浅析小说《赎罪》中的圣经原型.docx

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1、ContentsChinese Abstract 2English Abstract31. Introduction41.1 About the Author41.2 About Archetype Criticism42. The Biblical Redemptive Theme in Atonement52.1 The Redemptive Theme in Atonement53. The Biblical Characters in Atonement63.1 Judas Versus Briony63.1.1 Judas in Holy Bible63.1.2 Briony in

2、Atonement73.2 Scapegoat Versus Robbie83.2.1 Scapegoat in Holy Bible83.2.2 Robbie in Atonement93.3 Magdalene Versus Cecilia103.3.1 Magdalene in Holy Bible103.3.2 Cecilia in Atonement114. Conclusion13References15浅析小说赎罪中的圣经原型摘 要本篇论文奉诺斯洛普弗莱的神话原型批评理论为指导方法，从主题与人物的角度出发，深入研究伊恩麦克尤恩鲜有的长篇小说赎罪。不难发现，小说中存在的许多具有浓烈

3、圣经意味的人物，及其主题“赎罪”仅凭无知少女主观臆断的“证词”，三个主人公被迫走上“赎罪”的道路，各自的命运也被彻底改写，都给读者们留下了深刻的印象。通过联系小说主人公与某些具有相似特点的圣经原型人物，圣经对西方文学创作所产生的深远影响由此可见一斑。除此之外，本篇论文意欲通过对小说人物与圣经原型之间的对比分析，解析作者伊恩麦克尤恩的写作意图和小说主旨，得出关于人类认知、人性方面的结论，启发、告诫读者在认知判断的过程中一定要奉理性、客观为至上的行事准则，切勿感情用事，成为冲动的奴隶，被人类的原始邪恶天性所支配，最后犯下无法弥补的过错，为此耗费毕生时光都难逃内心的愧疚，难得灵魂的救赎。关键词：原型

4、批评理论；圣经原型；赎罪A Brief Analysis of Biblical Archetypes in Atonement AbstractBy capitalizing Northrop Fryes archetype criticism theory as the main theoretical method, this thesis starts from the perspective of characters and theme, aims to deeply explore the renowned novel of Ian McEwanAtonement. Linkin

5、g it with Holy Bible, it can be obviously perceived that there are several biblical archetypes concerning protagonists and theme which impressed readers a lotthe three protagonists embarked on their own way of atoning and rewrote their fate on account of a subjective testimony out of an ignorant gir

6、l. Also the far-reaching influence of Holy Bible imposing on Western literary creation can be exemplified in this novel. Only in digging the contrastive connection between the protagonists and archetypes can the author probe into the writing purpose and comprehend the main idea of Atonement, and dra

7、w a conclusion related to humanity and cognition. In conclusion, readers are enlightened to act rationally, to include objectivity as the paramount yardstick and to avoid performing sentimentally. Individuals should not be governed by the original evil nature that serves to momentary impulse, which

8、might induce people to commit an unpardonable mistake and take them lifelong time to make up or escape from inner uneasiness. Key words: archetype criticism; biblical archetypes; Atonement1. Introduction1.1 About the Author Ian McEwan was honored one of the most influential screenwriters and novelis

9、ts in British literary arena. Born in Aldershot London, England in 1948, Ian graduated from the University of Sussex and received his masters degree from the University of East Anglia. Rootless and aimless as a bunch of dandelion fluttering among a sky without bound, he followed his adrift parents l

10、iving a life in a naval base stationed in Libya. Ians writing career came into force in short articles and stories featured by Gothic style. The Cement Garden (1978), together with The Comfort of Strangers (1981) earned him a great reputation and the nickname “Ian Macabre”. Later in 1998, Amsterdam

11、won him Man Booker Prize. In 2002 there came Atonement, which garnered considerable extolled praise was nominated by Times magazine “the best novel of 2002” and shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Also he was featured by Times on the list of “the 50 greatest British writers since 1945” and Daily Teleg

12、raph ranked him number 19 on its list of “the 100 most powerful people in British culture”. He was awarded the Jerusalem Prize in 2011.As it is known to all, he is apt at delineating inner uneasiness of people in contemporary with delicate, sharp and cold descriptions, and keen on delving into the i

13、ssues related to violence, death, eroticism, goodness and evil, which take up the most of his short but magnum opuses and won him the reputation of “black comedy” appellation. The distorted power derived from sexual desire in human nature is vividly reflected in his many works. The cruelty and evil

14、of human nature precisely depicted in nausea and horror can be sensitively perceived in his works, what makes them masterpieces and unexpected aesthetic effect of black drama is that those depicted in a keen perception combined with indifferent narratives were derived from the subject of ordinary li

