论《看得见风景的房间》中的人文主义.docx
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论《看得见风景的房间》中的人文主义.docx
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论《看得见风景的房间》中的人文主义
论《看得见风景的房间》中的人文主义
摘要
《看得见风景的房间》中,小说人物的性格及其追求充分显示了人文主义。
人物真诚坦率或虚伪与保守的性格都是小说中的人文主义的一部分,另外,实现自我价值与打破束缚,追求平等与自由也是其精髓所在。
本文基于人文主义理论,旨在通过分析不同人物的性格与追求,分析小说中的人文主义,为欣赏该小说增加新角度。
关键词:
人文主义,《看得见风景的房间》,人物,性格,追求
TheHumanismReflectedinARoomwithaView
Abstract
InARoomwithaView,humanismisrichlyembodiedbycharacters’personalitiesandpursuits.Thehumanismreflectedinthenovelisshownbycharacters’favorablepersonalitieslikesincerityandcandor,aswellastheirunfavorablepersonalitieslikehypocrisyandconservatism.Meanwhile,fulfillingself-valueandbreakingtheshacklestopursueequalityandfreedomshowedbycharactersareexactlytheessenceofthehumanismofthenovel.Thethesis,basedonhumanismtheory,aimstoshowthehumanismreflectedinthenovelARoomwithaView,especiallythroughanalyzingdifferentcharacters’personalitiesandpursuits,inthehopeofaddinganewstandpointtoappreciatethenovel.
KeyWords:
Humanism,ARoomwithaView,Characters,Personalities,Pursuits
1.Introduction
EdwardMorganForsterisnotonlyanEnglishnovelist,butalsoanessayistandashortstorywriter.Withonlysixnovels,hestillenjoysalastingpopularityasoneoftherenownednovelistsofthe20thcenturyinEnglishliterature.“ForsterandButlerarealikeintheirrefusaltoindulgeablinddevotiontoinstinctandspontaneitythatwouldmakethemneo-romanticsintheirpointofview.”[]Hisnovelsaremainlyabouttheliberalhumanismandthecharacterscreatedbyhimmostlyarecaughtupinthecontradictionbetweentheirownpersonalitiesandthesociety.“Hisanalysesofsexuality,gender,class,andnationalityconstitutesomeofthemoremodernaspectsofhisnovels.”[]LiberalhumanismisrichlyembodiedinForster’snovels,inwhichhumanheart,natureandpursuitsarethehubs.OliverStallybrasscommentshim“Theintensely,stiflinghumanqualityofthenovelisnottotalavoided…wemayhatehumanity,butifitisexorcisedorevenpurifiedthenovelwilts;littleisleftbutabunchofwords.”[]AsForsterisatthekeyturningperiodfornovels,thereexistboththetraditionsofrealismandthetrendsofmodernisminhisworks.“TheeffectofknowingForsterwasthathebecomesakindofsupplementaryconsciencetalkedontomyown.”[](p23)Heisknownbestforhisironicandwell-plottednovelsexaminingclassdifferenceandhypocrisyinearly20thcenturyBritishsociety.Becauseofhisgoodqualityworks,Forsterisacknowledgedbythepublicandotherwriters.HisfollowersbelievethatForster’splentifullifeandculturalexperiencehighlightshisworks,andtheydescribehim“thegreatliberalsageoftheinterwarandpostwarperiods.”[](p6)PrakashcommentsthatForsteris“thegreatestlivingmasterofthenovel.”Afamousliterarycriticonceperceptivelyassertedthat“E.M.Forsterisformetheonlylivingnovelistwhocanbereadagainandagainandwho,aftereachreading,givemewhatfewwriterscangiveusafterourfirstdaysofnovel-reading,thesensationofhavinglearnedsomething.”[](p40)Acriticwrote“TherehavenotbeenmanyEnglishnovelistsofourowntime,whohaveestablishedwithusthesecondfunction,butE.M.Forsteriscertainlyoneofthem,hehasservedasanembodimentofthevirtueshewritesabout.”[](p35)Attheendofthenineteenthcenturyandtheearlyyearsofthetwentiethcentury,agreatchangetookplaceinBritishsociety,whosesurfaceprosperitywascoveredwithacrisisofdeclineandVictoriantraditionalideasandbeliefscameunderquestions.Duringsuchatime,ARoomwithaView,anovelfilledwithsignificanceintermsofhumanpersonalities,waspublished.“Forsterthoughtthisnovelwashisnicestbutseemstohavebeenuneasyaboutthehappyending.”[]ItisForster’sthirdnovelandalsothesecondoneofhisItaliannovels.AmongForster’ssixnovels,itisregardedasthemostromanticandoptimisticnovel.“Withconsiderableartisticdaring,Forstertranslatesthematerialsofromanticcomedyintoanovelofideas.”[]Inl985,ItwasfirsttimetobeadaptedintofilmbyMerchant-Ivoryandthenranked79thontheModernLibrary’slistof100bestEnglish-languagenovelsofthe20thcenturyin1998.
Withouttoocomplicatedaplot,thenovelmostlyconcentratesonthedevelopmentofthemaincharacters:
LucyandGeorge.Lucy,aladywithgoodeducation,meetsGeorge,BritishyoungmaninFlorencewhiletravelingandcannothelpbeingattractedbyhisenthusiasmandfreemind.WhenshemeetshiminEnglandagain,she,sparingalotofefforts,eventuallygatherscouragetoadmitandexpressherlovetoGeorgeandbreakstheshackleofengagementandpursuesherrealhappiness.Inaddition,inthenovel,thecharactersarefromdifferentclassesandhavedifferentpersonalitiesandpursuits,whichrepresentsomekindsofdistincthumanisticfeatures.
