伊恩·麦克尤恩小说《阿姆斯特丹》中的沟通姿态分析_英语论文  

Communicative Stances in Ian McEwan’s Amsterdam 

摘要

伊恩·麦克尤恩的长篇小说《阿姆斯特丹》讲述了两个朋友在阿姆斯特丹的聚会上不约而同用安乐死谋杀对方的故事，揭示了当代社会的孤独、尊严和死亡问题。这两个朋友关系破裂，很重要的原因之一就是沟通失败。对于这篇小说，评论家一般从叙事技巧和主题等角度展开分析，鲜有学者从心理学的角度关注小说人物之间的沟通问题。

自20世纪80年代以来，萨提亚家庭治疗模式一直是国外应用心理学的一个研究热点。该理论的核心概念之一是应对姿态，又称沟通姿态。沟通姿态是人们在压力情境下的应对模式，反映出个体的自我价值感。本文结合沟通姿态的具体分类来分析小说中的沟通为何失败。

除了引言和结论部分，论文分三章讨论了超理智姿态、讨好姿态和责备姿态在小说中的体现。第一章以萝丝在丈夫异装癖事件中的表现和乔治对待情敌的策略为主要分析对象，揭示超理智姿态者理性面具下的内心脆弱。第二章以莫莉的情人和弗农的下属弗兰克为分析对象，研究常见的讨好型姿态者——恋人和下属。现实生活中处于劣势或者弱势的群体常常采取讨好姿态来达到保护自己、维系关系的目的。第三章围绕“责备姿态”这一关键词，分析了莫莉多位情人间的关系以及克莱夫和弗农友谊破裂的原因。对手和敌人之间通常采用责备、命令、攻击的方式来控制情势、稳定局面和维护自身利益，常常会导致沟通失败，关系破裂。通过对这三种沟通姿态以及沟通失败原因的分析，本文希望能够唤起对沟通方式的重视，并对良好人际关系的建立提供一定的启发。

关键词：伊恩·麦克尤恩；《阿姆斯特丹》；萨提亚模式；沟通姿态 

Abstract

Ian McEwan’s novel Amsterdam tells the story of two friends who euthanatize each other in Amsterdam ironically, and reveals the widespread issues of loneliness, dignity and death in the contemporary society. The breakdown of friendship in this story is the result of failed communications. However, the importance of communicative stance has not won the attention of critics who have mostly focused on narrative techniques and themes of the novel.

Satir conjoint family therapy model has been a hot topic in applied psychology abroad since the 1980s. One of the core concepts of this theory is coping stance, also known as communicative stance, which is the pattern adopted by people under pressure, reflecting the different degrees of self-esteem. Based on Satir’s communicative stance, this thesis analyzes the failure of relationships of the characters in the novel Amsterdam.

Apart from introduction and conclusion, this paper contains three chapters, analyzing super-reasonable, placating and blaming stances. The first chapter discusses the performance of Rose in her husband’s transvestite event and George’s treatment of rivalry, revealing their inner fragility beneath the mask of extreme rationalness. The second chapter analyzes two sets of typical placaters, lovers and subordinates, as represented by Molly’s lovers and Vernon’s subordinates. In the real life, the disadvantaged or vulnerable groups often take placating stance to help protect themselves and maintain the relationship. The third chapter focuses on the blaming attitude, explores the relationship between Molly’s lovers and delves into the root cause for the breakdown of Clive and Vernon’s friendship. Rivals and enemies often blame, command, attack each other to achieve the purpose of controlling situation, stabilizing circumstances and safeguarding their own interests, and this very often leads to failed communications and worsening relationships. Through the analysis of the three stances in the novel, this thesis hopes to win more attention to the importance of communicative stances, and shed some light on the establishment of caring relations between people.

Keywords：Ian McEwan; Amsterdam; Satir Model; communication stance

of compensation

Contents

Acknowledgements i

English Abstract ii

Chinese Abstract iii

Introduction 1

An Introduction to Ian McEwan 1

Literature Review 3

Satir's Communicative Stances 4

Thesis Structure 6

Chapter One The Super-reasonal Stance 7

1.1 Rose as A Cross-dresser’s Wife 7

1.2 George as the Backstage Manipulator 8

Chapter Two The Placating Stance 11

2.1 Molly’s Lovers’ Obedience 11

2.2 Vernon’s Subordinates’ Flattery 12

Chapter Threee The Blaming Stance 14

3.1 The Overt and Covert Struggle between Molly’s Lovers 14

3.2 The Rupture of Friendship between Clive and Vernon 15

Conclusion 18

Works Cited 19