英语论文WutheringHeightsaFemaleGothicNovel.docx

英语论文WutheringHeightsaFemaleGothicNovel.docx

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英语论文WutheringHeightsaFemaleGothicNovel

WutheringHeights---aFemaleGothicNovel

I.Introduction

EmilyBrontëisanEnglishwomanwriterofsuperbtalentduringtheVictorianAge.SheiswellknownforheronlynovelWutheringHeights,astrangeandpowerfulbook,saidbymanytobethefinestnovelintheEnglishlanguage.Sinceitwaspublished,thisgreatbooksufferedpeople’sattackandcriticism.Thesewhocensureditregardeditabookfullofabnormalpsychologyandheathenishthought.“Anyonewhodidreaditwasrepulsedbythebrutalityandviolenceofthecharacters”（James,1979:

7）andbythefactthatitdifferedsomuchfromtheromanticnovelsofthattime.TheydonotwantrealismasEmilydepictsit,andtheydonotwantwild,fierceantiheroeslikeHeathcliffwhoismorelikeavillainorwillful,passionateheroineslikeCatherineEarnshaw.AndthatisthereasonwhyEmilyBrontëiskeptawayfromthemainstreamofthe19thcenturyliterature,andpeopledonotacceptherfairfameuntilthecomingofthe20thcentury.

BothEmilyandherworksaremysteriousandunique.TherearevariousapproachesappliedbythecriticstostudyWutheringHeightsfromtheaspectsofthetheme,thewritingtechnique,loveandrevenge,andsoon.However,thereishardlyanyattempttoresearchWutheringHeightsbycombiningitsGothiccontextwiththefeministviewpoint.Inviewofthisblank,thisarticleistryingtorereadthisworkasaFemaleGothicnovelmainlybasedonthefollowingthreefacets:

Firstly,fromthedevelopmentofliterarymovement,theearlyGothicnovelsaroseinthesecondhalfofthe18thcentury.TheoriginofWutheringHeights,itsdevelopmentandtheendingwerebetween1771and1802.Atthattime,theEnglishGothicnovelswerecatchingonlikefirethroughoutthecountry.WiththedevelopmentofGothicnovelspeoplegraduallyforgottheearlyGothicnovels.YetfromtheBrontësisters’JaneEyreandWutheringHeightswecanstillfindtheGothicfeaturesevidently.Secondly,fromthesocialdevelopmentsincetheIndustrialRevolutioninthesecondhalfofthe18thcentury,thesocialclassinEnglishsocietyhadundergoneradicalchanges.ThelifestylewasbrokenbytheEnclosureMovementand

expropriation.Themajorityofpeasantsweredrivenofftheirlandwhichhadbeenpassedintothehandsofthelandlords.Thelandlesspeasantswenttocitiesandbecameworkerswhoownednothingbutlaborandhadtoworklonghoursforlowwages.Peopleweretiredoftheoldlifestyle,theylookedforwardtoseeingsongfancyandnewthings,andthiskindofaspirationbecamethesocialfoundationofgothicnovel.Finally,WutheringHeightswasconnectedwithEmilyBronte’sindividuallifeexperience.“Strongerthanaman,simplerthanachild.”（Yang,1983:

21）CharlotteBrontëusedthesewordstodescribeher.Wehopetofindsomenewconnotationsfromthenoveltoenableustohavemoreenlightenmentsandconsiderations.

Emilyisthetrulyfreespiritofthefamily,onewhocouldnotliveawayfromherbelovedextensivethoughdangerousandbleakmoors---Haworth.HerfatherisofIrishstockandfamousforhisfluentspeechandimagination.HeplayedaveryimportantroleinshapingEmily’scharacterandgenius---“thetemperamentoftheIrish---melancholy,passionate,proud,restless,eloquent,andwitty---andtheMethodistreligiousfervorandenthusiasmshownbythefollowersofJohnWesley.”（James,1979:

6）Besides,“environmentalsoplayeditspartincreatingtheuniquenessofEmilyBrontë.ThevillageofHaworthwasveryisolatedandintensely.YorkshireandthepeoplelivingtherewereinstrongcontrasttotheCeltictemperament.Theywereblunt,practical,stubborn,sparingofspeech,vigorous,andharshtothepointofbrutality.”（James,1979:

6）TheproductofthemoorsexaltsthespiritofEmilyandfillshersoulwiththeloveofliberty.AnotherfactorthatinfluencedEmily’scharacterwasherbrother,Branwell,theonetowhomEmilyhadalwaysbeenclosest.Branwell’sfallingpreytodrinkanddrugsalmostmadeEmily’sheartbroken.Becauseofhisdeath,Emilyneverleftthehouseagainandinsistedonkeepingupherregularroundofduties.AfewmonthsafterBranwell’sdeath,Emilydiedattheageofthirty.

EmilyBrontë“usedthestarkYorkshiresetting,nottocreatesuspenseandhorror,asinthetypicalGothicnovel,butasanaturalpartofherstory.”（James,1979:

7）Ononehand,shecarriesontheGothictraditioninhercreationofthenovel.Ontheotherhand,shehasnotjustemployedthemodebutpromotessomeimprovementsinthisoldtradition.SheusedtheskillofFemaleGothicinherwritingofthenovel.

