Abstract

The word “loneliness” is originated from the medical field. Later, the psychologist borrowed it and brought it to the research of social psychology.
Loneliness is the common theme in the works in the 20th century. And Katherine Mansfield (1988-1923) is one of the earliest writers exploring this theme, and she is the most talented short story writer in New Zealand renowned in literary world in the 20th century. She is good at describing the spiritual isolation among people. Katherine Mansfield’s short life is full of hardships and frustrations, which influenced her writing deeply. The lonely theme is reflected in nearly all her works. This paper is mainly based on the lonely psychology, choosing three short stories by Katherine Mansfield to analyze the loneliness among the middle-aged and the elder.
This paper is divided into four parts. Firstly, it introduces the life and literary achievements of Katherine Mansfield. Secondly, it gives a brief introduction to lonely psychology. Thirdly, it analyzes the loneliness among middle-aged and the elder as reflected in three works by Katherine Mansfield, which are Bliss, Prelude, and Life of Ma Parker. Finally, it analyzes the causes of Katherine Mansfield’s loneliness. This paper comes to the conclusion that the loneliness theme reflected in the works by Katherine Mansfield is actually a reflection of her own loneliness.

Key words: the middle-aged and the elder; Katherine Mansfield; lonely psychology

摘  要

“孤独”一词，最早源于医学领域，后来，心理学家将其借用并引入社会心理学的研究中。
孤独是20世纪作品的普遍主题。凯瑟琳•曼斯菲尔德(1988—1923)是最早探索这个主题的作家之一，她是20世纪新西兰最优秀的短篇小说作家。凯瑟琳•曼斯菲尔德善于描写人与人之间在精神上的孤立，她短暂的一生充满了困难与挫折，这深深地影响了她的写作，几乎每部作品都反映出孤独主题。论文主要以孤独心理学为基础，结合凯瑟琳•曼斯菲尔德的三篇短篇小说，分析作品中所反映出来的中老年人的孤独感。
论文分为四部分。第一部分介绍了凯瑟琳•曼斯菲尔德的生平与文学成就。第二部分简单介绍了孤独心理学。第三部分解析了曼斯菲尔德三篇短篇小说《幸福》、《序曲》以及《帕克大妈的一生》中中老年人的孤独感。最后分析了曼斯菲尔德孤独的原因。论文最后得出结论：凯瑟琳•曼斯菲尔德作品的孤独主题实际上是作者自身孤独的反映。

关键词：中老年；凯瑟琳•曼斯菲尔德；孤独心理学