A Tentative Interpretation of "the Picture" in The Picture of Dorian Gray_英语论文

摘要

爱尔兰诗人、剧作家、小说家、唯美主义的代表，奥斯卡·王尔德，是世界文坛巨匠之一。王尔德作品中唯一一本小说，《道林·格雷的画像》凝练了他关于文学的思想和信念。该书在国内外被广泛研究，研究领域涉及语言学、东西方哲学、唯美主义、人物心理分析等，关于角色道林、亨利、巴兹尔的人物分析研究不胜枚举。作为道林的自我、爱人和灵魂的象征，画像反映了道林·格雷的挣扎和堕落，它是主人公自我和灵魂转型的体现。画像本身存在很大的研究空间，然而事实上，它却没有得到充分的分析和阐述。因此，本文的重点是运用西格蒙德·弗洛伊德的人格理论和雅克·拉康的镜像理论来探讨画像背后的象征意义。

关键词：道林·格雷的画像  奥斯卡·王尔德  人格理论  镜像理论

Abstract

Oscar Wilde is one of the greatest Irish poet, dramatist, novelist and spokesman of Aestheticism in world literature. The Picture of Dorian Gray, the only novel among all his works, concentrates Wilde’s thoughts and belief about literature. Researches about this book have been carried out in home and abroad widely from various angles, covering fields of linguistics, oriental philosophy and western philosophy, aestheticism, psychological analysis of the protagonist Dorian Gray. Detailed studies have been done on the protagonist, Dorian Gray, and the two supporting roles, Henry and Basil. Serving as the symbol of Dorian’s ego, lover and soul, the “Picture” reflects the struggle and degeneration of Dorian Gray and it is the embodiment of the transition of the self and soul of the protagonist. The Picture itself remains numerous ground for further study. However, the truth is that it has not been fully analyzed and expounded. Therefore, the focus of this thesis lays on the symbolic meaning of “the Picture”, under the guidance of Sigmund Freud's Theory of Personality and Jacques Lacan’s Mirror Phase Theory.

Key words: The Picture of Dorian Gray  Oscar Wilde  Theory of Personality Mirror Phase Theory

Contents

Chapter One  Introduction １

1.1  A Brief Introduction to Oscar Wilde １

1.2  A Brief Introduction to The Picture of Dorian Gray ２

1.3  Purpose of The Thesis ３

1.4  Structure of The Thesis ４

Chapter Two  Literature Review ５

2.1  Previous Studies on The Picture of Dorian Gray at Home ５

2.1.1 Previous Studies on the Personality Analysis of Dorian Gray ５

2.1.2 Previous Studies on Aestheticism in The Picture of Dorian Gray ６

2.2  Previous Studies on The Picture of Dorian Gray Abroad ６

2.2.1 Previous Studies on Aestheticism in The Picture of Dorian Gray ６

Chapter Three  Theoretical Framework ８

3.1  Freudian Psychoanalysis – Theory of Personality ８

3.1.1 Id ８

3.1.2 Ego ９

3.1.3 Superego １０

3.2  Jacques Lacan’s Mirror Phase Theory １０

3.2.1 The Pre-mirror Phase １１

3.2.2 The Mirror Phase １１

3.2.3 The Post-mirror Phase １４

3.3  Differences between the Personality Theory and the Mirror Phase 

Theory １５

Chapter Four  The Symbolic Meaning of “The Picture” １６

4.1  The Personality Interpretation of “the Picture” １６

4.1.1 Id–Dorian’s Desires １６

4.1.2 Ego–Dorian himself as reflected through the changes of the Picture １８

4.1.3 Superego–Dorian’s Conscience １９

4.1.4 Personality Growth and Struggle １９

4.2  The Mirror Phase Interpretation of “the Picture” ２０

4.2.1 Dorian’s Lover ２１

4.2.2 The Embodiment of Dorian’s Evil Spirit ２３

Chapter  Five Conclusion ２５

5.1  Major Findings ２５

5.2  Limitations and Suggestions for Future Study ２６

Bibliography 

Acknowledgments