论《看得见风景的房间》中的人文主义.docx

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