（英语语言文学专业论文）《阿尔迈耶的愚蠢》的形象学解读.pdf

descriptive chinese abstract i 摘 要 约瑟夫康拉德是二十世纪著名的英国小说家。他早期的异域小说创作不仅沿袭了 帝国罗曼司的建构元素和叙事风格，而且表现出对帝国历史语境的批判意识与颠覆倾 向。对于理解当代西方尤其是维多利亚晚期英国社会的文化特质与心理结构，康拉德无 疑具有一种特殊的意义。 近一个世纪以来，康拉德研究已经逐渐显现出整体研究的态势。近二、三十年来各 种现代文艺理论的迅速发展，更是给康拉德及其作品带来了新的研究视角和研究维度。 但与康拉德其余作品相比，文学界对第一部小说阿尔迈耶的愚蠢 （1895）有所涉及 的相对较少。 形象学研究是自上世纪八十年代以来颇受国内学界关注的文学研究方法。 这类研究 在内容上不仅包括了人物形象，也涵盖了山水、器物、观念甚至制度等方面。在研究方 向上，异国形象研究关注的不是形象的真实性和独创性，而是其背后折射出来的形象塑 造者的心理动机、现实需求和深层文化结构。考察形象与社会集体想象之间的关系是形 象学研究的主要内容和手段。一个形象的创新力和文学性，取决于它在多大程度上背离 了社会集体想象。 阿尔迈耶的愚蠢中有着较为丰富的异国形象。由于当时的英国社 会正处在海外扩张和本土发展的极盛时期，欧洲中心论、种族优越论以及男权意识成为 了支撑英国对异国集体想象的重要支柱。通过文本细读，笔者发现康拉德笔下的异国形 象虽然受控于集体想象， 但更多地折射出他本人对本土文明衰退的清醒认识和对主流话 语的适度疏离。 本文试图运用比较文学形象学和后殖民东方主义理论，以异国环境、异国男性和异国 女性形象三方面为切入点，以他者形象对自我形象的投射性、互动性为主线，分析社会集 体想象在康拉德异国形象塑造方面所起的关键作用，探讨作者通过异国他者所传达的对英 国社会的怀疑、否定和反思情绪，进而揭示其在异国他者映照下的自我言说与自我反思。 全文分为五个部分。文章继导论部分介绍了理论背景和课题价值之后，首先分析了 作者笔下报复“自我”和仇视“自我”的异国环境形象，并进而揭示了这类形象背后康 拉德对于被“东方化”东方的质疑；然后分析了异国环境中强势有力的异国男性形象， 并揭示了这类形象背后康拉德对于白人至上观的否定； 最后分析了异国环境中殖民地女 性所呈现出来的反叛的“巫婆”形象和觉醒的“天使”形象，并揭示了这类形象背后康 拉德对于父权帝国的自我反思。 文章在结论部分指出康拉德笔下异国形象的塑造是基于 白人的文化立场和心理结构对西方世界提出的质疑、否定与反思，旨在促进对自身文化 的调整与改进。认识到这一点，对于我们当下的文化建设与自身形象传播具有一定的借 鉴意义。 关键词：约瑟夫康拉德； 阿尔迈耶的愚蠢 ；形象学；异国形象关键词：约瑟夫康拉德； 阿尔迈耶的愚蠢 ；形象学；异国形象 english abstract ii abstract joseph conrad is an important english novelist in the twentieth century. his early writings not only inherit the content and narrative style of the imperial romance, but also display the critic and subversive attitude towards the imperial context. there is no doubt that conrad is of great value in understanding the value system and psychological structure of the western world especially the victorian era of britain. the history of conrad research in the past century reflects the tendency of the integral study of conrad. the rapid process of critical theories in the past two decades has brought new perspectives and dimensions to the study of conrad and his works. however, the research that focuses on almayers folly (1895) is relatively less. imagologie has attracted the domestic critics attentions since 1980s. as for the content, imagologie is not just limited to characters. landscape, products, concepts and institutions are all within the sphere of study. as for the specialization, imagologie focuses more on the image makers writing motivation, immediate demand, and deep culture structure behind the text than on the truth and originality of images. analyzing the relationship between the image and the collective imagination is the main method of imagologie. the creativity and literary quality of the image depends on to what extent it deviates from the collective imagination. almayers folly is a novel filled with foreign images. since britain was at its zenith of colonial expansion and domestic development, the euro-centrism, white supremacy and patriarchy ideology became the three important pillars for the collective imagination of foreign images. through close reading, the thesis discovers that on one hand, conrad is greatly influenced by the collective imagination; on the other hand, he distances himself from it by unveiling the whites weakness and the nations decline. in light of comparative imagologie and postcolonial orientalism, the thesis examines three folds of the foreign images including the images of foreign country, foreign men and foreign women by weaving the image features of projection and interactivity. it explores the fundamental function of collective imagination in the image formation, and attempts to reveal the authors doubt, denial and meditation of the current british society. the thesis consists of five parts. after briefly introducing the theoretical background and significance of the writing, the thesis firstly centers on the image of foreign country which embodies the authors meditation on the “orientalized” orient. secondly, the thesis deals with the image of foreign men which reveals the authors meditation on “white supremacy.” thirdly, the thesis studies the image of foreign women which reflects the authors meditation on the patriarchal imperialism. the conclusion points out that conrads formation of foreign images are based on his white culture stance and psychological structure. by representing “the other” images, conrad questions and denies the western world, which will be of great english abstract iii value in self-adjustment and self-improvement. by realizing this, we may gain revelation and enlightenment for the cause of our own culture construction and image transmission. key words: joseph conrad; almayers folly; imagologie; foreign images 湘潭大学湘潭大学 学位论文原创性声明学位论文原创性声明 本人郑重声明：所呈交的论文是本人在导师的指导下独立进行研究所取得的 研究成果。