Michel Houellebecq is perhaps the most successful, the most famous and controversial of all current novelists writing in French. He has become a global publishing phenomenon： His books have been translated worldwide,...Michel Houellebecq is perhaps the most successful, the most famous and controversial of all current novelists writing in French. He has become a global publishing phenomenon： His books have been translated worldwide, film adaptations of his novels have been produced, and the author is the subject of a million-euro publishing deals and successive media scandals in France. The novels depict surprising forms of imaginary resources, a radiating end of the world, a post-nuclear anxiety, and depressive characters. Houellebecq shocks us leaving us in a world where the feelings of love, tenderness and goodwill have disappeared. The purpose of Houellebecq＇s novels is to alert about the real problems of the human society in the twenty-first century. Indeed, in the books we can easily recognize the essential features of contemporary society and the fact that the individual assumes a dehumanization process in which one has to cope with his solitude in a world of emptiness. This socio-cultural dimension is indeed the background of Houellebecq＇s novels, novels in which the protagonists seem to be wedged in a mechanism from which it is difficult to escape： reification and dehumanization on the one hand, ＂robotization＂ of love on the other. This article focuses on the analysis of the texts revealing the poignant characteristics of＂L＇Ere du vide＂ （＂The Era of Emptiness＂） as described by Gilles Lipovetsky： Loneliness, the lack of love and its replacement by sexual relations.展开更多
Henry Mackenzie＇ s The Man of Feeling （1771 ）, widely read m its time, has been generally regarded as an exemplar of sentimental fiction. As a typical man of the world, Mackenzie made arduous efforts to distance hi...Henry Mackenzie＇ s The Man of Feeling （1771 ）, widely read m its time, has been generally regarded as an exemplar of sentimental fiction. As a typical man of the world, Mackenzie made arduous efforts to distance himself from Harley, the simple and naive sentimental hero he created in his novel. The novel described how the innocence and tenderness of Harley were thwarted by the evil world and how Harley responded with sighs and tears. The same response was asked of the reader. Hence, readings of sentimental novels became tear-demanding exhibitions of pathos, while the unkindness and perverseness of the world were minimized and even concealed.展开更多
In the science fiction novel titled The Planet of the Apes （1963）, Pierre Boulle tells a story about a completely reversed world where the apes dominate the humans. Coming from the normal world that is ours, a small...In the science fiction novel titled The Planet of the Apes （1963）, Pierre Boulle tells a story about a completely reversed world where the apes dominate the humans. Coming from the normal world that is ours, a small group of people is totally embarrassed and confused by observing this strange world. On the planet of the apes that they have discovered, it is the apes that are more intelligent than the humans. On the earth, it was the other way around. That observation results in their perplexity. The two communities, human and simian, bear with one another the relationship that corresponds to what Lotman calls ＂enantiomorphic pairings＂. In this context, a series of questions deserves to be raised： Is a ＂common language＂ possible between the two communities in the enantiomorphic pairings？ If the answer is yes, under what conditions could they succeed in opening up a space where they can have something in common？ In rereading The Planet of the Apes with reference to Lotman＇s semiotics of culture, we would like to formulate a response to those questions. Our claim is that the experience of finitude of one＇s own language can make possible an access to the new form of universality requisite for the cross-cultural communication： commonality without common points.展开更多
Chaviano＇s Fables of an Extraterrestrial Grandmother is a pioneering Cuban science fiction novel with four interconnected plots that manifest their separate worlds--the Havana of Ana, the protagonist writer, the Neol...Chaviano＇s Fables of an Extraterrestrial Grandmother is a pioneering Cuban science fiction novel with four interconnected plots that manifest their separate worlds--the Havana of Ana, the protagonist writer, the Neolithic Celtic world of Merlin and Stonehenge, Faidir, the planet of Ijj e and the winged psyches with three eyes, and Rybel, the world of Ana＇s character Arlena, the ＂jumen＂ on the run in an alien planet after being wrecked in a space ship---through Ana＇s writing. Ana uses mental exercises and automatic writing to temporarily regress to a pre-rational state of consciousness where these parallel universes interpenetrate and cross in the locus of her subconscious. Writing for her is a form of possession that withdraws her fi＇om her immediate reality into a visionary state resembling that of a shaman. She is a writer being invented and written by her own characters. Her stories are not fictions, but already existing realities, and she is a channel by which they are able to manifest their existence through her writing. This science fiction vision of worlds within worlds suggests another origin of science fiction in the ancient literary genre of Menippean satire, a type of fiction that appeals to highly cosmopolitan, alienated readers who seek to renew contact with the sources of consciousness from which technological and social change have alienated them.展开更多
