萨拉的自由之旅
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摘要
约翰·福尔斯是20世纪60年代英国文坛脱颖而出的一位新星,其代表作《法国中尉的女人》自1969年问世以来,受到评论家的广泛赞誉,并被搬上了银幕。福尔斯曾在这部小说的前言中申明,“实际上,我的小说的主题就是写在一个毫无自由的社会里,一位地位卑贱的女子是怎样获得自由的”。作者对主题的建构集中体现在女主人公萨拉对于个体自由的追求以及为追求自由而作出的选择。我们知道,自由是萨特存在主义哲学的基本概念。作为一名存在主义作家,福尔斯深受法国存在主义尤其是萨特思想的影响。而作为存在主义哲学核心理念的自由亦成为其小说的标志性主题。
     尽管福尔斯的自由观深受存在主义尤其是萨特思想的影响,但他年轻时的生活环境、后期教育、以及对阶级社会不公平的认识等使其思想整合了更多的社会内容,形成了不同于萨特的“相对自由观”,并成为其创作的基本内核。福尔斯认为人类可以在一定范围内进行选择和行动,获得相对自由,同时追求自由是一个变动不息、不断追求的过程。
     几十年来,英美学者不断地对这部作品进行新的解读,从最初的双重结尾,元小说技巧,女性主义到后来的自由主题,进化论主题,新历史主义甚至同性恋解读,文本研究的角度不断变换,新的观点层出不穷。西方学者对福尔斯小说的自由主题做过大量研究,但是关于这方面的专著仍然很少。不少作家都是将主题与叙事的自由结合起来,林奇(Richard P. Lynch)将《法国中尉的女人》的自由分为存在自由、社会自由和叙述自由;或者是把《法国中尉的女人》中的自由理解为福尔斯对萨特存在思想的简单继承,而忽略了福尔斯本人对于“自由”这一主题的理解。
     本文从福尔斯的自由观入手,结合萨特的存在主义,深入探讨了《法国中尉的女人》中女主人公萨拉对自由的焦虑和所处的困境,以及对自由这一永恒主题的不懈追求。引言简要介绍福尔斯的作品和《法国中尉的女人》写作的时代背景,论述自由的内涵及其在小说中的体现,以及萨特存在主义思想对福尔斯的影响和福尔斯的自由观,并对作品的国内外研究现状进行综述。第一章从社会因素,人物因素和道德因素三个方面,对女主人公对自由的焦虑以及所处的困境进行深入分析。第二章阐述了萨拉对传统的反叛和颠覆。主要从言行举止及小说中出现的场景两方面,将萨拉与欧内斯蒂娜进行对比。第三章论述萨拉为了自我身份的构建所作出的种种选择。为了追求自由,萨拉通过各种手段不断地为自己构建身份,然而又不断地消解。首先是编造了和法国中尉的谎言,获得了相对意义上的有限的自由;其次与查尔斯的相爱、离开、拒绝,使萨拉对自由的认识有了更进一步的认识;最后成为拉斐尔派画家的助手,萨拉终于成功地为自己构建了一个“新女性”的形象,获得了存在的价值和意义。尽管在这个自由求索之旅中萨拉一直处于主动地位,甚至为了自由不惜采取各种手段,其对自由的认识也在不断的提高,然而由于现实的羁绊和社会的束缚她不得不承受孤独,终究无法摆脱社会而独立存在,从这个意义上说,萨拉的自由只能是以赛亚·伯林所说的消极自由。她的自由充其量也只能是一种心灵上的自由,她永远也不可能获得绝对的、不依赖于任何人的自由,因此,本文第四章着重探讨这点。结论部分重申本文主旨。通过分析萨拉寻找自由的经历,发现这种经历实际上是一个循环前进过程,其蕴含了福尔斯的哲学思想:人生的价值存在于不断的追求自由和真理中,同时萨拉对自由的不懈求索也告诉人们,人生存在的意义在于不断地完善自我和超越自我。
John Fowles, an outstanding novelist in the history of British literature, established his fame in the 1960s. The French Lieutenant's Woman, his representative work written in 1969, has been widely praised by many critics since its publication and has even been put on the screen. In the preface of this novel, John Fowles declares, "Actually, the theme of my novel is how a humble woman obtains her freedom in a completely unfree society". In the novel, the construction of the theme is embodied in the never-ending pursuit of freedom by the protagonist-Sarah and the several choices she has made in order to pursue freedom. As known to all, freedom is a key concept in Jean-Paul Sartre's existentialist philosophy. Being an existentialist novelist, John Fowles is greatly influenced by the French existentialism, especially that of Jean-Paul Sartre. Accordingly, the core concept of the existentialist philosophy-freedom-has become the typical theme of his novels.