除了文中特别加以标注引用的内容外，本论文不包含任何其他个人或 集体已经发表或撰写的成果作品。对本文的研究做出重要贡献的个人和集体，均 已在文中以明确方式标明。本人完全意识到本声明的法律后果由本人承担。 作者签名： 日期： 年 月 日 学位论文版权使用授权书学位论文版权使用授权书 本学位论文作者完全了解学校有关保留、使用学位论文的规定，同意学校保 留并向国家有关部门或机构送交论文的复印件和电子版，允许论文被查阅和借 阅。本人授权湘潭大学可以将本学位论文的全部或部分内容编入有关数据库进行 检索，可以采用影印、缩印或扫描等复制手段保存和汇编本学位论文。 涉密论文按学校规定处理。 作者签名： 日期： 年 月 日 导师签名： 日期： 年 月 日 introduction 1 introduction joseph conrad is an important english novelist in the twentieth century. the famous critic f. r. leavis defines conrad in his the great tradition as follows: “. . .the view, i suppose, will be as confidently contributed to me that, except jane austen, george elliot, james, and conrad, there are no novelists in the history worth reading” (12). joseph conrad is a special writer with a complicated outcast experience, cultural background, composing ideas and individual temperament. he was born in poland controlled by russia. then conrad had to accompany his parents to northern russia where they were exiled because of his fathers participation in the polish independent movement. several years later his parents died successively because of the harsh exile life. the unusual and unhappy childhood contributed to conrads melancholic temperament. with his uncles advice and support, conrad went to marseilles and began the career as a sailor which turned out to be an abundant resource for his writing. after almost twenty years at sea, he settled in england and devoted himself to writing in english, his second foreign language. though physically tortured by recurrent gout and other diseases and mentally exhausted by the difficulties of writing, conrad never stopped compositions and gained his worldwide fame at his middle age. critics and readers are impressed by conrads vivid descriptions of exotic life, distinctive narrative structure, psychological analysis, and philosophical exploration of good and evil in his works. specifically, he makes great contributions to english literature in terms of techniques and theme. he composes of many fragmentary impressions in terms of narrative order. he seldom employs the omniscient narrator who seems like the narrator of a novel by george eliot. thematically, he inherits the typical elements of novels about sea, such as love, conspiracy, adventure and death, and adds modern characteristics and subversive genre in his writing. most of conrads greatest works take place on board ships, or in the backwaters of civilization, the themes of which are moral and psychological examinations of the ambiguity of good and evil. in addition, conrad has a richer personal experience at sea with the “third world” people than most writers of his time. he describes, represents and reflects the “different” races and nations of the “third world” in his works. introduction 0.1 2 as for conrads early works, although hitherto are restricted to the study of heart of darkness and lord jim in the domestic critical circle, they present rich value to be studied. almayers folly (1895), the first part of conrads malayan trilogy, not only inherits the content and narrative style of the imperial romance, but also displays the critic and subversive attitude towards the imperial context. since the publication of his first novel, conrad is compared with the highly rated novelists like rudyard kipling and robert louis stevenson. this implies that his work challenges comparison with the elites of the era. edward garnett, “a critic, publishers reader and nurturer of literary talent” (stape 10), is amazed at almayers folly in 1895: “the strangeness of the tropical atmosphere, and the poetic realism of this romantic narrative excited my curiosity about the author, who i fancied might have eastern blood in his veins” (qtd. in watts 29). 