On the Theme of Loneliness in Conrad’s >Victory< [论康拉德《胜利》中的孤独主题], Master thesis, English Language and Literature, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, Hunan, China 2018 [appication of Fromm's theories to art].

  • 其前期作品主要分为航海小说、丛林小说、社会政治小说,在国内外得到广泛关注。后期代表作之一《胜利》在文学评论界却没有得到足够重视,尤其是在中国。已有研究主要从怀疑主义、殖民主义、生态批评等角度进行了探讨。本文尝试研究小说的孤独主题。>孤独<一般指个人的某种主观心理感受。著名学者埃里希•弗洛姆则将其上升到一种形而上的哲学高度,他认为孤独是全人类与生俱来且共有的客观事实,外界环境的变化会使这种孤独状态活跃开来,从而滋生出社会性质的孤独感。弗洛姆认为人类有五种基本需求,病态的资本主义社会无法满足这些需求,静态的孤独状态转化为动态的孤独感受,陷入强烈孤独感的人类往往会寻求不同的心理机制逃避孤独。借助弗洛姆的孤独理论,本文尝试从人类的五项基本需求,逃避孤独的三种机制,积极自由的内涵来挖掘主人公孤独困境的根源,摆脱孤独的方法和克服孤独后的精神升华。主人公海斯特和莉娜是对当时社会不满和失望的典型代表人物,反映了不同性别不同阶级的英国人民的孤独困境及逃离孤独的途径。首先,本文论述了主人公的孤独表现。一方面分析了海斯特病态隐居下的孤僻性格,孤单心理和孤独状态。另一方面论证了莉娜在残酷现实中的麻木顺从以及身份认同感、存在感、归属感的丧失。其次,本文研究了主人公摆脱孤独的尝试。海斯特通过帮助莫里森和拯救莉娜,与其创建互相依赖,互相屈从的施虐——受虐的共生关系以逃避孤独。莉娜通过欺骗里卡多和保护海斯特,在创造性的自发活动中追寻积极自由以摆脱孤独。最后,本文探索了主人公克服孤独后的升华。一方面论证了海斯特在熊熊大火中生活态度和信仰的重生。另一方面论证了莉娜在自我牺牲中独立人格、身份地位的实现以及道德、情感、理智的升华。通过分析海斯特和莉娜不断与孤独做抗争的过程,本文揭示了一战前英国社会和英国人民所处的孤独困境,探究出正确摆脱孤独的方法是寻求积极自由,坚持爱和信任。作者一方面通过小说表达了对人类信仰缺失,感情无处依靠,心灵没有归宿等精神危机的担忧,呼吁人类采取正确的方法走出孤独并超越孤独。另一方面又通过海斯特的自我觉醒和莉娜的自我实现表达了对人类摆脱孤独从而赢得精神上的胜利持有希望。
  • Joseph Conrad (1857-1924), a Polish-British writer, enjoys a high reputation in British fiction history. His former period works, which attract widespread attention at home and abroad, are principally divided into nautical novels, jungle novels and social political novels. Victory, one of his later representative works, hasn’t been extensively researched by literary critics, especially in China. The previous studies on Victory mainly explore it from the perspectives of skepticism, colonialism, ecocriticism and so on. This thesis will try to study this novel from the perspective of the theme of loneliness. >Loneliness< refers to one’s subjective psychological feeling in general. Erich Fromm defines it more profoundly from the perspectives of philosophy and metaphysics. He regards it as a static, inborn and objective condition owned by the whole humanity. This kind of static loneliness will become active and dynamic as the external environment changes, and thus breed the sense of loneliness of social kind in people’s hearts. Fromm holds the opinion that people have five fundamental needs. They are always not satisfied in the morbid capitalist society so that the sense of loneliness spreads. People encircled by the strong sense of loneliness will seek different psychological mechanisms to escape from loneliness. Based on Fromm’s theory of loneliness, this thesis tries to find out the roots of the protagonists’ loneliness predicaments, the methods of escaping from loneliness and the spiritual sublimation after conquering loneliness from the perspectives of people’s five fundamental needs, three escape mechanisms and the connotation of positive freedom. The protagonists Heyst and Lena are the typical examples of British people who are disappointed and dissatisfied with the society at that time. They reflect that British people, no matter their genders or classes, are all struggling with the predicament of loneliness and adopting different ways to escape from loneliness. Firstly, the loneliness of Heyst and Lena is presented. On the one hand, Heyst’s eccentric personality, lonely psychology and solitary condition are analyzed. On the other hand, Lena’s numb obedience and the lost sense of identity, existence and belonging in the cruel reality are demonstrated. Then, Heyst’s and Lena’s attempts to escape from loneliness are researched. Through helping Morrison and saving Lena, Heyst tries to establish a sadistic-masochistic bond in which they are subservient to each other and become interdependent to avoid plunging into loneliness. By cheating Ricardo and protecting Heyst, Lena pursues positive freedom in her spontaneous creative activity to get rid of loneliness. Lastly, protagonists’ sublimation is explored. Heyst’s rebirth of attitudes towards life and belief in a brisk fire is discussed. Lena’s realization of independent personality, identity and status and sublimation of morality, emotion and intellect in her self-sacrifice are expounded. By analyzing protagonists’ constant fights against loneliness, this thesis unfolds the loneliness predicament of pre-war British society and people. It draws a conclusion that the right way of conquering loneliness is to pursue positive freedom and persist in love and trust. Conrad expresses his concern for such spiritual crises, from the lack of belief and security to the lost sense of belonging. He appeals people to shake off loneliness and surpass it by using the right method. Meanwhile, He also conveys his hopes for people to conquer loneliness and win the victory in spirit by depicting Heyst’s self-awareness and Lena’s self-realization. [Author’s translation]

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Metadaten
Author:Yajuan Gong
Document Type:Dissertations
Language:Chinese
Year of first Publication:2018
Release Date:2020/11/03
Format:no copy existent / keine Kopie vorhanden
IdNo:Gong_Yajuan_2018
Writings about Erich Fromm (Secondary Literature):Dissertations / Dissertationen
Erich Fromm's Library and Erich Fromm Archive:Dissertations / Dissertationen
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