TherearealotofstudiesaboutForster’sworks,andForsterianstudieswhichwerepromotedbytheInternationalE.M.ForsterSocietyestablishedin2010.However,forARoomwithaView,thedegreeofrelatedresearchesisfarfromenough.DuringtheseexistingresearchesonARoomwithaView,commentariesoverseasconcentratemoreonitsplotandculturalinfluence,asfortheinboardliterarycritics,theymainlyfocusontheiranalysisofthefemalecharacter’sdevelopmentandtheartisticskillofthenovel.TherearefewpeoplewhohavestudiedthehumanismreflectedinARoomwithaView.Thus,thispaper,throughanalyzingthecharacters,aimstoexplorethehumanisticfeaturesinit.
Tobetterstudythehumanismreflectedinthenovel,theanalysisonhumanisticfeatureandpursuitsofcharactersbecomethemostimportantwayandpurposeofthispaper.Fromthewholestructureofthisthesis,itcanbebrieflydividedintofourparts.Thefirstpartisintroduction,whichmainlyintroducestheauthorofthenovel,E.M.Forster,andhisaccomplishmenthehadachieved,besides,someinformationaboutthenovelhasalsobeeninvolved,likethereputationithasobtained,literaturereviewonitandthecommentshavemadebycritics,etc.Inordertoexplorethehumanisticideasreflectedinthenovel,thesecondandthirdpartofthisthesisaremainlyconcentratedonanalyzingthecharactersfromdifferentaspects:
characters’personalityandpursuits.ThenovelshowsCecil’shypocrisycontrastedwithMr.Emerson’shonestyandsincerity,whichallowshumanisticfeaturesofcharacterstopresenttoreadersclearlyandobviously.Besides,thepursuitsofself-value,genderlibertyandfreedomshownbyLavish,LucyandGeorgearealsoanalyzedtoprovethehumanismreflectedinthenovel.
2.TheHumanismReflectedinCharacters’Personalities
ThenovelARoomwithaViewembodiestheideaofhumanismfromthevariouscharactersandelaborateplots.Inanotherword,thisnovel,themostromanticandoptimisticnovelofForster,isfullofhumanism.Thenovelcanbedividedintotwoparts:
thefirstparttakesplaceinItaly,whichstartswiththecomplaintsabouttheroombetweenLucyandMissBartlett,andthesecondpartissetinEngland.Inthefollowingpart,theessayfocusesonanalyzingthepersonalityofcharacterswhichcanreflecthumanisminthenovel.
2.1Mr.EmersonandFreddy’sSincerityandCandor“Humanismisdefinedasanaturalisticworldviewthattakesmantobeaproductofnaturalevolution,integraltoitinbodyandmind.Itemphasizesthepowerandresponsibilityofhumanbeingstosurviveandprogressintheirdevelopment…Suchhumanactivitydeterminesandcreatestheuniquelyhumanvalues.”[]Theword“humanism”,fromtheverybeginning,wasderivedfromtheLatinconcept“humanistas”,andenteredEnglishin19thcenturywiththeform“humanism”.Humanismisaphilosophicalandethicalstancewhichattachesimportancetothenatureofhumanbeings.Itfocusesonmaintainingthefreedomofpeople,aswellasemphasizesthatpeopleshouldreleasetheirnature,andbebravetoexpressthemselves.However,somecriticscomment“Humanismheretoforehasoverstressedhumanpowerandhasneglectedthepowersofnaturethatcreateandtransformourvaluesinwaysthatwecannot.”[]Humanityandthepresentationofhumannaturearethecoreofhumanism.InthenovelofARoomwithaView,“Severaldifferentcharactersshowhumanisticideathroughtheirwords,behaviors,thoughts,aswellastheirdifferentsocialclassandsocialconditions.”[](p203)FromthewordsandbehaviorsshownbyMr.EmersonandFreddy,it’seasytorevealthathuman’ssincerityandcandorareoneofcoresofhumanismwhichisreflectedinthenovel.
Inthenovel,thereareseveralmalecharacterswhoarerepresentativeofhumanism,likeMr.Emerson,Freddy,aswellasGeorgewhopossessthesimilargoodnatureofhonestyandsincerity.Theyarealwaysbravetoexpressthemselveswithouthesitation.FromthebehaviortosuggestchangingroomsshowedbyMr.EmersonandFreedy’sdirectcommentsonCecil,thehonestyandsincerityareclearlyrepresentedtoreaders.
AsthetitleARoomwithaViewsuggested,LucyalwayswantsaroomwithaviewwhensheandhercousinMissBartletttravelinFlorence,however,theyfindthattheydon’tgetthepromisedroom,thusthedisputationabouttheroomsbecomestheverybeginningofthewholenovel.LucywantstoseetheArnothroughherroom,butthealterationmakesitimpossible.WhenthedisputationcontinuesaboutwhoshouldliveintheroomwiththeadvantageoftheviewsoftheArno,someofherneighborsdon’tbreakintodisputationbutstandby.However,amaninterruptsthedisputationandsaysloudlythathehasaviewtwice.ThemanisMr.Emerson,thefirsttimetoappearinthenovel,withoutanydescriptionofhisoutlookbutonlyonesentencetointroduce.Mr.Emerson
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