0.1 critical review of almayers folly almayers folly is conrads first novel written over a period of five years and published in 1895, just after he settles down in england. it is a story of decadence and breakdown set against the lush jungle backdrop of borneo. the novel can also be interpreted as a tale of personal tragedy and moral deterioration as well as a broader meditation on the cultural and economic evils of imperialism. kaspar almayer, the protagonist, is a dutch merchant taken under the wing of the wealthy captain lingard. desirous of inheriting captain lingards wealth one day, the young almayer agrees to marry his adopted malay child and run lingards trading post in sambir in the jungles of borneo. due to the incapability and irresolution, almayer notably loses his place in trading. the birth of daughter nina seems to distract almayers desperation in business, but good times dont last long. a malay prince called dain enters sambir. though almayer tries to take advantage of the prince to help him find the treasure long sought after by lingard, dain falls in love with nina elopes with her without almayers approval and blessing. the loss of daughter nina and potential wealth destroys almayer and he spends the rest of his days in the empty trading house he built as his sanity slips away. almayers folly is remarkably and quite favorably reviewed since its publication in 1895. john d. gordan did the first full-length scholarly study of conrads malay novels in introduction 0.1 3 his work joseph conrad: the making of a novelist (1941), which specifically analyzed almayers folly, an outcast of the islands and lord jim. gordan discerned textual sources and real-life models, and explored the development of the text from manuscript to collected edition. norman sherrys conrads eastern world (1966) dealt with “the biographical aspect of conrads stay in the east”, “nature of the knowledge, suggestions, or hints”, and the “relationship between source material and completed works” (15). such search into the sources of specific works unveiled the complexity of the eastern world as well as that of conrads composition. heliena krenn furthered the previous study in her work conrads lingard trilogy: empire, race, and women in the malay novels (1990) by exploring the three malayan novels as a trilogy, in which the figure of lingard moves from the periphery to center stage. andres white noted the elements of romance in conrads fiction and focused on how these elements of romance were woven into his work and how they contributed to conrads vision of imperialism. his work joseph conrad and the adventure tradition (1993) explored “conrads demythologizing of that subject (the imperial subject) in his early fiction, thus providing a different, more illuminating context for the early works”(7). the works of krenn and white brought new dimensions to conrads early novels and blazed trails for a searching study of the romance tropes in the malay tales. based on that, linda drydens joseph conrad and the imperial romance (2000) placed almayers folly, an outcast of the islands, karain, and lord jim, in “the context of the literature of imperial romance and adventure that was enjoying such popularity when conrad began his literary career”(1). he argued that “conrads early malay fiction may challenge the consummate heroism and confident assumptions of english superiority found in the nineteenth-century imperial romance; at the same time he reveals the romantic and conservative tendencies identified by watts” (15). in addition, cross-cultural encounters in joseph conrads malay fiction (2000) by robert hampson from a cultural perspective showed that “conrad repeatedly confronts the issue that was to become so important in the twentieth-century anthropology: how to describe another culture” (1). therefore, he explored conrads malay fiction with great concern with race, gender and identity which opened onto post-modern theory. to sum up, after decades of critical neglects in which critics had favored conrads “major phase,” as characterized by lord jim(1990), heart of darkness(1902), nostromo(1904), the secret introduction 0.1 4 agent(1907), and under western eyes(1911), his earlier novels, almayers folly(1895) and an outcast of islands(1896) received serious scholarly attention. besides the review mentioned above abroad, conrad and his almayers folly was less popular in chinese literati. there were two climaxes of conrads studies in china. one was in the 1930s. in the memory of conrads death, lao she 老舍 published an essay and revealed the influence of conrad on his own writing, which started the translation and research of conrads works. in 1943, gu jin press published the chinese version of almayers