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An Interpretation of the Theme of Alienation in >Jude the Obscure< from the Perspective of Fromm’s Humanistic Psychoanalysis, Master thesis, English Language and Literature, Northwest University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China 2022 [application of Fromm's theories to art].

  • The eminent British novelist and poet Thomas Hardy wrote fifteen novels, four collections of short stories, over 900 poems and two verse dramas throughout his life, leaving a valuable literary heritage for the people of the UK and the world. Jude the Obscure is set in England of 1860 s. It recounts the tragedy of the protagonist countryman Jude Fawley’s struggle for college minister and a stable marriage. It is considered as the first modern novel in the history of British literature. The theme of alienation is a basic theme of modernist literature. It is displayed in Hardy’s novels, especially in >Jude the Obscure<. This thesis adopts the humanistic psychoanalysis of the German-American Jewish social psychologist Erich Fromm to discuss and analyze the representations and reasons for Jude’s alienation in the novel. Jude lived in a stage when capitalism was rapidly developing. The social economy was thriving. The achievements of political democracy were increasingly consolidated, and the cultural cause was flourishing. Influenced by the capitalist civilization, Jude strove to stand firm in metropolises. However, the development of capitalism has two sides. With the continuous progress in economy and the technology, economic features of capitalism such as the quantification and the abstraction were constantly highlighted. The connections between individuals and the connections between people and concrete objects were increasingly vague. Political democracy not only brought people freedom, but also increased people’s sense of loneliness and powerlessness. On the one hand, cultural education encouraged individuals to develop the character of ambition and competition. On the other hand, it compelled individuals to act in accordance with social norms. In such a society, people were in atomic states. They did not get acquainted with each other. The psychological needs of individuals, also the needs of human nature that were based on their existence conditions could not be satisfied. People were only obliged to conform to social norms, which caused the alienation of individuals. Jude’s alienation is the root of his tragedy. Based on the previous research findings, this thesis attempts to interpret the theme of alienation in >Jude the Obscure< via the theory of Erich Fromm’s humanistic psychoanalysis. It hopes to have a better understanding of Hardy’s modernist literary spirit. [www.cnki.net, 1/2023]

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Metadaten
Author:Jing Zhang
Document Type:Dissertations
Language:Chinese
Year of first Publication:2022
Release Date:2024/04/04
Format:no download and copy possible
IdNo:Zhang_Jing_2022
Writings about Erich Fromm (Secondary Literature):Dissertations / Dissertationen
Erich Fromm's Library and Erich Fromm Archive:Dissertations / Dissertationen
Licence (German):
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