《弗兰肯斯坦》的道德反思_英语论文

The Ethical Introspection in Frankenstein

摘要

玛丽·雪莱在世界文学史上具有重要的地位,她最著名的作品《弗兰肯斯坦》被认为是世界上第一部真正意义上的科幻小说，于1818年首次发表。小说的时代背景设定在19世纪初，那时的西方社会刚刚经历了一场伟大的思想变革和经济变革——启蒙运动和第一次工业革命。在启蒙思想和工业革命的双重影响之下，民众从宗教的蒙昧中清醒过来，对科学的热忱与日俱增，科学家弗兰肯斯坦正是诞生于这样的社会背景之下。

本文从伦理学的角度审视了《弗兰肯斯坦》， 从尊重生命、责任与关爱、善与恶、正义与非正义、权利与义务等方面分析了弗兰肯斯坦的失职行为，由此理解怪物从善良转为邪恶的外部原因，以及整个社会存在的道德问题。

论文第一部分是对玛丽·雪莱生平的简要介绍以及19世纪初期《弗兰肯斯坦》的诞生的背景介绍和文献综述，第二部分是论文的正文，第一章具体分析了弗兰肯斯坦在造人实验中反映出的不尊重生命、不顾及家庭、责任心缺失、违背诺言等伦理问题。第二章具体分析了怪物的善与恶和它作为一个被创造的“人”应享有的基本权利。第三章是对社会的道德问题的反思，体现为人类对怪物的排斥态度和整个社会正义感的缺失。结论部分是对本论文的总结。

关键词：《弗兰肯斯坦》 伦理学 道德反思

Abstract

Mary Shelly occupies a prominent position in the world literature, whose work Frankenstein is regarded as the first scientific fiction novel in the world. The historical background sets in the beginning of the 19th century, during which western countries were under the influence of two grand reformations – Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution. Under such climate, people sobered up and broke the shackles of religious bondage, and their passions to science surged to an unprecedented extent. Thus the story of the scientist Frankenstein was coined.

This paper looks at the ethical facet, analysing Frankenstein’s dereliction, the causes of the monster’s transformation, and the moral issues existed in the society from the angles of respect of life, duty and care, goodness and wickedness, justice  and injustice, right and obligation.

The first part is the explicit introduction of Mary Shelley’s biology, the historical background and the literature review of Frankenstein. The second part is the main body of the paper. The first chapter focuses on the ethical problems of Frankenstein during the experiment, including disrespect for life, indifference of family, lack of duty, and breach of deal. The second chapter analyses the goodness and evilness in the monster and its rights of being created as a “man”. The third chapter is the ethical introspection of the whole society, demonstrating as people’s exclusionary attitude towards the monster and lacking in justice of the society. After expounding the ethical thoughts on Frankenstein, the paper draws its conclusion.

Key words: Frankenstein  ethics  ethical introspection

Contents

Introduction 1

Chapter One The Ethical Problems of Frankenstein 4

1.1 Frankenstein’s Disrespect for Life 4

1.2 Frankenstein’s Malpractice for Family and Society 6

1.3 Frankenstein’s Abandonment of His Creation 7

1.4 Frankenstein’s Broken Commitment to the Monster 8

Chapter Two The Moral Analysis of the Monster 9

2.1 The Goodness and Wickedness in the Monster 10

2.2 The Monster’s Right to Pursue Love, Happiness and Affiliation to Society 13

Chapter Three The Ethical Introspection in the Social Context 15

3.1 People’s Exclusionary Attitude towards the Monster 15

3.2 The Deficiency of Social Justice 17

Conclusion 19

Bibliography 21

Acknowledgements 22