《珍妮姑娘》主人公的悲剧命运解读_英语论文

An Analysis of the Heroine’s Tragic Fate in Jennie Gerhardt 

摘要

西奥多·德莱塞是20世纪初美国文坛最杰出的作家之一。《珍妮姑娘》是德莱塞的代表作之一。小说讲述十九世纪末期处于社会底层的女子珍妮的一生。由于环境，宗教和个人性格的原因，善良、美丽的珍妮最终难逃被冷落被抛弃的悲惨命运。

全文共分四章。第一章介绍作者西奥多·德莱赛和他的代表作《珍妮姑娘》。第二章主要介绍悲剧的定义以及德来塞的悲剧写作风格。第三章阐述小说主人公珍妮的人生悲剧。第四章分析导致珍妮悲剧命运的原因。社会环境，宗教信仰以及她本人的性格共同导致了她的人生悲剧。最后一章是结论。

关键词: 《珍妮姑娘》；珍妮；悲剧命运；原因

Abstract

Theodore Dreiser is considered as one of the most influential American novelists in the early 20th century. The novel Jennie Gerhardt was one of his representative works. It tells a story about the tragic fate of Jennie, a girl from a poverty-ridden family at the end of the nineteenth century. Jennie is kind and beautiful; however, she is doomed to be abandoned because of the social environment, religious belief and her own character. 

This paper consists of five chapters. Chapter One presents a brief introduction to Theodore Dreiser and his masterpiece Jennie Gerhardt. Chapter Two introduces the definition of tragedy and Theodore Dreiser’s tragic style. Chapter Three explores Jennie’s tragedy. Chapter Four analyzes the reasons for Jennie’s tragedy. The social environment, people’s religious belief and her character all lead to her tragic fate. And the last chapter is the conclusion.

Key words: Jennie Gerhardt  Jennie  tragic fate  reasons

Contents

Acknowledgements I

Abstract II

摘要 III

Chapter One Introduction 1

1.1 Introduction to Theodore Dreiser 1

1.2 Introduction to Jennie Gerhardt 2

1.3 Structure of the Thesis 2

Chapter Two Tragedy 4

Chapter Three Jennie’s Tragedy 6

3.1 Being the Oldest Daughter in a Poverty-Ridden Family 6

3.2 Losing Her Lovers 6

3.3 Losing Her Daughter 8

Chapter Four Reasons for Jennie’s Tragedy 10

4.1 Social Environment 10

4.2 Religion 11

4.3 Jennie’s Character 11

4.3.1 Innocence 11

4.3.2 Vanity 12

4.3.3 Submissiveness 12

Chapter Five Conclusion 14

References 15