The experience of＂The Other＂ has become a common one for people in the 21st century, and yet it continues to be a major problem for everyone involved. Increasingly, however, immigrants and their descendants adjust a...The experience of＂The Other＂ has become a common one for people in the 21st century, and yet it continues to be a major problem for everyone involved. Increasingly, however, immigrants and their descendants adjust and soon participate in and with the new culture（s）. At the same time, those who encounter ＂The Other＂ through the contact with immigrants, have also to adapt, to learn, and to realize considerable changes in themselves in that process. Recently, a new German novelist, Renate Ahrens, has created several major works in which she reflects on this intricate phenomenon typical of our times. The present study might well be the first critical analysis of her last two novels, Zeit der Wahrheit （Time of Truth, 2005） and Fremde Schwestern （Alienated Sisters, 2011）, which prove to be outstanding and first-rate literary treatments of the theme of＂The Other＂ in an intercultural context. As Ahrens illustrates in both novels, each individual carries a heavy baggage imposed on them by the own family history, and so in both cases the confrontation with ＂The Other＂ serves exceedingly well to break open the shell of self-isolation and self-alienation. Love finally overcomes ancient conflicts and paves the way for new integrative forces supporting the formation of the ＂global village＂ we all are really living in.展开更多
The Victorian period experienced, among many other paradoxes, an ongoing tension between science and spirituality. Bearing the legacy of the ＂Enlightenment Rationalism＂ and the Cartesian division between ＂matter＂ ...The Victorian period experienced, among many other paradoxes, an ongoing tension between science and spirituality. Bearing the legacy of the ＂Enlightenment Rationalism＂ and the Cartesian division between ＂matter＂ and ＂mind＂ since the eighteenth century, the Victorian minds had to deal with a contemporary world rapidly unfolding new discoveries in geology, astronomy, biology, and medical sciences. However, these could not completely erase the spiritual belief from the human mind. Rather they sought to reshape their codes in terms of ＂alternative sciences＂ like occultism and metaphysical psychiatry （pre-Freudian）. This paper seeks to explore the characterisation of the ＂metaphysical＂ physician in two novels by Wilkie Collins and Marie Corelli, showing how these figures play a crucial role in negotiating the tensions between science and spiritualism.展开更多
The House of the Scorpion （2002） is a National Book Award winner by American YA （young adult） novelist Nancy Farmer. It is a coming-of-age story about Matt, a young clone struggling for acceptance and survival in ...The House of the Scorpion （2002） is a National Book Award winner by American YA （young adult） novelist Nancy Farmer. It is a coming-of-age story about Matt, a young clone struggling for acceptance and survival in a dystopian world. Under the veil of science fiction, The House of the Scorpion not only allegorically exposes the evil of dehumanization, totalitarianism, and the abuse of technology, but also successfully builds up the brave image of Matt. Through depicting protagonist Matt＇s initiation journey in a dystopian world, Nancy Farmer expresses her belief that goodness triumphs and hope is indestructible.展开更多
The paper offers a three-dimensional linguosemiotic study of similes, which implies integral analysis of their semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic aspects. Such an approach to the study of similes is quite new as they ...The paper offers a three-dimensional linguosemiotic study of similes, which implies integral analysis of their semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic aspects. Such an approach to the study of similes is quite new as they have been hitherto considered either from a literary viewpoint as one of the stylistic expressive means of language or in the philosophy of language in correlation with metaphor. The three-dimensional linguosemiotic methodology of research has enabled us： （1） to reveal the cognitive, psychological, and metaphorical essence of similes and work out the invariant conceptual model which remains unchanged throughout their structural-semantic variation in the text; （2） to single out pragmatic features of similes, the set of which defines their linguistic status as a language-in-use construct, i.e., textual phenomenon; （3） to study the denotational-cognitive aspect of similes pointing out the parameters according to which similes have been differentiated into semantic types and subtypes and （4） to generalize the syntactical aspect of similes and define the set of their structural modifications in the text conditioned both by the intralinguistic regularities and by pragmatic factors. Therefore, we have worked out an interdisciplinary theory of similes implying the synergy of the data of linguistic, literary, cognitive, and psychological studies展开更多
