>Alienation< Behind >Menace<: a Humanistic Psychoanalysis of Pinter’s Plays >威胁<背后的>异化<:哈罗德•品特戏剧的人本主义精神分析解读, Master thesis, English Language and Literature, Hebei University, Baoding, Hebei, China 2016 [application of Fromm's theories to art].

  • 哈罗德•品特是英国荒诞派戏剧的代表人物,是受到世界公认的优秀剧作家,其创作的>威胁喜剧<具有发人深思的思想力量和引起共鸣的巨大艺术魅力。>品特风格<,品特戏剧的结构模式、本质特征及其后现代戏剧艺术,包括其荒诞和异化的主题一直受到国内外批评家的关注。本文拟从埃利希•弗洛姆人本主义精神分析的视角,对品特>威胁喜剧<反映现代社会异化主题进行深入剖析,用其关于>人的处境<与>需要<、>社会人格<与>社会潜意识<等理论来观察品特对现代社会人与社会关系的洞悉与刻画。论文选择品特的三部戏剧《生日宴会》、《看门人》和《出路》进行针对性的文本分析,认为>品特式的冲突<、>品特式的威胁<正是弗洛姆描述的西方现代异化社会的主题化和戏剧化;那些在不断产生>威胁<的社会中的>荒诞<与>无能<的人物及其存在主义的生存状态表明,弗洛姆追求的个人的自由和自我实现的人本主义理想只不过是个乌托邦,因为品特戏剧表现的日常生活情境的>惯例<仪式规定着权力与屈服的内在控制关系,构成了威胁背后的异化的现实。论文由五部分组成。第一章描述了品特戏剧的基本特色和国内外研究现状,指出利用弗洛姆的人本主义精神分析理论深入研究品特戏剧异化主题的必要性。第二章以>人的处境<与>需要<、>社会人格<与>社会潜意识<为主,解析弗洛姆的人本主义精神分析理论。弗洛姆认为现代人的自由处境使人陷入孤独无依的焦虑和无能的状态,而人的矛盾存在又使人产生只有健全的社会才能满足的基本需要。为满足个人与世界联系的需要,逃避孤独与不安而形成的心理机能即>社会潜意识<以及与之相关的>社会人格<决定着人的潜能的压抑或发挥。第三章阐释面对扭曲的>社会人格<的生存威胁品特三部戏剧中怪诞人物的生存恐慌:《生日宴会》中的孤僻的隐居者面对莫名其妙的胁迫和询问惊恐不安地听任折磨与摧残、《看门人》中三个被剥夺一切的小人物生活在相互的生存威胁之中而痛失友谊、《出路》中自奉为上帝信徒却极为阴险凶残的监狱官通过刑讯逼供和精神折磨使他人处于被威胁的丧失基本人权的痛苦境地。在品特戏剧情节和语言的荒唐和交流的可怕的背后,在威胁的背后,是人际关系和人性的异化。因此,第四章进一步分析在病态的社会无意识的威胁之下乱伦、不理智和破坏性等变态需求或欲望的产生,正是弗洛姆关于人性异化的写照。在《生日宴会》中,主角通过发展和女主人的不伦恋情而渴望得到归属感。他只想寻求自己的根。在《看门人》中,剧中的主要角色将房子看作身份的象征。为了捍卫他们自己的身份感和归属感,他们愿意做一切事情。而《出路》中,残暴的政府官员折磨政治囚犯,通过残忍的虐待和心理的折磨,只为控制他人,满足他的征服欲。在第五章的结论中,论文强调哈罗德•品特用现实主义手法营造的无时不在的生存威胁及其带来的恐慌使他的剧本充满强大的戏剧张力,而透过弗洛姆的人本主义精神分析更加显示出品特戏剧对于认识现代社会和人性异化的重要价值。
  • Harold Pinter is a major figure in the British Theatre of the Absurd and a worldly acclaimed outstanding dramatist. His Comedies of Menace have both the thought-provoking power and the heart-resonating artistic charm. The >Pinteresque<, structural patterns, essential features, post-modernism artistic techniques and themes of absurdity and alienation of his plays have attracted attention from the critics at home and abroad, such as >Pinteresque<, the structural pattern in his plays, natural characteristics and his artistic techniques from the viewpoint of post-modernism, including the themes on absurdity and alienation.– This thesis aims to make a deep analysis of the social alienation theme of Pinter’s Comedies of Menace, from the perspective of Eric Fromm’s theory of humanistic psychoanalysis. By applying Fromm’s theories of >man’s needs<, >the conditions of man’s existence<, >social character<, >the social unconsciousness<, and >alienation of human nature<, it makes a thorough observation of the insights and treatment Pinter brings to the relationship between the social individual and society. Through the text analysis of Pinter’s representative plays, >The Birthday Party<, >The Caretaker and One for the Road<, the thesis argues that >Pinteresque conflict< and >Pinteresque menace< are exactly the thematization and dramatization of the alienated western modern society described by Fromm. The >absurd< and >incompetent< people living in a society full of constant >menace< and their existential state of Existentialism indicate that Fromm’s humanistic idealism of the individual freedom and self-realization is merely a Utopia, because all the >routine< rituals represented in Pinter’s plays determine the internal control relationship of domination-submission, and constitute the alienated reality behind daily menace. This thesis is divided into five parts.– Chapter One is the introduction part. It gives readers a general idea on the basic background information of Pinter, including the unique term >Pinteresque<, his unique writing style and his world-known works. It introduces the criticism at home and abroad as well, illustrating the necessity of studying deeply on the alienation theme of Pinter’s plays by adopting Eric Fromm’s theory of humanistic psychoanalysis.