folly translated by liu wuji 柳无忌. the themes of anti colonialism, morality redemption and humanity embodied in the conrads works coincided with national mentality in contemporary china. the second important period was in 1980s. heart of darkness, lord jim and other short essays were gradually translated into chinese by different scholars. around 2000, the gold arrow, an outcast of the islands, nostromo and the secret agent were also translated into chinese, which provided a variety of new texts for the study of conrad. unfortunately, till now the research in china mainly focused on several works from a few perspectives. according to academic databases1, till 2008, though there were over a hundred essays and more than seventy excellent academic theses, most of them centered on major phase of conrads works like heart of darkness, lord jim and nostromo. furthermore, those theses analyzed the works from the perspective of narrative techniques, artistic style, moral theme, existentialism, post-colonialism, and feminism. only a few scholars touched upon almayers folly. huang xuan 黄绚published an essay titled as conrads oriental narrativecomment on the colonialists in two novels almayers folly and lord jim in foreign literature study in january 2006. he focused more on the narrative style and techniques in almayers folly and lord jim. wang xiaolan 王晓兰 from jiangxi normal university examined the malay images in his thesis from the perspective of rimmon-kenans theoretical framework of characterization. zhu yuande 祝远德 touched upon almayers folly in his book aspects of the othera study of the construction of the other in joseph conrads fictions. he associated conrads construction of the other with english literary tradition as well his duality in identity and unique experience. he also made analysis of conrads text on basis of his dual discourse. introduction 0.3 5 0.2 the feasibility and significance of the research this thesis will focus on conrads meditation on “self” in his novel almayers folly by analyzing the foreign images. i choose almayers folly to do my thesis research for the following reasons. firstly, joseph conrad is one of the most important english novelists in the twentieth century. the study of conrad has been immense and fruitful since the past century. however, according to the analysis home and abroad, many articles and books criticize conrads prominent writing techniques and his “influential” novels. the researches that focus on almayers folly are much less than those of “major phase.” my touch on his first novel might contribute a little to the comprehensive and thorough understanding about conrads works in a new historical and literary dimension. secondly, almayers folly is a remarkable book because of its innovations. in this novel, conrad questions colonial attitudes, undermines the romance tradition, and creates many model characters of foreign images for his later writings. the study of his first novel would help us perceive the contemporary historical and social context and figure out the law and pattern of foreign images in the composition of his later creation. thirdly, almayers folly is a novel densely populated with foreign images and characters. in light of comparative imagologie and postcolonial orientalism, this thesis examines three folds of the foreign images including the images of foreign country, foreign men and foreign women by weaving the image features of projection and interactivity, aiming at exploring how and why the foreign images are made and created. by analyzing these foreign images in almayers folly, we may gain revelations about our own culture construction and auto-image transmission. we are all clear that the way that britain and other western countries view the other countries has not been changed yet. then how should we build our own image and transmit it correctly to the whole world becomes an urgent problem in this globalized society. it might be helpful for us to see clearly our current circumstances by analyzing this novel. 0.3 methodology and arrangement of content the thesis will analyze the foreign images in almayers folly in light of comparative introduction 0.3 6 imagologie and post-colonial orientalism, so it is necessary to introduce these theories and reveal the interactive relationship between them. imagologie in the comparative liter