寻找永恒的精神之光-《到灯塔去》的象征主义解读_英语论文

Seeking for the Eternal Spirit——Symbolic Interpretation of To the Lighthouse

摘要

弗吉尼亚•伍尔芙是英国著名的女作家、文学批评家和文学理论家，意识流文学代表人物，被誉为二十世纪现代主义与女性主义的先锋。作为伍尔夫意识流小说的压卷之作, 《到灯塔去》具体而生动地展示了她的小说理论——追求生活的真实性在于探求人物的“内在真实”, 即人物复杂多变的精神世界。《到灯塔去》以一个家庭为背景，以人物意识为叙述的中心，以一个位于海边的夏日别墅为活动的地点，以到灯塔去为贯穿全文的中心事件，以拉姆齐夫妇、他们的几个孩子和几位来访的客人为主要人物，描述了人们为争取和谐统一而做出的不懈努力。

自小说问世以来，国内外批评家大多从女性主义、唯美主义、双性同体、叙事策略、主题内涵等方面对小说加以分析和研究，但很少有学者关注作品蕴含的丰富象征手法。在前人研究基础上，本文将聚焦于小说的象征手法，如灯塔、窗、各类人物等。第一章将简要介绍伍尔夫的生平和文学成就，小说《到灯塔去》的内容梗概以及研究现状。第二章将梳理象征主义理论，对其起源、特点等进行简要介绍。第三章是论文的主体部分，将分析小说中的象征手法，探索这些象征背后表达出的精神内涵和思想深度，从而探究作者本人对生活、现代文明、顿悟与直觉、死亡与永恒的看法和认识。最后是论文的总结部分。

关键词：弗吉尼亚•伍尔芙；《到灯塔去》；象征

Abstract

Virginia Woolf is a famous British writer, literary critic and theorist. She is a representative of stream of consciousness literature, known as the pioneer of Modernism and Feminism in the 20th century. As one of the best novels of Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse demonstrates the theory of her novels specifically and vividly—exploring life’s authenticity lies in showing the “inner truth” of characters, namely human’s complicated and changeable spiritual world. Taking a family as the background, the characters’ consciousness as the center of narration, a house located in the seaside as the site of activities, to the lighthouse as the central event of the full text, the couple Ramsay, their children and several visiting guests as the main characters, To the Lighthouse describes the people who make unremitting efforts to strive for harmony and unity.

Since the advent of novel, critics at home and abroad have analyzed the novel mostly from the perspective of feminism, aestheticism, androgyny, narrative strategy, themes and so on. But few scholars pay attention to the rich symbols of the work. On the basis of previous studies, this paper will focus on the symbolic interpretation of the novel, such as the lighthouse, the window, characters, etc. The first chapter will briefly introduce Virginia Woolf’s life and literary achievements, together with the main content and present study on To the Lighthouse. The second chapter will briefly comb the definition, development and characteristics of Symbolism. The third chapter is the core part of this novel, which will analyze symbols in the novel to excavate the potential meanings of various symbols and the inherent personality and thought of the characters. It also explores the spiritual connotation and depth of thought, so as to explore the author’s perception of life, modern civilization, insight and intuition, death and eternity. Finally, this paper will make a conclusion.

Keywords: Virginia Woolf   To the Lighthouse   symbol

Contents

Acknowledgments I

Abstract II

摘要 III

Chapter One Introduction 1

1.1 Virginia Woolf 1

1.2 To the Lighthouse 1

1.3 Literature Review 2

1.4 Thesis Structure 3

Chapter Two Symbolism 4

2.1 Origin and Development of Symbolism 4

2.2 Definition of Symbol 4

2.3 Symbolism and Literature 5

Chapter Three Symbolic Interpretation of To the Lighthouse 7

3.1 Object 7

3.1.1 Lighthouse 7

3.1.2 Window 9

3.2 Character 10

3.2.1 Mr. Ramsay 10

3.2.2 Mrs. Ramsay 11

3.3 Color 12

3.4 Scene—the Sea 13

Chapter Four Conclusion 15

References 16