Through the analysis of Poe＇s works and his life, the influence of anima in Poe＇s soul is explored in this study according to Carl Jung＇s theory of archetype. Anima is one of the archetypes, which made both negativ...Through the analysis of Poe＇s works and his life, the influence of anima in Poe＇s soul is explored in this study according to Carl Jung＇s theory of archetype. Anima is one of the archetypes, which made both negative and positive influences in Poe＇s life and literary creation, leading him to be the master of poetry and short stories, but also consumed his life and caused his death in the prime. In the study about the influence of anima in Poe, Anima was proved acting as the feminine complement factors in Poe＇s unconscious, and made Poe more sensitive in literary creation. As Poe knew the man＇s world and also understood the woman＇s world, which is the accumulative influence of both negative and positive influences of Anima in Poe, his literary creativity was strong and he had the unique aesthetics.展开更多
Women＇s suffering in George Eliot＇s three major novels in part results from, on the one hand their consciousness of their futile struggling for something that is incompatible with the society, and on the other, thei...Women＇s suffering in George Eliot＇s three major novels in part results from, on the one hand their consciousness of their futile struggling for something that is incompatible with the society, and on the other, their eventual renunciation of their original dreams. Generally speaking, no matter what overt images they assume, Madonna or madwoman, no matter which period they are in, no matter how hard they try, suffering more or less characterizes their normal living state and they generally have to face a doomed fate. However, Eliot is by no means a pessimist, and she will never let her heroines subject to their fate passively. In suffering, these heroines still believe in love and humanity. They keep their eyes on the misery of the world with great sympathy. They suffer for themselves, and more for others. Suffering is the source of their strength and their way to save the corrupted souls of their male counterparts. They put themselves on the cross of suffering, and in this process they eventually are elevated as Christ figures. Suffering, as Eliot has wished, serves as a baptism, a regeneration, and the initiation into a new state for the sufferers and also a salvation to the world.展开更多
This paper, as a part of a larger research project entitled Amazon. Realities in the Novels and the Imaginary Reports of Travelers, focuses on the following objectives： （1） the ＂referentiality＂ of the text to the...This paper, as a part of a larger research project entitled Amazon. Realities in the Novels and the Imaginary Reports of Travelers, focuses on the following objectives： （1） the ＂referentiality＂ of the text to the external world （goal, empirical stuff）; and （2） understanding fictionality in terms of＂make-believe＂ and the principle of＂internal coherence＂. The main section sets out the theoretical foundation of the relation between facts/events and fiction, both as pragmatic and fictional texts. Then, the paper investigates in which forms and ways existing facts, data, occurrences, events and narratives in various kinds of texts constitute a representation and interpretation of the world. The central focus of the study is on the Amazon region. The study is an experiment in joining together different types of texts around the notion of＂referentiality＂; emphasizing reference to the external world （factuality）, the reading of the component elements of a language and a discourse （narratology）, historical reading against the horizon of expectation （reception theory） and the interpretation of the retrospective.展开更多
Being distinguished from many greatest American writers, Hemingway is noted as an iron man and his powerful philosophy： “Man can be destroyed, but not defeated”. Among all his works, The Old Man and the Sea is cons...Being distinguished from many greatest American writers, Hemingway is noted as an iron man and his powerful philosophy： “Man can be destroyed, but not defeated”. Among all his works, The Old Man and the Sea is considered to be the masterpiece of Hemingway＇s works and the one that best demonstrates this powerful philosophy. And The Old Man and the Sea is a short novel about an old Cuban fisherman Santiago and his battle with a great marlin. In his masterpiece, Hemingway portrays Santiago with every dominant and strong characteristic, which is the prototype of an iron man. This is one of the basic characteristics of the novel which gives Ernest Hemingway great honor and makes him become one of the authors who define American literature. The Old Man and the Sea is the one that best represents American social life on the period Hemingway lived. In this short novel, a lot of facts are used. Most of the facts come from Hemingway＇s own experience. Reading up the masterpiece, it is evident that the story and the hero are the self-portray of the author himself. With the real life and the literary world perfectly combined, we read Hemingway＇s and we read through Hemingway and his inner world.展开更多
