从弗洛伊德人格理论角度分析小说《达洛维夫人》中的人物性格_英语论文

An Analysis on the Characters in the Novel Mrs. Dalloway – from the Approach of Freud’s Theory of Personality Structure

摘要

《达洛维夫人》是弗吉尼亚·伍尔夫的经典作品之一。该小说描述了主人公克拉丽莎·达洛维在一战后英国伦敦一天的生活细节。克拉丽莎在为自己晚上的派对采买物品的过程中回想起了自己已逝的青春，以及她年轻时的追随者彼得·沃尔士和好友萨莉·西顿。同时，在伦敦的另一角是一战退伍军人塞普蒂默斯.史密斯。史密斯患有无名的狂想症，当权威医师决定对他实行强制隔离治疗时，他跳楼自尽。当克拉丽莎在派对上得知史密斯的自杀事件，心里暗自佩服这种解脱：只有这样才能真正守住自己内心纯粹的快乐吧。

作为意识流小说中的经典作品，该小说描写了人物角色许多即时的内心感受，而这些感受和想法可以反映人物的性格。因此，本论文根据弗洛伊德的人格结构理论，分析主要人物的本我、自我和超我以及三者之间的矛盾斗争。本文以《达洛维夫人》中的主要人物克拉丽莎·达洛维和塞普蒂默斯.史密斯为研究对象，通过弗洛伊德人格结构理论探讨人物的精神世界，分析人物的性格，进一步探讨小说的主题。论文首先详细介绍了弗洛伊德的人格结构理论，了解本我、自我、超我的划分，然后结合弗洛伊德的人格结构理论，着重分析小说中的主要人物克拉丽莎·达洛维对于年轻时的爱人彼得和丈夫理查德·达洛维的矛盾心理，在社交生活中的痛苦挣扎以及最后从塞普蒂默斯的死亡中得到解脱的原因，和塞普蒂默斯·史密斯在冷漠的社会中的精神状态以及导致其走向死亡的原因。最后，通过分析表明，在大多数情况下，克拉丽莎的自我占据主导地位，她是理智的。她拒绝了象征着本我的彼得，并且在塞普蒂默斯的死亡中找到内心的平衡。而塞普蒂默斯强烈的超我完全压抑了自己的欲望。极其强烈的道德感使他对冷漠无情的社会感到彻底失望，最终他选择了死亡。两人面对生存与死亡的不同选择表明，当理想与现实存在矛盾时，人们可以通过调整自己来适应现实世界，让内心的欲望与外部世界实现平衡。

关键词：《达洛维夫人》；弗洛伊德人格结构理论；人物性格

Abstract

Mrs. Dalloway is one of Woolf’s best known novels. It details a day in Clarissa’s life in the post-First World War. On a sunny morning, Mrs. Dalloway goes around London and makes preparation for a party she will host in the evening. She recalls the former suitor Peter Walsh, good friend Sally Seton and her lost youth. Meanwhile, Septimus Warren Smith, a World War Ⅰ veteran who suffers from shell shock, was spending his day with his wife. Later when he is transferred to a psychiatric hospital, he commits suicide for being isolated and badly treated. When Clarissa hears about Septimus' suicide at the party, she admires his act because she considers it a worthy effort to preserve the purity of his happiness. 

As a typical example of stream of consciousness, this novel depicts many momentary thoughts of the characters, and these thoughts can reflect the personality of the characters. Therefore based on Freud’s theory of personality structure, this thesis tries to analyze the id, the ego and the superego of some major characters, and the struggles among the three aspects. Also, it is hoped that all the efforts can help us get the understanding of the novel. Firstly, this paper introduces Freud’s theory of personality structure in detail. Then the thesis focuses on analyzing Clarissa’s complicated feeling about the former lover Peter and her husband Richard Dalloway, the painful struggles in social life and the last relief from Septimus’ death, and Septimus’s mental state in the indifferent society and the cause of his death. Finally, the analysis and discussion indicate that in most cases, Clarissa's ego plays a leading role in making decisions. She is sensible person. She refuses to Peter, the symbol of the id, and finds the inner balance from Septimus’ death. And Septimus has the extreme superego which completely inhibits the id and denies the real world. He has the strong sense of dissatisfaction for the indifferent and numb society. At last, he commits suicide. The different results of the main characters show that when there is a contradiction between ideals and reality, it would be better if people can adapt themselves to the real world and find the balance between the inner desire and the outside world.   

Keywords: Mrs. Dalloway, Freud’s theory of personality structure, character

Contents

摘 要 I

Abstract II

Acknowledgements III

Chapter One Introduction 1

1.1 Virginia Woolf and her works 1

1.2 The novel Mrs. Dalloway 1

1.3 Background of the study 2

1.4 Objectives of the study 3

1.5 Outline of the thesis 3

Chapter Two Literature Review 4

2.1 Literature review about Mrs. Dalloway 4

2.2 Freud’s theory of personality structure 6

Chapter Three Analysis and Discussion 10

3.1 Clarissa Dalloway’s struggle among the id, ego and superego 10

3.2 Septimus Warren Smith’s extreme superego 14

Chapter Four Conclusion 17

References 19