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On the Theme of Alienation in Mrs. Gaskell’s >Mary Barton<, Master thesis, World literature, Harbin Normal University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China 2020 [application of Fromm's theories to art].

  • Mrs. Elizabeth Gaskell is considered to be one of the most influential British female writers in the 19th century, whose works are famous for reflecting the labor conflicts between the bourgeoisie and the working class, such as >Mary Barton<, >North and South<, >Ruth<, and so on. Mrs. Gaskell published her first novel >Mary Barton< in 1848. Taking the British Chartist Movement and the worker's strike as its background, the novel which has high realistic value profoundly describes the real social life and ideological situation of the workers in Manchester under the oppression of capitalists. In the 19th century, in terms of the English literature which reflects the daily life of the working class vividly and carefully, the achievements of this novel are incomparable with any other works. In recent years, with the rise of western feminism and the emergence of some criticisms of literary and cultural which focus on the social historical background, the classic novel >Mary Barton< has aroused people‘s interests and attentions again. Taking Mrs. Gaskell‘s >Mary Barton< as the research object, on the basis of Fromm‘s alienation theory, this thesis explains the theme of alienation in the novel.– The thesis consists of three parts including introduction, main body, and conclusion. The introduction part mainly presents the life of Mrs. Gaskell, the principal content of >Mary Barton<, as well as the literature review and thesis statement. The main body of this thesis is composed of five chapters. The first chapter mainly introduces the origin and development of alienation theory, especially the main contents of Fromm‘s alienation theory, including man‘s self-alienation, the alienation between man and man, and the alienation between man and nature. The second chapter analyzes the self-alienation of the characters in the novel, mostly including Mary‘s absurd view of love, John‘s twisted character, and Old Carson‘s vulgar view of interest, etc, which reveal the far-reaching impact of self-alienation on the characters, and ultimately lead to the tragic endings of these characters. The third chapter discusses the alienation between man and man from the aspects of family and work relations in the novel. The fourth chapter expounds the alienation between man and nature, that is, the opposite relationships between man and nature in the novel. On the one hand, the two metropolises of Manchester and London are gradually declining due to human activities. On the other hand, the disease outbreaks and the depletion of natural resources also have an indelible impact on people‘s lives. The fifth chapter explains the main reasons of the alienation in >Mary Barton<, which are the influence of the Chartist Movement, the rule of class consciousness and rights consciousness, the prevalence of egoism and the spread of Anthropocentrism. The conclusion part makes the summary of this thesis and briefly introduces the significance. Based on the analysis of the specific alienated images of characters in the novel, this thesis discusses the essence of alienation of human nature and estrangement of interpersonal relationship in capitalist society described by Mrs. Gaskell, and sparks thoughts about the nature of human, the relationships between man and nature and the relationships between people in contemporary society, which will further strengthen the confidence in building a healthy and harmonious society. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 4/2023]

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Metadaten
Author:Shijie Xu
Document Type:Dissertations
Language:English
Year of first Publication:2020
Release Date:2024/04/04
Format:no download and copy possible
IdNo:Xu_Shijie_2020
Writings about Erich Fromm (Secondary Literature):Dissertations / Dissertationen
Erich Fromm's Library and Erich Fromm Archive:Dissertations / Dissertationen
Licence (German):
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