Katherine Mansfield is a world famous woman master of short stories in English literature. Her stories are sensitive revelations of human behaiour in quite ordinary situations, through which we can glimpse a powerful ...Katherine Mansfield is a world famous woman master of short stories in English literature. Her stories are sensitive revelations of human behaiour in quite ordinary situations, through which we can glimpse a powerful and sometimes cruelly pessimistic view of life. Miss Brill is one of her short stories published in her collection of stories entitled The Garden Party and Other Stories （2007）, describing an afternoon in the life of a middle-aged spinster who visits the public park on a weekly basis, leading to her reassessment of her view of the world and the secular reality. Short as it is, it is really worth carful analysis and appreciation. This paper will mainly deal with the theme--alienation that the story conveys in two aspects： some obvious alienate elments in Miss Brill, in which some background information is provided; some less obvious alienation in Miss Brill, in which a detailed analysis is made into the story to reveal its alienation.展开更多
文摘Michel Houellebecq is perhaps the most successful, the most famous and controversial of all current novelists writing in French. He has become a global publishing phenomenon： His books have been translated worldwide, film adaptations of his novels have been produced, and the author is the subject of a million-euro publishing deals and successive media scandals in France. The novels depict surprising forms of imaginary resources, a radiating end of the world, a post-nuclear anxiety, and depressive characters. Houellebecq shocks us leaving us in a world where the feelings of love, tenderness and goodwill have disappeared. The purpose of Houellebecq＇s novels is to alert about the real problems of the human society in the twenty-first century. Indeed, in the books we can easily recognize the essential features of contemporary society and the fact that the individual assumes a dehumanization process in which one has to cope with his solitude in a world of emptiness. This socio-cultural dimension is indeed the background of Houellebecq＇s novels, novels in which the protagonists seem to be wedged in a mechanism from which it is difficult to escape： reification and dehumanization on the one hand, ＂robotization＂ of love on the other. This article focuses on the analysis of the texts revealing the poignant characteristics of＂L＇Ere du vide＂ （＂The Era of Emptiness＂） as described by Gilles Lipovetsky： Loneliness, the lack of love and its replacement by sexual relations.
基金This paper is supported by Science Foundation of BLCU （supported by ＂the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities＂） （No. 12YBG022）.
文摘Henry Mackenzie＇ s The Man of Feeling （1771 ）, widely read m its time, has been generally regarded as an exemplar of sentimental fiction. As a typical man of the world, Mackenzie made arduous efforts to distance himself from Harley, the simple and naive sentimental hero he created in his novel. The novel described how the innocence and tenderness of Harley were thwarted by the evil world and how Harley responded with sighs and tears. The same response was asked of the reader. Hence, readings of sentimental novels became tear-demanding exhibitions of pathos, while the unkindness and perverseness of the world were minimized and even concealed.
文摘In the science fiction novel titled The Planet of the Apes （1963）, Pierre Boulle tells a story about a completely reversed world where the apes dominate the humans. Coming from the normal world that is ours, a small group of people is totally embarrassed and confused by observing this strange world. On the planet of the apes that they have discovered, it is the apes that are more intelligent than the humans. On the earth, it was the other way around. That observation results in their perplexity. The two communities, human and simian, bear with one another the relationship that corresponds to what Lotman calls ＂enantiomorphic pairings＂. In this context, a series of questions deserves to be raised： Is a ＂common language＂ possible between the two communities in the enantiomorphic pairings？ If the answer is yes, under what conditions could they succeed in opening up a space where they can have something in common？ In rereading The Planet of the Apes with reference to Lotman＇s semiotics of culture, we would like to formulate a response to those questions. Our claim is that the experience of finitude of one＇s own language can make possible an access to the new form of universality requisite for the cross-cultural communication： commonality without common points.