     Though Fowles's view on freedom is influenced by the French existentialism, especially that of Sartre, he reinterprets Sartre's ideas and forms his own concept of "relative freedom", which is shaped by his early life experiences, later education, and knowledge of social inequality. This "relative freedom" also becomes the basic contents of his creation. In Fowles's eyes, human beings can make choices and take actions within a certain range so as to obtain "relative freedom"; meanwhile the pursuit of freedom is an ever-changing and ever-going process.
     In the past few decades, this novel has been constantly interpreted by many scholars from different perspectives, from initial double-ending, metafictional techniques, feminism to the later ones such as freedom, Evolutionism, New Historicism and even homosexuality. As for the theme of freedom, western critics have done a considerable amount of researches on it. However, monographs are rare. Many critics combine the freedom of the theme with the freedom of the narrative techniques. For example, Richard P. Lynch divides freedom in The French Lieutenant's Woman into existential freedom, social freedom and narrative freedom, while some others interpret freedom as simple inheritance from Sartre's existentialism and ignore the understanding of John Fowles himself.
     Starting with Fowles's view on freedom and based on Sartre's existentialism, this thesis explores the journey to freedom of the protagonist of The French Lieutenant's Woman, Sarah Woodruff-her anxiety for freedom, dilemma of freedom and constant pursuit for freedom. The Introduction gives a brief account of the main works of John Fowles and the background of The French Lieutenant's Woman, and then discusses the connotation of freedom, its embodiment in the novel, the influence of Sartre's existentialism on Fowles and Fowles's interpretation of freedom himself. The first chapter explores Sarah's anxiety for freedom and her attempt to be free from three kinds of constraints:social constraints, human constraints and moral constraints. The second chapter illustrates Sarah's rebellion against Victorian conventions by comparing Sarah with Ernestina from their appearances and settings. The third chapter analyses several choices Sarah has made for self-construction. In order to pursue her freedom, Sarah constantly constructs and then deconstructs her identity through various ways. At first, she fabricates her illicit intercourse with a French lieutenant, which results in a limited freedom; then her falling in love with Charles, leaving him and refusing his proposal make Sarah further realize the meaning of freedom; at last, she becomes the assistant of Rossetti, a Pre-Raphaelite artist. Sarah finally succeeds in constructing for herself an image of "a new woman" and adds meaning to her own existence. In the process of pursuing, Sarah is always in the initiative, she even adopts some immoral ways to pursue freedom, and her understanding of freedom is also improved constantly. However, owing to the social constraints in the Victorian age, Sarah still has to be alone and can never exist in her own right. In this sense, the freedom Sarah has obtained is merely what Isaiah Berlin calls a "negative freedom" and a freedom of mind at best, rather than an absolute freedom which she will never enjoy. And this point is discussed in detail in the fourth chapter. The Conclusion restates the major points presented. By analyzing Sarah's journey to freedom, it is discovered that the pursuit of freedom is actually a forward cycle, which embodies Fowles's philosophical idea that the value of human life lies in continuous pursuit of freedom and truth. Meanwhile, Sarah's incessant quest for freedom tells us that the meaning of one's life lies in the constant process of improving and surpassing oneself.
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