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Women's Freedom Tortured by Existence – Interpretation of the Doctrine of >Summer Bird Cage< [生存对女性自由的拷问 - 对《夏日鸟笼》的人本主义解读], Master thesis, English Language and Literature, Ludong University, Yantai, Shandong, China 2012 [Application of Fromm's theories to art].

  • 《夏日鸟笼》(1963)是英国当代女性作家玛格丽特•德拉布尔的首部小说。在这部小说中,德拉布尔塑造了两个截然不同的姐妹——萨拉和路易斯。通过描写她们对人生的不同感悟和追求,折射出了当代英国女性的生存困境。《夏日鸟笼》实际上揭示了当代英国女性的真实境遇,无论是>笼中鸟<还是>空中雀<,最终都摆脱不了精神上的异化和心灵上的孤独。学术界对人类异化,自由,爱的研究由来已久,如美国二十世纪著名人本主义心理学家、哲学家埃里希•弗洛姆,曾对异化等问题作出较为深刻的研究。而且,也有学者和批评家运用弗洛姆的相关理论对文学文本进行分析。同时,《夏日鸟笼》自出版以来也广受学者和批评家的关注。在此基础之上,本文以《夏日鸟笼》为研究对象,运用弗洛姆相关理论,从异化、自由、爱三个角度,对小说中当代女性的生存困境进行探讨和剖析。关于异化,在《夏日鸟笼》中,德拉布尔通过向读者展示当代社会中女性生存困境的图景,解释了资本主义工业文明在发展的过程中所产生的种种矛盾,阐明了彻底物化了的当今西方社会,已经失去了爱的滋生土壤,演化为一个全面异化的世界。异化,已经作为一种普遍现象,遍及当代西方社会的每一个角落。关于自由,《夏日鸟笼》中的已婚女性和未婚女性的共同困境,昭示了自由如同婚姻一样,是一把双刃剑,过度的自由会加重女性的生存困境,从而对自由产生恐惧并避而远之。同样,婚姻对女性而言,既是束缚自由的鸟笼,又是逃避自由的港湾,它也像一把双刃剑,时刻拷问着女性的生存状态。面对自由,抑或追求,抑或恐惧,女性不知所措。关于爱,这是贯穿《夏日鸟笼》的主题。埃里希•弗洛姆曾经对当代社会中的>爱<做出深入的分析,剖析了当代社会因为缺乏爱而存在的异化问题以及人们对自由的恐惧。小说中的女性角色也正是因为缺乏爱而陷入生存的困境。因此,只有>爱,是对人类生存问题的回答<。(弗洛姆1956:7)爱,可以是解决人类生存问题的较为满意的答案。在小说中,对于现代工业文明给女性带来的种种困境,德拉布尔未能指出一条出路。然而,《夏日鸟笼》开放式的结尾暗示了德拉布尔从黑暗中看到了一丝光明,又或从绝望中看到了一丝希望。《夏日鸟笼》这部作品的价值在于:小说不仅真实生动地描写了当代西方社会女性的生存困境;从某种程度上讲,通过对当代西方社会知识女性的刻画,德拉布尔的《夏日鸟笼》还为读者指明了一条通往可知群体的可行之路。本质上,对于小说中的女性来讲,爱只能被看做是一种挣扎,尤其是当她们的生存受到威胁之时。
  • >A Summer Bird-Cage< (1963) is the virginal novel of Margaret Drabble (b. 1939), the famous contemporary woman writer in Britain. In the novel, Drabble creates two different characters, Sarah and Louise. Though they are sisters, they vary from one another in life value and pursuit. Through the description of their discrepancies, Drabble uncovers the contemporary British women's predicament. Actually, A Summer Bird-Cage undertakes to reveal the true state of contemporary women, whether the women >in the cage< or >outside of the cage<, cannot escape from alienation and loneliness. Previous scholars and critics have done some research on the theories of alienation, freedom and love, for example, the well-known American humanistic psychologist and philosopher in the 20th century, Erich Fromm has made a profound study on them. Furthermore, several scholars and critics make studies on literary works based on the Fromm's theories. As for A Summer Bird-Cage, there are also a lot of studies on it since its publication, though more to be followed in the future, just as what the thesis intends to do. Based on these studies and enlightened by Fromm's theories, the thesis takes A Summer Bird-Cage as the object of study, trying to analyze the contemporary women's predicament in this novel from the aspects of alienation, freedom and love.– In terms of alienation, Drabble shows a panorama of women's dilemma in the contemporary society in A Summer Bird-Cage, and she studies the various conflicts brought about by the materialized society in the course of industrialization, elaborating that the western modern society is suffering from alienation without love. It follows that alienation as a common phenomenon has spread over each corner of the contemporary society.– As far as freedom is concerned, through the common predicament of both married and unmarried women in A Summer Bird-Cage, it reveals that freedom is double-edged as well as marriage. As for freedom, women pursue it, but too much freedom may not contribute to their predicament. As for marriage, it is not only a >cage< with bondage, but also a >bay< for women to escape from freedom. Freedom or marriage seems like a double-edged sword, torturing women's existence at times. Thus, facing freedom, are women supposed to go after it or escape from it? They are at a loss.– As for love, it is the theme running through A Summer Bird- Cage. Fromm has made a profound study on love in contemporary society, and he makes a conclusion that people's alienation and fear of freedom originate from lacking of love. In the novel, both Sarah and Louise don't have the proper understanding of love. Moreover, they live a life without love. All these result in their predicament. Consequently, it may safely be concluded that, >Love is the answer to the problem of human existence< (Fromm 1956: 7). And love can be the satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence. While, as for the dilemma brought about by the modern civilization, Drabble fails to point out a way-out, and she lacks the courage to overthrow the alienated and male-dominated society.– However, the open ending of the novel also hints that Drabble may see a pin point light penetrating darkness and a ray of hope beyond despair. The greatness of Margaret Drabble lies in the fact that her works reflect women's social predicament vividly and truly. To a certain degree, Drabble's A Summer Bird-Cage provides with an access to the knowable community by depicting the women intellectuals' life in the contemporary society. Essentially, love is only regarded as a struggle for the women, particularly when their existence is threatened.

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Metadaten
Author:Wenchao Guo
Document Type:Dissertations
Language:Chinese
Year of first Publication:2012
Release Date:2014/01/28
Format:no copy existent / keine Kopie vorhanden
IdNo:Guo_Wenchao_2012
Writings about Erich Fromm (Secondary Literature):Dissertations / Dissertationen
Erich Fromm's Library and Erich Fromm Archive:Dissertations / Dissertationen
Licence (German):
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