文摘Chaviano＇s Fables of an Extraterrestrial Grandmother is a pioneering Cuban science fiction novel with four interconnected plots that manifest their separate worlds--the Havana of Ana, the protagonist writer, the Neolithic Celtic world of Merlin and Stonehenge, Faidir, the planet of Ijj e and the winged psyches with three eyes, and Rybel, the world of Ana＇s character Arlena, the ＂jumen＂ on the run in an alien planet after being wrecked in a space ship---through Ana＇s writing. Ana uses mental exercises and automatic writing to temporarily regress to a pre-rational state of consciousness where these parallel universes interpenetrate and cross in the locus of her subconscious. Writing for her is a form of possession that withdraws her fi＇om her immediate reality into a visionary state resembling that of a shaman. She is a writer being invented and written by her own characters. Her stories are not fictions, but already existing realities, and she is a channel by which they are able to manifest their existence through her writing. This science fiction vision of worlds within worlds suggests another origin of science fiction in the ancient literary genre of Menippean satire, a type of fiction that appeals to highly cosmopolitan, alienated readers who seek to renew contact with the sources of consciousness from which technological and social change have alienated them.
文摘The experience of＂The Other＂ has become a common one for people in the 21st century, and yet it continues to be a major problem for everyone involved. Increasingly, however, immigrants and their descendants adjust and soon participate in and with the new culture（s）. At the same time, those who encounter ＂The Other＂ through the contact with immigrants, have also to adapt, to learn, and to realize considerable changes in themselves in that process. Recently, a new German novelist, Renate Ahrens, has created several major works in which she reflects on this intricate phenomenon typical of our times. The present study might well be the first critical analysis of her last two novels, Zeit der Wahrheit （Time of Truth, 2005） and Fremde Schwestern （Alienated Sisters, 2011）, which prove to be outstanding and first-rate literary treatments of the theme of＂The Other＂ in an intercultural context. As Ahrens illustrates in both novels, each individual carries a heavy baggage imposed on them by the own family history, and so in both cases the confrontation with ＂The Other＂ serves exceedingly well to break open the shell of self-isolation and self-alienation. Love finally overcomes ancient conflicts and paves the way for new integrative forces supporting the formation of the ＂global village＂ we all are really living in.
文摘The Victorian period experienced, among many other paradoxes, an ongoing tension between science and spirituality. Bearing the legacy of the ＂Enlightenment Rationalism＂ and the Cartesian division between ＂matter＂ and ＂mind＂ since the eighteenth century, the Victorian minds had to deal with a contemporary world rapidly unfolding new discoveries in geology, astronomy, biology, and medical sciences. However, these could not completely erase the spiritual belief from the human mind. Rather they sought to reshape their codes in terms of ＂alternative sciences＂ like occultism and metaphysical psychiatry （pre-Freudian）. This paper seeks to explore the characterisation of the ＂metaphysical＂ physician in two novels by Wilkie Collins and Marie Corelli, showing how these figures play a crucial role in negotiating the tensions between science and spiritualism.
文摘The House of the Scorpion （2002） is a National Book Award winner by American YA （young adult） novelist Nancy Farmer. It is a coming-of-age story about Matt, a young clone struggling for acceptance and survival in a dystopian world. Under the veil of science fiction, The House of the Scorpion not only allegorically exposes the evil of dehumanization, totalitarianism, and the abuse of technology, but also successfully builds up the brave image of Matt. Through depicting protagonist Matt＇s initiation journey in a dystopian world, Nancy Farmer expresses her belief that goodness triumphs and hope is indestructible.
文摘The paper offers a three-dimensional linguosemiotic study of similes, which implies integral analysis of their semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic aspects. Such an approach to the study of similes is quite new as they have been hitherto considered either from a literary viewpoint as one of the stylistic expressive means of language or in the philosophy of language in correlation with metaphor. The three-dimensional linguosemiotic methodology of research has enabled us： （1） to reveal the cognitive, psychological, and metaphorical essence of similes and work out the invariant conceptual model which remains unchanged throughout their structural-semantic variation in the text; （2） to single out pragmatic features of similes, the set of which defines their linguistic status as a language-in-use construct, i.e., textual phenomenon; （3） to study the denotational-cognitive aspect of similes pointing out the parameters according to which similes have been differentiated into semantic types and subtypes and （4） to generalize the syntactical aspect of similes and define the set of their structural modifications in the text conditioned both by the intralinguistic regularities and by pragmatic factors. Therefore, we have worked out an interdisciplinary theory of similes implying the synergy of the data of linguistic, literary, cognitive, and psychological studies
文摘Through the analysis of Poe＇s works and his life, the influence of anima in Poe＇s soul is explored in this study according to Carl Jung＇s theory of archetype. Anima is one of the archetypes, which made both negative and positive influences in Poe＇s life and literary creation, leading him to be the master of poetry and short stories, but also consumed his life and caused his death in the prime. In the study about the influence of anima in Poe, Anima was proved acting as the feminine complement factors in Poe＇s unconscious, and made Poe more sensitive in literary creation. As Poe knew the man＇s world and also understood the woman＇s world, which is the accumulative influence of both negative and positive influences of Anima in Poe, his literary creativity was strong and he had the unique aesthetics.
