《爱玛》中的女性成长主题研究_英语论文

On the Theme of Female Growth in Emma

摘要

简·奥斯汀是19世纪英国著名的现实主义小说家，一生共写出六部以婚恋为主题的小说。《爱玛》是其六篇小说中唯一以女主人公名字命名的小说，达到了奥斯汀文学创作的顶峰。小说描述了女主人公爱玛在经历了一系列错误之后，摒弃了幻想，重新认识自我，完成了心灵的成长，逐渐步入道德完善和情感成熟，是一部典型的反映女性成长主题的小说。

小说自问世以来就受到了国内外学者的关注，他们大多运用精神分析、女性主义、叙述策略、反讽戏仿等写作手法去分析小说，并探讨奥斯汀本人的婚恋观、家庭观、道德观。但是，只有少数学者从女性成长视角去深入研究小说。论文将聚焦于小说的女性成长主题，探讨爱玛的女性形象和女性意识，揭示爱玛从幼稚走向成熟、不断地自我反省、自我改造，并最终得到幸福的成长历程。论文共分为五章，第一章主要介绍简奥斯汀及她的代表作《爱玛》；第二章简要分析成长小说的定义、起源及其特征；第三章分析爱玛心灵和道德的成长；第四章简要分析小说其他女性人物的成长；最后一章是结论。

关键词：简·奥斯丁；《爱玛》；女性成长；道德

Abstract

Jane Austen is a famous realistic novelist in England in 19th Century. She wrote six novels, all of which depict love and marriage. Emma is the only novel which is named after the heroine, and brought Austen to the zenith of her success. The novel describes the heroine Emma abandons illusion, regains a sense of her own worth and achieves spiritual growth after a series of mistakes, which makes her morality more perfect and her emotion more mature. Thus, Emma is a typical novel reflecting the theme of female growth. 

The novel has received the attention of scholars both at home and abroad since its inception. Most of them use psychoanalysis, feminism, narrative strategy, irony, parody and other writing techniques to analyze Emma. They also explore Austen’s own marriage, family values and moral values. However, only a few scholars have studied the novel from the perspective of female growth. The thesis will focus on the female growth of the novel to discuss female images and female consciousness of Emma, and reveals Emma’s growth process from being naive to mature, and from constant soul-searching, self-improvement to finally happiness. The paper is divided  into five chapters. Chapter one briefly introduces Jane Austen and Emma. Chapter two briefly analyses the definition, origin and features of bildungsroman. Chapter three gives an interpretation of Emma’s spiritual and moral growth in the novel. Chapter four gives a brief analysis of other females’ growth in the novel. The last chapter is the conclusion.

Keywords: Jane Austen   Emma  female growth  moral        

Contents

Acknowledgments I

Abstract II

摘要 III

Chapter One Introduction 1

1.1 Introduction to Jane Austen 1

1.2 Introduction to Emma 1

1.3 Literature Review 2

1.4 Thesis Structure 3

Chapter Two Bildungsroman 4

2.1 Definition and Origin of Bildungsroman 4

2.2 Features of Bildungsroman 4

Chapter Three Interpretation of Emma’s Growth 6

3.1 Emma－An Imperfect Heroine 6

    3.1.1 Emma’s Personality Flaws 6

    3.1.2 Emma’s Moral Errors 7

3.2 Emma’s Growth from Epiphany to Maturity 7

    3.2.1 Emma’s Moral Growth 7

    3.2.2 Emma’s Growth in Self-knowledge 8

    3.2.3 Emma’s Positive and Negative Pathfinder 9

Chapter Four Interpretation of Other Females’ Growth 11

4.1 Harriet 11

4.2 Jane Fairfax 11

Chapter Five Conclusion 12

References 13