15、fe. 1.2 About Archetype CriticismArchetype criticism, concerning the way in analyzing a text containing myths appeared in form of description, symbols, images, allusions, references, or characteristic traits, originated from an anthropologist James G Frazer who explored the witchcraft ritual and par

16、adigms in western cultural literature, and enjoyed the great popularity during the 1940s and 1950s. Later a psychologist Carl Gustav Jung contributed to the collective unconsciousness that underlaid in national memory and primitive experience, which sprang up recurring images that appeared repeatedl

17、y in myths, religions, dreams, fantasies and literature. Such images could be descriptive details, plot patterns, or character models that evoked the original experience in the subconscious of readers, and gave people the rise to generate deep, strong, and irrational emotion acts. The main contribut

18、or Northrop Frye put that, “The Golden Bough and Jungs books on libido symbols are primarily studied in literary criticism and very important ones.” (张忠载等, 2002: 108). These insightful standpoints helped to form the basis of Fryes system of archetypes criticism that shown in Anatomy of Criticism, th

19、e third of which is the archetypal, which anew the angle of criticism through myth. Frye defined it as follows, “The union of ritual and the dream in a form of verbal communication is myth. The myth accounts for, and makes communicable, the ritual and the dream. Myth, therefore, not only gives meani

20、ng to ritual and narrative to dream: it is the identification of ritual and dream” (张忠载, 2002: 116). What Frye emphasized was not the aesthetic or value analysis of literary works, but the exploration of fixed elements, literary patterns, even universal laws of literature and the construction of a l

21、ogical cognitive system. Claimed firmly by Frye that it was the principle that gave literature the power of dissemination, despite all the changes in ideology, for thousands of years the structural principle was conditioned by social and historical factors, and did not exceed them, but it has always

22、 maintained a formal continuity sufficient to account for the general nature of literature, which was distinct from the changes it made in response to social circumstances (王凤珍, 秦明利, 1998). 2. The Biblical Redemptive Theme in Atonement2.1 The Redemptive Theme in AtonementAtonement was an unfailing t

23、heme in western literature. As Li Ying (2017) exemplified that the rise of redemption-themed literature comes from individuals guilt consciousness, which refers to the guilt sense for sin that belong to one or other individuals, history, and even the generalized human faults. Under the influence of

24、this kind of cultural ideology, attention was paid to the expression that the penitents trying to alleviate their guilty through concrete actions of goodness and affirm their spiritual acquittal of sin. The case in point is McEwans Atonement, which took a great length to explain the atoning way of t

25、hree protagonists.A hot summer day in an idyllic Tallis manor, a precocious and imaginative girl Briony witnessed her sister Cecilia taking off clothes, diving into the water fountain and then dripping, nearly naked standing in front of a handsome man, Robbie. Later time in afternoon, an apology let

26、ter full of obscene words from Robbie to Cecilia was wrongly read by Briony who found her sister Cecilia was “attacked” by Robbie in the study. All these events that beyond Brionys comprehension have undermined her bottom line in morality, and the hazy but hopeless love motion she held towards Robbi

27、e totally lighted up her hate and envy and eventually induced her arbitrary accusation that Robbie was the offender who raped her cousin sister Lola. Accordingly Robbie was arrested into the jail. Her ignorance for the truth which laying behind what she has seen directly led to wrongful convictions,

28、 and thus changed the fate of several people. The truth was inevitably revealed as rushing water followed on under bridge. The three protagonists embarked on their way of atonement respectively. Robbie jointed the army to clear his name that even did not belong to him; Cecilia disowned herself with

29、Tallis family and got herself a position in a nursing campsite in war field; Briony, grew up as the childishness fading away, and there arose guilty when she came into realizing clearly the affection between those two young people and that what she have done with recklessness and jealousy was errone

30、ous and devastating in ruining them. She did took actions like turning down the opportunity of pursuing a college degree but choosing to become a war nurse in bloody battlefield to look after and console wounded even dying soldiers, washing her “sinful” hands every single day. But all she had done w

31、as in vain to comfort her soul because it did not make any difference to the tragedy. Robbie and Cecilia were all killed in the ruthless war affairs, leaving only Briony live with deep remorse. The inner shame stacked with her age growing, as she would like to apologize for the wrongdoing, there was

32、 no one could apologize to, the only way she could do for relieving her discomfort soul and inner fear was to forge a fictitious happy ending for Robbie and Cecilia in her novel, which cost her fifty-nine years to finish. When facing interview of the press, Briony seemingly expressed her liberation