文摘Women＇s suffering in George Eliot＇s three major novels in part results from, on the one hand their consciousness of their futile struggling for something that is incompatible with the society, and on the other, their eventual renunciation of their original dreams. Generally speaking, no matter what overt images they assume, Madonna or madwoman, no matter which period they are in, no matter how hard they try, suffering more or less characterizes their normal living state and they generally have to face a doomed fate. However, Eliot is by no means a pessimist, and she will never let her heroines subject to their fate passively. In suffering, these heroines still believe in love and humanity. They keep their eyes on the misery of the world with great sympathy. They suffer for themselves, and more for others. Suffering is the source of their strength and their way to save the corrupted souls of their male counterparts. They put themselves on the cross of suffering, and in this process they eventually are elevated as Christ figures. Suffering, as Eliot has wished, serves as a baptism, a regeneration, and the initiation into a new state for the sufferers and also a salvation to the world.
文摘This paper, as a part of a larger research project entitled Amazon. Realities in the Novels and the Imaginary Reports of Travelers, focuses on the following objectives： （1） the ＂referentiality＂ of the text to the external world （goal, empirical stuff）; and （2） understanding fictionality in terms of＂make-believe＂ and the principle of＂internal coherence＂. The main section sets out the theoretical foundation of the relation between facts/events and fiction, both as pragmatic and fictional texts. Then, the paper investigates in which forms and ways existing facts, data, occurrences, events and narratives in various kinds of texts constitute a representation and interpretation of the world. The central focus of the study is on the Amazon region. The study is an experiment in joining together different types of texts around the notion of＂referentiality＂; emphasizing reference to the external world （factuality）, the reading of the component elements of a language and a discourse （narratology）, historical reading against the horizon of expectation （reception theory） and the interpretation of the retrospective.
文摘Being distinguished from many greatest American writers, Hemingway is noted as an iron man and his powerful philosophy： “Man can be destroyed, but not defeated”. Among all his works, The Old Man and the Sea is considered to be the masterpiece of Hemingway＇s works and the one that best demonstrates this powerful philosophy. And The Old Man and the Sea is a short novel about an old Cuban fisherman Santiago and his battle with a great marlin. In his masterpiece, Hemingway portrays Santiago with every dominant and strong characteristic, which is the prototype of an iron man. This is one of the basic characteristics of the novel which gives Ernest Hemingway great honor and makes him become one of the authors who define American literature. The Old Man and the Sea is the one that best represents American social life on the period Hemingway lived. In this short novel, a lot of facts are used. Most of the facts come from Hemingway＇s own experience. Reading up the masterpiece, it is evident that the story and the hero are the self-portray of the author himself. With the real life and the literary world perfectly combined, we read Hemingway＇s and we read through Hemingway and his inner world.
文摘Katherine Mansfield is a world famous woman master of short stories in English literature. Her stories are sensitive revelations of human behaiour in quite ordinary situations, through which we can glimpse a powerful and sometimes cruelly pessimistic view of life. Miss Brill is one of her short stories published in her collection of stories entitled The Garden Party and Other Stories （2007）, describing an afternoon in the life of a middle-aged spinster who visits the public park on a weekly basis, leading to her reassessment of her view of the world and the secular reality. Short as it is, it is really worth carful analysis and appreciation. This paper will mainly deal with the theme--alienation that the story conveys in two aspects： some obvious alienate elments in Miss Brill, in which some background information is provided; some less obvious alienation in Miss Brill, in which a detailed analysis is made into the story to reveal its alienation.
