表现为独立、自由、自发关怀与爱他人的能力。前者是人类的向阻碍生命方向的恶性回归,后者是人类向促进生命方向的艰难发展。无论是爱生还是恋死,都是根植于人类的性格结构之中。人类的性格结构是人的第二本能,是人生意义的来源。人类存在需要表现为需要献身目标,与他人的关联性,团结与有根感,超越的需要和定向框架的需要。克莱格的人生定向基本是恶性回归和破坏性的不断加深,而米兰达的人生定向则是爱生和对此时此地此在的存在的关注和敞开。弗洛姆的专著《关于人类破坏性的剖析》、《人心》和《逃避自由》可以帮助我们理解某些相当怪异的人格和费解的文本,男主人公克莱格的日记就是一个典型的实例。当我们试图从弗洛伊德的性本能论和无意识理论去理解他的怪异和变态时几乎一无所获,难以取得新的理解,但用弗洛姆的理论一分析,一切疑难简直迎刃而解。而且,令人惊诧的是,弗洛姆的许多心理分析的描述和福尔斯的文本的具体化表现差不多一模一样,令人特别惊诧于心理分析与文学的暗合。在第一章里,我们论述了我们上述的人本主义理论框架,提出了本文的主要观点,介绍了小说的大致梗概和前人对《收藏家》的评论。
  • This dissertation is to psycho-analyze two antithetical characters in John Fowles' The Collector in the light of Erich Fromm and Karen Honey's existential-psychoanalytical characterology. Necrophilous and biophilous orientations are very new in Chinese literary criticism. Humanistic psychoanalysis postulates that human individuals are unique and there is an innate growth mechanism within individuals that will mobilize their libido toward the realization of their potentialities, or self-actualization if environmental social conditions are right. Still, they hold there exists a universal set of values rooted in people's biology that allow people to make moral decisions by looking inside themselves for meanings rather than relying on the prevailing judgments of dominant society. The life-forwarding orientations are people's primary potentiality and destructiveness is a secondary potentiality. Nature distills a love of life. If individuals' growth is checked by unfavorable circumstances, they will develop aggression and destructiveness to answer their existential needs. Human destructiveness embedded in character structure will exhibits itself in the form of malignant narcissism, sadomasochism, malignant anal-hoarding orientation and necrophilous orientation while biophilia expresses itself as independence, freedom, spontaneity and ability to love others. These antithetical needs are built into their character structure as a ready-made substitute of human instincts. Clegg's character structure mainly goes in destructive orientation and regresses progressively into necrophilia while Miranda's life orientation is mainly life-loving and existential opening to life here and now. When we approach Clegg from pan-sexism of Sigmund Freud's libido theories, we meet with a meager success, which indicates the impotence of Freud sexuality theories in the interpretation of some social psychopath. But when we retry to interpret the enigma of Clegg's character formation from Erich Fromm's psychological characterology, we immediately see a clear picture of Clegg's aberration. Clegg is a pathological character. He is a sufferer of malignant narcis<sism, cold sadomasochism, hoarding character necrophilous unconsciousness, John Fowles touches upon a very latent, dangerous and hidden human natural tendency: syndrome of decay which is a mixture of narcissism, anal-hoarding character, sadomasochism, necrophilia.– In Chapter One we introduce the above-mentioned theoretical frame, synopsis of the Collector, and past criticism.– In Chapter Two, we employ Fromm's findings about narcissism and hoarding character to explain off Clegg's hoarding orientation and malignant narcissism. His malignant narcissism, a dreadful consequence of his unhappy childhood and social environment, causes him to be obsessed with his ideal self-image as a devoted gentle lover regardless of reality. He is narcissistic with his patience, his hoarded butterflies and Miranda, and saintly love. Self-idealization prevents him from growing emotionally. His killing and hoarding of butterflies results from his inner emptiness and lack of erotic vitality and finally become his only means of socialization and sense of supremacy. Hoarding is a vile parasitical, narcissistic and totalitarian act deplored most by the author Fowles.– In Chapter Three we employ Fromm and Horney's findings about destructiveness to analyze Clegg's imperceptible sadomasochism and necrophilous orientation. We penetrate Clegg's destructiveness, sadism and love of lifeless objects disguised in the form of false love, and pretended anger. A seemingly gentle and weak person exhibits an imperceptible yet strong sense of sadism to achieve absolute control of Miranda's soul. His rage at Miranda's offering of sex is actually a reaction formation and continuation of his destructiveness into necrophilia. Necrophilia is both a medical and characterological terminology and we summarize 17 recognizable features from Fromm's discursive writings. It results from social frustration and causes the sufferers to release human pent-up aggression into destruction of all livng things, finally it becomes a compulsive passion rooted in character structure. Clegg's mummified diction, violent dreams, dead-loving epithets, destructive behaviors, rigid appearances, compulsive washing and fallacious annihilationism match Fromm's description of characterological necrophilia.– In Chapter Four we elucidate Clegg's various defense mechanism in his regression into syndrome of decay. His defensive mechanisms include self-idealization, externalization, reaction formation, rationalization, denial of humane care, breaking through triggering points etc. Through these mechanisms that actually hinder him from growing and outgrowing the difficulties, Clegg regresses into an utter evil. Our analysis of Clegg's wording and dreams in particular indicates that he, though a seemingly saintly lover, symbolizes an innate human evilness.– In Chapter Five we analyze the main features of existential novel and Miranda's spiritual growth in imprisonment. Existential novels have such features as extreme situation, Godless situation, sharp antithesis between goodness and evilness, dilemma, freedom and responsibility. The Few or the aristos in Fowles' novels bear six traits: voluntary or forced social exiles, femininity, productive orientation, biophilous orientation, realistic sense to crack down narcissism, existential attitude toward beingness and existingness, spiritual transcendence over sick culture in their persistent pursuit of goodness.– In Chapter Six we, by means of the concept of social character, explores the opposition between the Few and the Many in The Collector. We eulogize Miranda as the symbol of intellectual elite, productivity, spontaneity, good humanity and courage to be, meanwhile we deplore Clegg as a symbol of male evilness, the Many's evilness, voluntary evilness and dialectical evilness of human beings.– In Chapter Seven, we draw a conclusion on the enigmas surrounding the novel and our solutions. Our original contribution in understanding this novel are three-fold: Firstly, we combine Fromm's psychoanalytical characterology with Fowles crime fiction and find out the imperceptible hoarding and necrophilous orientation in Clegg, who represents the hoarding avarice of the commodity fetish and materialism of modern society. Still, we find out Clegg's many defense mechanisms and many fictional freaks are actually psychopaths. Secondly, This dissertation is based on a close reading of the text and our interpretation of Clegg's language, pet phrases such as >plan< >duty< >apart< >dead< , dreams are very accurate and to the point. Thirdly, we discloses Miranda's spiritual growth in extremely harsh imprisonment and her biophilia and existential attention to beingness represent the highest altitudes of spiritual health human beings can achieve.

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Metadaten
Author:Jiayun Pan
Document Type:Dissertations
Language:Chinese
Year of first Publication:2005
Release Date:2014/01/28
Format:no copy existent / keine Kopie vorhanden
IdNo:Pan_Jiayun_2005
Writings about Erich Fromm (Secondary Literature):Dissertations / Dissertationen
Erich Fromm's Library and Erich Fromm Archive:Dissertations / Dissertationen
Licence (German):
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