论《霍华德庄园》与《达洛维夫人》的“联结”主题——两部小说中联结主题的对比研究

Connectedness in Howards End and Mrs. Dalloway——A Comparative Study of the Connectedness Theme in the Two Novels

联结是E.M.福斯特在《霍华德庄园》中传达给读者的最重要主题思想。主人公玛格丽特费尽周折,在不同阶层之间建立联结,因为这是现代英国未来发展的希望所在。无独有偶,几乎与福斯特同时代的英国现代著名女作家弗吉尼亚.伍尔芙在其代表作《达洛维夫人》中也表达了类似的联结思想。《达洛维夫人》的女主人公克拉丽莎始终钟情于"聚会"这一大英帝国传统而古老的集会方式,希望以此将大家聚集在一起,彼此联结交流。同时,"聚会"在该书中也象征着大英帝国传统的价值观和礼仪,因此克拉丽莎希望借传统的聚会形式留住传统的生活方式和价值观。两本小说创作于同一时代,又都在不同程度上表达出现代社会中人们需要"联结"这一思想主题,但是两者却有着本质的不同,一个寄希望于未来,一个却沉湎于过去,凸显出作者不同的人生态度和创作思想。

Conneetedness is the key theme that E. M. Forster wanted to emphasize in the Howards End, in which the heroine Margaret tries to smooth the conflicts and build connection among people from different social elasses. Meanwhile, ＂eonneetedness＂ is also expressed in Virginia Woolf＇ s Mrs. Dalloway. ＂Party＂, a traditional way of getting people together, serves for Mrs. Dalloway＇ s main purpose of ＂getting people together＂ and maintaining old value and etiquette that regulates the impersonal relationships within their old nation. Through a comparative study of this conneetedness theme of the two novels, this paper is going to argue that achieving or maintaining a certain kind of connection in the coming modern world is what both the authors try to express and impose in their novels. However, the difference lies in authors＇ belief and attitude towards this common theme.