– Chapter Two is the theoretical part of this paper. It systematically introduces Eric Fromm’s humanistic psychoanalysis, on >man’s needs<, >the conditions of man’s existence<, >social character<, >the social unconsciousness<, and >alienation of human nature< Fromm believes that the freedom of modern people makes them get into isolated anxiety and incompetent situation, but this complex sense of identity stimulates them to realize that only if the society is sane will their basic needs be satisfied. In order to meet their needs to make connections with the outside world, >the social unconsciousness< comes into being, which is the psychological mechanism of escaping from loneliness and unease. Whether the potential of every individual can be depressed or can be developed mainly depends on the >social character< and >the social unconsciousness<.– Chapter Three demonstrates that when facing the survival menace of distorted >social character<, some typical peculiar personages of Pinter’s three plays live in a survival panic. An eccentric hermit hurt by intruders in The Birthday Party confronts puzzling threats and interrogation restlessly, bearing all the tortures without any resistance. In The Caretaker, all of the main characters are just nobody, who are deprived of everything and live in the survival menace to each other, leading to their loss of friendship. While the cruel governor in One for the Road claims to believe in God, in fact he is so mean and sadistic that he places others to a misery situation where they are threatened to lose the basic human rights, by brutal torment and psychological torture. In Pinter’s plays, behind all those dramatic plots, language absurdity and communication fearfulness, even behind all the menaces, it indicates the alienation of personal relationship and human nature.– Therefore, Chapter Four takes a further step to analyze man’s needs from the conditions of his existence. Under the menace of the morbid social unconscious, incest, the being of irrationality, destructiveness and all the abnormal needs or desire is exactly a mirror of Fromm’s theory on humanistic alienation. In The Birthday Party, the protagonist longs for the need of rootedness by developing an immoral relationship with the hostess. He just wants to find his sense of belongings. The main characters in The Caretaker treat the house as a symbol of self-identity. They are willing to do everything to defend their own identity and root. While the sadistic governor One for the Road tortures the political prisoners only to manipulate others by brutal torment and psychological torture.– Chapter Five is the conclusion part. It emphasizes that the ever-present survival menace and the ensuing distress created by Harold Pinter with the realistic writing technique make his plays full of powerful dramatic tension. And it is by applying Fromm’s humanistic psychoanalysis to the interpretation of Pinter’s Comedies of Menace that the significant value of these plays about recognizing the alienation of modern society and humanity can be revealed more deeply. [Author’s translation]

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Metadaten
Author:Yao Li
Document Type:Dissertations
Language:Chinese
Year of first Publication:2016
Release Date:2017/11/20
Format:no download and copy possible
IdNo:Li_Yao_2016
Writings about Erich Fromm (Secondary Literature):Dissertations / Dissertationen
Licence (German):
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