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1、 On the Inevitability of Gatsbys Tragedy An Approach of Lacans Theory of the Mirror Stage To The Great Gatsby By Hu Mingtao Under the Supervision of Dr. Qin Xu Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the MA Degree at School of Foreign Languages Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, P. R. C
2、hina English Department School of Foreign Languages Yangzhou University May 2008 Declaration I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person or material which has to a sub
3、stantial extent been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at any university or other institute of higher learning, except where due acknowledgment has been made in the text. Signature: _ Name: Hu Mingtao Date: June 2008 Acknowledgements I would like to take this opportunity to expre
4、ss my heartfelt thanks to those who have contributed, directly and indirectly, to the completion of this thesis. First of all, my greatest gratitude goes to my supervisor, Dr. Qin Xu, who helped me with patience throughout the various stages of my post-graduate study, starting from my coursework to
5、thesis writing. It is due to his constant encouragement and insightful suggestions that I was eventually able to produce this thesis and sail through difficulties I confronted in writing this paper. What is more, I have been impressed by his critical mode of looking at the problems, both academic an
6、d social, which has inspired me a lot. My special thanks should go to Professor Fang Wenli, whose lectures not only acquainted me with theories on linguistics, pragmatics but also awakened me to the lack of linguistic knowledge and insufficiency of linguistic proficiency. I am also grateful to Profe
7、ssor Yu Jianhua whose course has benefited me a lot in learning the procedure and textual analysis methods of thesis writing. I also want to extend great appreciation to my fellow classmate and good friend, Mr. Zhang Wencai, whose continual encouragement gave me energy and courage during those diffi
8、cult days of writing this thesis. Finally, my heartfelt thanks should be extended to my parents and my wife. Without their love and encouragement, I couldn5t imagine what my three-year campus life would be like. Abstract One of the most representative works of the Jazz Age is American writer F. Scot
9、t Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby (1925), which highlighted what some describe as the corruption of the post-World War I age, as well as new attitudes, and the growth of individualism. This novel, registered a sense of purposeless, decadence and spiritual emptiness under the mask of material flourish in
10、 an age of fast-paced and roaring change, tells a story of the period so well that it has absolutely become its literary emblem in which everyone is in the shape of wild pursuit of other9s desire such as the women, the money, and the higher social position, etc. This thesis attempts to provide a new
11、 way of re-reading of this novel from Lacans theory of the mirror stage so as to explore the inevitability of the protagonists tragedy. The Great Gatsby is mainly concerned with the desire of the protagonist, Gatsby, who refuses the self and attempts to obtain the recognition from the upper class in
12、 the form of love. This novel enjoys a worldwide reputation as the representative of the roaring age because its variety of the narrative techniques and historical pictures depicted in the novel stand out unequaled in the world literature, which may very well account for the universal popularity amo
13、ng Chinese readers and critics as well as those in other countries. It is noted that a lot of essays on it emphasize either on its traditional view of the American Dream, the hope and disillusion or on the narrative point of view and its stylistics, especially from the perspective of the post-coloni
14、sm, feminism and deconstructionism. To this day, however, almost neither essayists nor critics have made a close and detailed analysis on the novel based on Lacans theory of the mirror stage, which is, rich and complex in implication, essentially about the identity formation of human beings at the e
15、arlier stage of their lives. The protagonist in this novel, like child before the mirror, has no sense of distinct selfhood because of the psychological confusion between the imaginary order and the real order; therefore the character always lives in a state of identity confusion. In one sense, the
16、protagonist, Jay Gatsby, is killed by Wilson, in another sense; it is his rootlessness that results in his self-destruction. In this regard, Lacans theory of mirror stage may shed light on the interpretation of Gatsby9s causality of the tragedy in the pursuit of his dream. This paper, in accordance
17、with the preposition of Lacan9s theory about the mirror stage, attempts to probe into the hidden cause of his psychic devastation and traces his long and impeding process of self-construction in the upper class by the way of love and the misrecognition between the real order and the imaginary order.
