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An Interpretation of Alienation of >Where Angels Fear to Tread< from the Perspective of Erich Fromm’s Theory of Alienation, Master thesis, World Literature, Liaoning University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China 2021 [application of Fromm’s theories to art].

  • E. M. Forster’s works mostly reflect the social realities of his time. At the beginning of the 20th century England was in a significant historical period of social transformation. Although material wealth was abundant people’s spiritual state and moral level were constantly retrogressive. >Where Angels Fear to Tread< was set in this background. The moral values expressed in the Mrs. Herritons the family relationships between members and the mental state of each person all reflected the social status quo of their time. This thesis analyzes the phenomenon of alienation in >Where Angels Fear to Tread< through Fromm’s theory of alienation. Alienation has become a common social phenomenon people are in a state of controlling and being controlled so they lost their own independent personality productivity and creativity. In addition money and interests dominate social relations which makes people feel less care for each other thus the social relationship is becoming more and more indifferent. This phenomenon of alienation was not only reflected in British society at the beginning of the twentieth century but also was evident in contemporary times. This thesis studies the novel with the theory of alienation. Through analyzing the manifestations of alienation in characters exploring the causes of alienation and finally achieving the ultimate goal of curing the alienation of characters this thesis not only reflects the novelist’s desire to reveal the alienation of the British middle class but also provides methods and ideas to solve the spiritual alienation of modern people through the study of alienation resistance. This thesis is mainly divided into three parts-introduction main body and conclusion. The introduction gives a brief presentation to the novelist and his works followed by a comprehensive overview of the current state of domestic and international research on >Where Angels Fear to Tread<. Finally the purpose and significance of the text are explained. The introductory part is a prelude to the rest of the study. The main part is divided into three chapters.– The first chapter starts with the embodiment of alienation which explores the embodiment of alienation between individuals and society between individuals and other people and between individuals and themselves. From these three aspects the thesis makes a specific study on the embodiment of alienation and characters’ behavior under alienation.– The second chapter mainly explores the causes of alienation. There are many reasons for characters’ alienation. On the one hand characters’ personality defects lead to their self-loss. On the other hand the influence of long-term family environment is on a person as well as the influence of social environment on them.– The third chapter studies the resistance to alienation. The resistance to alienation also starts from three aspects. The first is the individual’s efforts to get rid of his own alienation. Secondly from the perspective of love it explains the importance of creative love to improve people’s alienation. Thirdly from the social perspective it expounds the positive role of a good social environment for people to get rid of alienation. The conclusion summarizes the content of the above chapters. It can be seen that Foster has a sober understanding of the society he lives in. He expresses the concern of people’s alienation and shows his hope for overcoming alienation. With the rapid development of productive forces the great wealth of material materials and the increasing consumer demand the seemingly sound society hides a profound spiritual crisis which also coincides with Fromm’s alienation theory. Through the analysis it can be seen that studying human alienation is necessary and feasible. [English: www.cnki.net, 4/2022]

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Metadaten
Author:Xiaolu Zhang
Document Type:Dissertations
Language:Chinese
Year of first Publication:2021
Release Date:2024/04/04
Format:no download and copy possible
IdNo:Zhang_Xiaolu_2021
Writings about Erich Fromm (Secondary Literature):Dissertations / Dissertationen
Erich Fromm's Library and Erich Fromm Archive:Dissertations / Dissertationen
Licence (German):
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