The Symbolism Analysis in Nettles_英语论文

摘要

艾丽丝·门罗（Alice Munro1931-）是加拿大最优秀的小说作家之一，她是一位多产的作家，以短篇小说见长。她于2001年出版的短篇小说集《仇恨、友谊、求爱、爱情、婚姻》讲述了9个故事，“荨麻”就是其中之一。在这本书中，她的人物常常经历某件事后能获得某种启示，这种启示能照亮并赋予事件意义。与她大多数作品一样，《荨麻》一文描写的是中年女人所遇到的生活难题，文中的女主人公在经历离婚的彷徨、矛盾以及挣扎后，巧遇儿时的玩伴，与他相处后对于婚姻、家庭以及爱情有了新的思考。

不同学者从主题意义、叙事视角、女性主义等角度对该作品进行了解读，却很少有文章对其象征意义进行的分析。通读全文，我们发现某些事物如狗、石头、荨麻，对于揭示主题有重要意义。为了更好地理解本文的主题，本文旨在分析其中象征手法的使用，并为对门罗作品感兴趣的学者提供一种较新的视阈。

关键词：艾丽丝·门罗  《荨麻》  象征主义  主题意义

Abstract

Alice Munro (1931-) is one of the best fiction writers in Canada, who is a prolific writer that made a major career out of short fiction. Her book, Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage, published in 2001, is a collection of nine short stories, and Nettles is one of them. In this collection, her characters often experience a revelation that sheds light on, and gives meaning to, an event. Like her many other stories, the subject of the story “Nettles” concerns the problems of a middle-aged woman. After experiencing the hesitation, contradiction and struggle of divorce, the heroine encountered her childhood playmates by chance, who gave her new thoughts on marriage, family and love.

The article had been interpreted by different scholars from the perspectives of thematic significance, narrative perspective and feminism and so on. However, few articles make analysis about its exquisite symbolism. Reading through the text, we find that some objects like dog, rock, and nettle are of great significance in revealing the theme. To better understand the theme of the article, this thesis aims to analyze the symbols used in it, which provides a new perspective for readers who are interested in Munro’s work.

Key words: Alice Munro  Nettles  symbolism  theme

Contents

Chapter One  Introduction 1

1.1  Alice Munro and Nettles 1

1.2  Purpose of This Thesis 2

1.3  Significance of This Thesis 2

1.4  Structure of This Thesis 2

Chapter Two  Literature Review 4

2.1  Introduction 4

2.2  Studies on Munro’s Work Abroad 4

2.3  Studies on Munro’s Work at Home 6

2.4  Summary 7

Chapter Three  Theoretical Framework 8

3.1  The Origin and Definition of Symbolism 8

3.2  Significance of Symbolism in Literature 9

Chapter Four  Analysis of Symbolism in Nettles 11

4.1  Symbol of Rock 11

4.2  Symbol of Dog 13

4.3  Symbol of Nettle 14

Chapter Five  Function of Symbol in Nettles 15

5.1  Theme of Nettles 15

5.2  The Function of Symbols for Presenting Themes 16

Chapter Six  Conclusion 17

Bibliography

Acknowledgements