33、from the sin, and said that “I like to think that it isnt weakness or evasion, but a final act of kindness, a stand against oblivion and despair, to let my lovers live and to unite them at the end. I gave them happiness, but I was not so self-serving as to let them forgive me. Not quite, not yet. If

34、 I had the power to conjure them at my birthday celebration, Robbie and Cecilia, still alive, still in love, sitting side by side in the library, smiling at The Trials of Acabella? Its not impossible” (McEwan, 2001: 301).3. The Biblical Characters in Atonement3.1 Judas Versus Briony 3.1.1 Judas in H

35、oly Bible Followed Jesus as one of the 12 apostles for more than three years, Judas received benevolent guidance and love from his beloved teacher. It was not that vicious as Judas from the start when he decided to follow Jesus. Both Luke and Johns speaking of “Satan entering the heart of Judas” (Go

36、spel of Luke, 2008(22): 3) testified that what made him taking on the road of betrayal was his indulgence to evil desire. He gave himself up to evil Satan without integrity. After witnessing Jesus miraculous power of saving and healing on people, even power of exorcising evil spirits and other mirac

37、les, Judas decided to follow Jesus. He experienced changes and sublimation in humanity under the instruction of Jesus, and obtained additionally powerful right to heal the sick and drive away evil spirits. But Judas, who was greedy and conceited in nature, chose to be driven by his wicked desire.Sho

38、rtly before the Passover, Judas and the Priests conspired to capture Jesus and kill him on the condition of thirty pieces of silvers. The Priest was told that every evening Jesus would go to Gethsemane for praying and a code word that triggering the plan would be a kiss. “whomever I kissed is Jesus.

39、 Just take him away” (Gospel of Matthew, 1961(26): 48-49). But seeing revered Jesus being taken away and his silent endurance to unjust trail plunged Judas into deep fear and regret. Returning the heavy thirty pieces of silver, Judas implored the Priest to release Jesus, but only been told that it w

40、as too late to redeem.Once Jesus was captured, he was sent to the Priests where he was tortured, humiliated, and sentenced to death by crucifixion. Hearing that, rushed the despaired Judas out of the courtroom, and hanged himself on a tree in the outskirt field of Jerusalem.3.1.2 Briony in Atonement

41、 Similar to Judas who turned back on his beloved teacher, Briony betrayed the one she admired by sending him to prison on charge of raping. It was her erroneous testimony that indirectly led Robbies determination to join the battlefield in which he died alone before the night when there almost comes

42、 the hope of survival. It can be perceived that Briony was a girl of extreme possessiveness and stubborn personality in Atonement. Descriptions as “Her room was a shrine to her controlling demon: the model farm spread across a deep window ledge consisted of the usual animals, but all facing one wayt

43、oward their owneras if about to break into song, and even the farmyard hens were neatly corralled. Her straight-backed dolls in their many-roomed mansion appeared to be under strict instructions not to touch the walls; the various thumb-sized figures to be found standing about her dressing tablecowb

44、oys, deep-sea divers, humanoid micesuggested by their even ranks and spacing a citizens army awaiting order” showed readers vividly the regularity and repulsion to disruption in her world (McEwan, 2001: 5). On the other hand, she had a secret crush on Robbie, at the moment she witnessed the affectio

45、n between Cecilia and Robbie, a mix of jealousy and aversion drove Briony became an idealist who are first judging the results and then improving the facts according to results. Through a series of “evidences”, she accused Robbie as a rapist and erotomania for offending her cousin Lola totally by he

46、r self-consciousness.For the next few years, Briony receded from the childlike nave of teenager and gradually understood the complex emotion of adults. Then she realized the terrible consequences that she collapsed the life of Robbie and Cecilia. Dai Zhihong (2017) claimed the reason in Freuds analy

47、zing approach that it was still due to the lack of moral concepts and logical reasoning of the ID. There was less rational thinking, no normative moral standards and logical reasoning of the ID inside of a 13-year-old child, which unintentionally brought serious harm to other people.In facing up to

48、her inner guilt and bearing the sin, she embarked on a long road of atoning. She spared no time to write a novel from 18 to 74. What a writer could do in the world of literature, fantasizing about the reunion of characters, made no difference in reality. “There is something sinister (as well as disa

49、ppointing) about an author whose effects are achieved at the expense of his characters, particularly when the principal ones are so sensitively drawn” (Shah OP, 2008: 45). Taking Hao Bings (2004) opinion to say that its ambiguous to say that whether Briony has completed the atonement, it could be only assumed that she has fulfilled her self-redemption of individua