Caring, the Way out of Loneliness – On Doris Lessing's >The Diaries of Jane Somers< [关爱,孤独的出路 - 论多丽丝•莱辛的《简•萨默斯的日记》], Master thesis, English Language and Literature, Ocean University of China, China, Qingdao, Shandong, China 2008 [Application of Fromm's th

  • 《简•萨默斯的日记》讲述了简与莫迪、理查德和凯特之间发生的故事,并揭示了现代社会人的存在特征:孤独,一个与人际关注紧密相连的存在困境。本文将通过分析主人公简的人生经历,寻找走出孤独的道路。简的人生经历是本文分析的重点,弗洛姆关于爱的理论和诺丁斯的关爱理论将被用来解释简经历中的各种现象。论文包括五个部分。第一部分为引言,首先对多丽丝•莱辛以及前人对《简•萨默斯的日记》的研究做简要介绍,然后介绍本文理论的来由和主要观点,即孤独是现代人普遍面临的一个困境,简的经历证明关爱是走出这一困境的一条出路。第二部分为第一章,提出人的存在中的孤独现象。孤独是许多作家作品中都涉及到的一个主题,是人类普遍面临的困境。同样莱辛作品中的许多人也处于孤独无助之中。第二章首先分析人为什么会孤独及孤独对人的影响。然后简要论述人们在试图摆脱孤独的过程中走入的种种误区。简与她的母亲,丈夫和朋友的人际关系以及小说中其他人物的人际关系的全面分析表明,现代社会的人际关系已被异化,非人性化。弗洛姆对人类社会发展的研究也证实了这一点。这种异化的人际关系无法产生人与人之间真诚的交流。人因此陷入孤独。孤独有一种破坏性的力量,使人们无法积极地生活,甚至可能使人陷入疯狂,丧失理智。无论是《日记》中还是其它的文学作品中,都有许多逃离孤独的尝试,比如放纵狂欢,屈从权威或者工作。然而这些方法都无法使人积极地面对生活,甚至可能使人误入歧途,更加孤独。第三章详细论述简与莫迪、理查德和凯特的交往。简作为女儿,母亲和恋人的经历表明关爱是克服孤独,获得成长的途径。对这些经历的分析将按照关爱的四个要素进行,即给与,责任,尊重和了解。简给与莫迪、理查德及凯特的关爱是她未能给与自己的母亲和丈夫的。她尝试理解他们,照顾他们,尊重他们对生活的选择。在这种关爱的过程中,简由一个冷漠的女儿,冷漠的妻子转变为一个富有情感的人。从莫迪身上学会了热爱生活,感恩生活,学会了勇敢地面对生活而不丧失尊严。她与理查德和凯特的交往经历则是她与莫迪友谊的补充,使她对生活有了全面的认识,获得了新生。论文的最后一部分为结语。关爱可以将人从孤独中解救出来,因为它可以形成一种有助于真诚交流的新的人际关系。关爱可以提升人对生活的认识,使人即使在隔绝之中也能积极地对待生活。简的经历所提出的问题具有普遍的意义,孤独是整个人类或多或少面临的共同处境,而简所探索的通过关爱他人走出孤独的途径,也将具有普遍的启示意义。
  • The Diaries of Jane Somers tells down - too - earth stories about the stories that happen in Jane's life, the which involves Maudie, Richard and Kate In it Doris Lessing reveals one of the characteristics of people's life in. modern society: loneliness, the which is closely related to interpersonal relationship. This thesis will aim at finding out the way out of loneliness by analyzing Jane, the heroine's experiences. The analysis of Jane's life will be the focus of the thesis. Meanwhile, Erich Fromm's theories on love and Noddings' theories on caring will be applied to the explanation of many interpersonal relationship phenomena in the novel. The thesis consists of five parts.– The first part is introduction, which first gives a brief review of Doris Lessing and the previous studies on The Diaries of Jane Somers. Then the theoretical foundation and main ideas of the thesis will be introduced, that is, Jane's experience indicates that caring is one way that may lead people out of loneliness, a predicament that lies ahead of many people in modern society.– The second part is chapter one, in which loneliness in man's existence will be put forward. Loneliness as a theme can be detected in many writers' works. It is a universal predicament people are confronted with. Similarly, many people in Doris Lessing's works cannot live satisfactorily. They are lonely and helpless.– Chapter two will first provide analyses on the root of loneliness and the impact it has on people. Then follows a brief discussion on some wrong ways people might take in overcoming loneliness. A comprehensive analysis of Jane's interpersonal relationships with her mother, her husband and her friend as well as many others' interpersonal relationships in the novel will show that interpersonal relationships in modern society have been materialized and dehumanized, which is confirmed by Fromm's studies on the development of society. Such alienated interpersonal relationships are unable to produce genuine communication between souls, without which people are easily bogged down in loneliness. Loneliness is destructive. It deprives people of the ability to live actively, even driving them into madness and insanity in extreme conditions. There are many ways such as orgiastic union, conformity and creative work that have been used by people in The Diaries and in many other literature works to extricate themselves from loneliness. However, these ways fail to enable people to live actively, sometimes even leading them astray and to be bogged down in greater loneliness.– The third chapter will elaborate on Jane's experiences with Maudie, Richard and Kate. Her experiences as daughter, mother and lover will prove that caring is the way to surmount loneliness and achieve self-growth. The penetrating analysis of Jane's experiences will be grounded on the four elements of caring: giving, responsibility, respect and knowledge. She gives to the three people what she has failed to give to her own mother and husband. She takes over the responsibilities to take care of Maudie as a daughter and Kate as a mother. The more she gets to know about these people, the better she understands them and the more she respects their decision on their life. In caring for these people Jane transforms from an unconcerned wife and daughter to a sensitive soul. She learns from Maudie to love life, to be grateful to what life endows her with, to live with dignity and courage. Her experiences with Richard and Kate are supplementation and solidification to her friendship with Maudie, which help her procure a comprehensive understanding of life and spiritual rebirth.– The last part is conclusion. Caring is the way that may deliver people from loneliness, for in it new interpersonal relationship is built, which makes genuine communication possible. It enhances people's understanding of life and thereof enables them to live actively even in solitude. The meaning of Jane's experiences lies in its universality. People may be faced with the predicament of loneliness one way or another in modern society. What Jane does may inspire people today in some way when they try to dispel their loneliness.

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Metadaten
Author:Xinghong Xue
Document Type:Dissertations
Language:Chinese
Year of first Publication:2008
Release Date:2014/01/28
Format:no copy existent / keine Kopie vorhanden
IdNo:Xue_Xinhong_2008
Writings about Erich Fromm (Secondary Literature):Dissertations / Dissertationen
Erich Fromm's Library and Erich Fromm Archive:Dissertations / Dissertationen
Licence (German):
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