Water Imagery in Mrs. Dalloway_英语论文

摘要

英国女作家维吉尼亚·伍尔夫生活在社会动荡交替的年代，当代作家面临着各种各样的难题，传统的维多利亚写作方式已经不足以满足伍尔夫表达真实世界的需求，为了革新小说形式与内容，寻找全新的方式表达内在的真实以及人们内心的世界，伍尔夫在其小说创作中借助了象征。在众多象征元素中，水平凡不起眼却又蕴含着众多不同的意义和哲理。在伍尔夫的九部长篇小说中，到处都是水意象和暗喻的运用，可见其对水的偏爱。而伍尔夫选择在河水中结束自己的生命也使得她小说中的水意象更加值得探究。在小说中，伍尔夫使用水意象来表达生命与死亡的真谛、人与人的关系、以及人物的情感与内心状态。在其著名小说《达洛维夫人》中水意象更是贯穿了整部小说，因此，本文意在探究在此小说中多次出现的水意象的象征意义。

关键词：水意象  象征主义  《达洛维夫人》  维吉尼亚·伍尔夫  

Abstract

Living in an age of transition with problems confronting contemporary writers, Virginia Woolf found the Victorian way of narrating insufficient to convey her conception of reality. In order to innovate in the form and content of novels and to find a new way of expressing the inner reality and the inner states of people, Mrs. Woolf searched for symbols to express herself. Among various expressive symbols water is one of the most simple elements with varying symbolic meanings. Mrs. Woolf’s preference for the element of water can be evidenced by the abundant uses of water imagery and water metaphors in her nine novels. The fact that water has special significance in Woolf’s personal and professional lives makes uses of water element in her works more noteworthy. The essence of life and death, the relationship of man, and people’s emotions and inner states can be vividly portrayed by water imagery. Therefor, this essay seeks to explore the symbolic significance of repeated references to water imagery in one of Mrs. Woolf’s famous novels, Mrs. Dalloway.

Key words: water imagery  Symbolism  Mrs. Dalloway  Virginia Woolf

Contents

Chapter One  Introduction 1

1.1  Introduction to Virginia Woolf 1

1.1.1 Early Life 1

1.1.2 Literary Work 2

1.1.3 Writing Style 3

1.2  Introduction to Mrs. Dalloway 4

1.3  Introduction to the Thesis 5

Chapter Two  Literature Review 6

2.1  Previous Study on Virginia Woolf Abroad 6

2.2  Previous Study on Virginia Woolf at Home 6

Chapter Three  Symbolism and Water Imagery 9

3.1  Symbolism and Virginia Woolf 9

3.2  The Significance of Water Imagery 11

Chapter Four   Water Imagery in Mrs. Dalloway 13

4.1  Water as a Symbol of Death 13

4.2  Water as a Symbol of Relationships 16

4.3  Water as a Symbol of Emotions 17

4.4  Water as a Symbol of Alienation 18

Chapter Five   Conclusion 19

Bibliography

Acknowledgement