18、 The author of this paper aims to find the main point to the fact that one is ontologically as well as emotionally dependent upon others9 recognition. This thesis consists of five parts. The first part makes a brief introduction to Fitzgerald literary works, the rationale of this study, the summary
19、of the story and the literature review on this novel. Chapter Two, focusing on Lacan9s theory of the mirror stage, helps to give a theoretical basis for the further analysis. Chapter Three gives a full analysis of Gatsby9s rootlessness in the society. Chapter Four tries to make a detailed explanatio
20、n to Gatsby9s confusion of the imaginary order and the real order. Part Five makes a conclusion of this thesis that Gatsby is eager to get recognition from the high social class but he fails and Gatsby9s tendency of deserting self and creating the deceptive and attractive image lead to his alienatio
21、n from the society. The alienation of self and the refusal of self, which are due to himself, make contribution to his tragedy. Key words： The Great Gatsby; the mirror stage; confusion; misrecognition 中文摘要 美国小说家司各特 菲茨杰拉德深深抓住了时代的主旋律，其中篇小说了 不起的盖茨比生动形象地折射出美国现代化过程中个体的感受，向我们生动呈 现了二十世纪二十年代处于转型时期美国社会的全景画面。
22、那个时代以追求喧 嚣、名利、金钱为主流，放荡的性行为、欺诈等不道德行为成为 “喧嚣时代 ” 的 代名词，作者也因其生动记录了浮华世象掩盖下人们生活的腐化、堕落以及精神 的严重空虚，而被誉为 “爵士乐时代 ”的代言人。 了不起的盖茨比因思想深度和艺术表现力而成为美国文学的典范，也因 其叙事手段的多样性、文本的多义性及其深刻的历史记录享誉世界文坛。二十世 纪八十年代以来，随着各种文学理论的涌现，对了不起的盖茨比的研究摆脱 了以往从作者生平解读文本的传统窠臼，许多专家、学者重新从新的理论视角去 解读。其中有运用女性主义观点批判小说中女性生存状况，有运用社会文化角度 探讨消费主义；还有从解构主义、后殖
23、民主义等视角去解读文本。总而言之，对 这部小书的解读主要集中在对美国梦的独特阐释、别具一格的叙事技巧和文体风 格等方面，但 很少有批评家和文论者从拉康的镜像阶段理论去解读了不起的盖 茨比。 拉康的镜像理论主要是从后解构主义发展而来的心理学说，它主要关于自我 的建构、自我身份的确立；父亲之名及其象征意义；镜像误认以及镜像认可的一 种理论。 论文以拉康的镜像阶段理论为切入点，进一步发掘盖茨比悲剧的深层原因， 详细考察主人公梦想失败的自身因素，旨在提供一种新的解读途径，以便在前人 研究成果的基础上，更深入地探究盖茨比悲剧的必然性。小说中的主人公因拒绝 父亲之名的存在以及镜像混淆及误认，从而一直生活在
24、现实和镜像之间的混乱状 态之中， 最终导致无根的状态和自我的迷失。 论文主要分五个部分。第一部分首先简要介绍作者生平及其文学成就，并就 本论文的写作目的和理论视角进行简要说明，其次回顾了国内外对了不起的盖 茨比的研究现状以及最新进展。论文第二部分讨论拉康镜像阶段理论部分的自 我形成、父亲之名和镜像误认。论文第三部分讨论由于盖茨比拒绝父亲之名的存 在以及试图得到上层社会的认可而未果导致的无根状态。第四部分探讨盖茨比因 镜像误认而产生的混淆。第五部分得出盖茨比悲剧的必然性是源于自身的结论。 关键词 ：了不起的盖茨比，镜像阶段，镜像混淆，镜像误认 、声 . i 刖 目 论文主要从拉康的镜像理论视角去
25、解读小说了不起的盖茨比，从而进一步阐 释盖茨比悲剧的必然性，得出主人公的最后灭亡是源于自身的结论。 了不起的盖茨比这部被冠以 “伟大的美国小说 ” 十分精辟地表达了美国现 代文学中占主导地位的创作主题：西部的理想主义和道德风尚与东部的精神荒芜和 腐败风气所形成的矛盾冲突与对比观照；渴望摆脱物欲横流的现实生活和回归天真 纯朴的过去；理想难以实现以及梦想破灭后的痛苦与悲哀等对比鲜明的描写，给读 者留下了无限的惆怅与思考的空间。这部小说的成功之处在于，它以诗一般的语言 和激情深刻批判了美国梦想的实质，谴责了道德沦丧、腐败之风盛行的美国社会， 颂扬了人对理想的执著追求和献身精神，强调了人类生存的某种不
26、可贬抑性。 盖茨比梦想破灭的必然性和他本身的缺陷是分不开的，缺乏理智和辨别能力导 致了他的最终毁灭，他的毁灭实际上是他试图重新塑造自己的形象、跻身上流社会、 夺回理想中的恋人黛西的一系列举动所造成。行动是幼稚而壮丽的，但注定是不能 成功的，实际上在一定范围内是特定的时空所产生的人格分裂导致自我的悲剧。 法国著名精神分析家拉康理论中的镜像理论独创性地从语言层面阐述自我的概 念。弗洛伊德认为婴儿在早期还没有主体与客体、自身与外界的界限。这种缺乏任 何确定自我中心的生存状态拉康称之为 “想象态 ” 。在讨论想象态和俄狄浦斯情结早 期阶段时，拉康提出了著名的 “镜像阶段理论 ”。镜像阶段指的是前语言时