Ⅱ.FromGothicNoveltoFemaleGothicNovel

InstudyingWutheringHeightsfromtheaspectofaFemaleGothicnovel,noonecanignorethedefinitionofthistermGothic.Todoso,however,oneislikelytofallintothetrapofambiguity,forthereisnodefiniteandcomprehensivewaytoexpoundit.Astimegoesby,theconnotationofthistermgraduallyexpandsfromitsoriginalmeaningintobroadersense.“ThewordGothicoriginallyreferredtotheGoths,anearlyGermanictribe,thencametosignify‘Germanic’,then‘medieval’.”（M.H,2004:

110）TheyfoughtagainsttheRomanEmpireattheirmostviolenttimesin5A.D.Thentheygraduallydiedawayintheprocessofhistory.Butthegothicpeople’sbravenessandgoodatfightingcausedhurttotheheartoftheSouthEuropeans,especiallyinItalians.Althoughafteraround7A.D.theGothsvanishesfromhistory,RomanEmpirefell,theItalianVasarifirstadopted“goth”torepresentthemedievalarchitecturalstyle.Itsfeaturewassubterraneandungeons,secretpassageways,travelingspires,heavystonewalls,narrowwindows,tinnyglass,gloomyroomandtherest,butundertheinfluenceofthethinkersinRenaissancegothwasendowedwithmorenewmeaningsuchassavage,terror,fear,fallingbehind,mystery,darkageandmedievalperiodandsoon.

Aroundtheearly18thcentury,Gothicdevelopedintoagenreinliteraryrealm.Inparticular,“thetermGothichasalsobeenextendedtoatypeoffictionwhichlackstheexoticsettingoftheearlierromances,butdevelopsabroodingatmosphereofgloomandterror,representseventsthatareuncannyormacabreormelodramaticallyviolent,andoftendealswithaberrantpsychologicalstates.”（M.H,2004:

110）TheattempttodefineGothicwritingsusuallyfollowsthemethodnamedbyEugeniaDeLamotteinMonthlypublishedin1801.Insuchkindofworks,“somewriterssettheirstoriesinthemedievalperiod;otherssettheminaCatholiccountry,especiallyItalyorSpain.Thelocalewasoftenagloomycastlefurnishedwithdungeons,subterraneanpassages,andslidingpanels;thetypicalstoryfocusedonthesufferingsimposedonaninnocentghosts,mysteriousdisappearances,andothersensationalandsupernaturaloccurrences.”

（M.H,2004:

110）ThoughtheplotsandthemesofGothicwritingsaredifferentspecifically,theyfocusonthedepictionofaseriesofweirdandsimulativeeventssuchasmurder,revenge,violence,rapeandincest,thusendowingthewholeworkwithanatmosphereofsuspense,mysteryandsenseoffear.Withitsartificialover-ornamentation,itsunbridledimagination,itsnotoriousfameofseducingdegenerationandcorruption,Gothicwritingsareseverelycriticizedandrejectedbymainstreamliterarygenres.“Inthehistoryofwesternliterature,thereareseasofschoolsoffictionhavingmadestrongimpacts.Flourishedduringtheendofthe18thandearly19thcentury,theEnglishGothicnovelisoneoftheschoolsthatexertsatremendousinfluenceandownsconsiderableuniqueness.”（Li,2005:

1）

Thetrendofbegettingmoraldegenerationandemotionalover-indulgencebringGothicnovelsanalternativename“blacknovel”（Brune,PichoisandRousseau,1989:

126）whichhasbeenkeepingGothicnovelsontheborderzoneofthedevelopmenthistoryoftheworldfictions.Receivinggeneraldisapproval,GothicnovelsaretreatedwithindifferenceandleftoutinthecoldinbothwesternandChineseliterarycriticismcircles.PeoplehavebeeninclinedtopayattentiontothenegativefacetofGothicnovelswhilefailtonoticetheirmoralinstructionasthepositiveside.AlthoughinGothicnovelsthethickblackatmospherespreadallovertheplace;andalthough“theprincipalaimofsuchnovelswastoevokechillingterrorbyexploitingmysteryandavarietyofhorrors”,（M.H,2004:

111）behindtheseeminglydeliberateblackandirrationalcontenttherehidesinsidethesubstantialandprofoundrationalcontent.Gothicnovelsneverceaseportrayingcombatsbetweenthebrightandtheblack,thegoodandtheevil.Byadvocatingandseekingtheessenceofhumannatures,Gothicnovelsrightlyshockandawakenpeoplebyitsuniquedescriptionofcomplicatedandeccentricplots,themysteriousatmosphereandthebloodyscenes.

In1764,theEnglishwriterHoraceWalpolewasagainachiefinitiatorpublishingTheCastleofOtranto,aGothicstoryinhisGothiccastleunderthesettingofMiddleAges.Thisnovelbecomesthefoundationofearliergothicnovelfromtime,place,topic,plot,characterstoarticleskill.Itcontributedtwoelements,oneistheusagegothicscene---vault,passageway,castle,monster,violentwind,moon,moan;theotherisusagenaturalpowertofoilakindofatmosphereandtohintmysteriouslivesandapossibleofviciousforcecontrollingpeople’sfates.

Fromthenon,alargenumberofGothicnovelscomeoutwiththethemestickingtotheexplorationofhumannatureandpassionsinformsofindulgenceandirrationalexcessaround1790s.ExamplesofGothicnovelsareWilliamBeckford’sVathek（1786）,AnnRadcliffe’sTheMysteriesofUdolpho（1794），andMatthewGregoryLewis’TheMonk（1796）.Thelatte