An Analysis of the Gothic Elements in Great Expectations_英语论文

摘要

查尔斯·狄更斯是英国十九世纪著名作家之一，他一生优秀作品众多。他的小说不仅仅是现实主义的典范，同时也是浪漫主义与现实主义结合的典范。而哥特元素作为浪漫主义重要特征之一，在《远大前程》中体现的淋漓尽致，此小说堪称哥特元素与现实主义结合的完美典范。《远大前程》主要讲述了由姐姐姐夫抚养的孤儿皮普追求“远大前程”，但“远大前程”的梦想破灭，痛苦挣扎后却最终获得良知的觉醒的故事。此小说的哥特特征主要表现在四个方面：恐怖阴森的场景、神秘跌宕的情节、凶残怪诞的人物以及发人深省的主题。本文从以上四个部分分析文中的哥特元素。作为现实主义与哥特元素结合的典范，此小说不仅突破哥特传统，将“修道院”、“古城堡”等传统场所为代表的背景现实化，用工业革命后人性沦丧、唯利是图的大都市作为背景，发展了传统哥特文学，而且更重要的是，它深刻鞭挞了工业革命后罪恶蔓延的城市以及变态扭曲的人性，发展了现实主义文学。笔者通过分析小说中的哥特元素，简要探索该小说的文本价值和艺术价值，揭露维多利亚时期资本主义的腐朽，欣赏此书魅力。

关键词:《远大前程》 哥特元素 现实主义

Abstract

Charles Dickens, who is one of the most prominent novelists in the 19th century in England, is a productive novelist. His works are not only the models of realistic novels, but also the representations of the perfect combination of romanticism and realism. Nevertheless, gothic elements, as one of significant features of romanticism, are exhibited completely in Great Expectations, which can be regarded as one of the greatest model of the combination of the gothic elements and realism. Great Expectations tells the story of an orphan called Pip who longs for great expectations. However, the story ends up with the vanishing of the dream of great expectations and the awakening of self-consciousness. This novel shows the gothic features in four aspects, namely the horrific and gloomy settings, the mysterious and dramatic plots, the brutal and grotesque characters and the reflective themes. This thesis mainly analyzes the gothic elements from the following perspectives. Great Expectations, which is regarded as the representation combined with the gothic elements and realistic writing styles, contributes to the development of literature in two aspects. On the one hand, it breaks through the tradition of gothic novels. It makes the backgrounds that used to be traditional places like monasteries and castles more authentic and being in line with the features of architectures during Victorian age. Adopting the bigalopolis in which people are inhuman and gainful after the Industrial Revolution as backgrounds, it develops the traditional gothic literature. On the other hand, it strongly criticizes the city surrounded by crimes and crooked human nature, which also develops the realism. By analyzing the gothic elements shown in Great Expectations, the thesis briefly explores and discusses the literary value and artistic value, uncovering the rotten capitalism as well as appreciating the charm of this great work. 

Key Words: Great Expectations; The Gothic Elements; Realism

Contents

1 Introduction 1

2 The Gothic Settings in Great Expectations 4

3 The Gothic Plots in Great Expectations 7

3.1 Suspension 7

3.2 Unusual Events 8

4 The Gothic Features of the Characters in Great Expectations 10

4.1 The Gothic Appearance of the Characters 10

4.2 The Gothic Psychology of the Characters 12

5 The Gothic Themes of Great Expectations 14

6 Conclusion 16

Bibliography 18

Acknowledgments 20