27、期。拉康 认为意识的确立发生于某一神秘的瞬间，这一瞬间称之为 “镜子阶段 ” 。我们把镜子 前的婴儿看作一种 “能指 ”一一种能给予意义的东西，而把他或她在镜子中看 到的 形象当作一种 “所指 ”。婴儿看到的形象就是他的意义，也就是自我是在另外一个 完整的对象认同过程中构成的。拉康的镜像理论更好地为这一经典文本提供理论视 角，为重读文本，解析主人公梦想破灭的必然性提供了很好的理论依据。 论文从镜像理论的三个方面去阐释盖茨比悲剧的必然性。第一，镜像自我和父 亲之名以及它们所代表的象征意义。作者从这一层面上去探讨盖茨比由于拒绝镜像 自我和父亲之名及其所代表的社会阶层，导致主人公的无根状态；第二，镜
28、像误认 阶段。由于主人公总是生活在自己用不现实的幻想所构筑的海市蜃楼里，从而忽视 理想和现实的差别，忽视了社会的残酷性。当理想和现实冲突之际，他显得是如此 天真、虚幻，因此不能充分认识到自己和他所追求的理想化的黛西以及上流社会的 代表汤姆之间的根本区别；第三镜像认可阶段。拉康的镜像理论认为个人身份的确 立是建立在他人的认可基础之上的。盖茨比个人奋斗的全部意义是得到黛西所代表 的上层社会的认可，即得到黛西的爱，得到了黛西的爱也即得到了进入上层社会的 身份证。但盖茨比和黛西之间有根本的区别， “他甚至连摸她手的权利都没有 ” ，然 而得到黛西的爱是他一生的梦想，为了梦想他不惜一切手段去敛财以博得黛
29、西的欢 心，但他所追求到的财富和汤姆所继承的财富有着根本性的区别。他根本无法用金 钱消除掉上流社会对他的歧视和偏见，同时他也根本不可能得到上层社会的认可， 即得到黛西的爱。因为他们处于不同的社会阶层，上层社会也不会允许一个农民的 儿子跻身其中，即使他腰缠万贯。盖茨比奋斗的目的和生命的全部意义仅仅建立在 理想化的黛西和她所代表的上流社会之上，而且他总是生活在自己构建的幻想之中。 他认为只要拥有了大笔金钱就可得到黛西的爱，所以他不惜一切手 段敛财并举办酒 会来吸引黛西，处处以黛西的眼光为出发点。得到黛西的爱是他一生的梦想，而当 现实无情地将这个梦幻击碎之后，他也就失去了存在的意义。表面上看，他是被
30、维 尔逊所枪杀，被黛西及其丈夫的阴谋所杀，本质上是被自己渴求上层社会的认可而 未果所带来的幻灭感所杀，这一切都源于其自身，源于对镜像自我的拒绝所导致的 无根状态，源于镜像误认，源于无法得到镜像认可而产生的极度失望最终导致自身 的毁灭。如果他能清醒地认识到自己和上层社会阶层的根本区别，认识到自己梦想 的幼稚可笑，或许这一人间悲剧就会避免。 自从菲茨杰拉 德的这部小说发表以来，特别是 1945 年以后，此小说引起了学术 界的广泛关注。很多文论家和学者从不同的角度去解读文本，这些研究主要从结构 主义、解构主义、女性批评以及话语分析等角度去发掘文本的深层意义。总而言之， 可以把这些研究成果分成三类，第
31、一类主要是关注文本，关注文本的写作技巧及艺 术风格；第二类研究的重点转向从社会学和历史学的角度去探讨文本主人公和文本 中所存在的象征意义；第三类主要从政治学和哲学角度去探讨文本的主题意义。 论文主要从拉康镜像理论角度解读主人公 悲剧的必然性，对此文本的解读决不 是仅仅停留在以往人们对美国梦阐释的俗套之中，更不是复述前人的研究所得，而 是在前人研究方法的启示下，以拉康的镜像理论为基础，把拉康镜像理论应用到文 本分析之中，用理论去阐释文本。 拉康镜像理论博大精深，晦涩难懂，对其理论的研究还有待更多的学者进一步 发掘；同时，美国著名小说家菲茨杰拉德的这部经典小说耐人寻味，不同的时代、 不同的读者会有
32、不同的诠释。对这部小说主人公悲剧必然性的阐释只能是对此小说 的一个方面的解读，它的深层意义还有待于进一步发掘。 List of Contents Abstract . iii 3； W . v 前言 . vii Chapter One Introduction . 1 1.1 F. Scott. Fitzgerald and his works . 1 1.2 A Brief Summary of the Story . 2 1.3 Rationale of the study . 5 1.4 Literature Review . 7 Chapter Two Lacans Theory of
33、 the Mirror Stage . 12 2.1 The concept of self in Western tradition and its influence on Lacan . 12 2.2 The mirror stage and the name of the father . 13 2.3The mirror stage and the confusion of the imaginary order and the real order. 16 Chapter Three The Cause of Gatsbys Rootlessness in the Society
34、. 19 3.1 Refusal of the name of the father leading to his rootlessness in the society . 19 3.2 His desire to get recognition from the upper class which decides his fate . 20 3.3Unrecognition from the higher class leading to his rootlessness in the society . 23 Chapter Four Confusion of the Mirror an
35、d the Reality . 26 4.1 Gatsbys confusion in the mirror stage . 26 4.1.1 Confusion of the differences between himself and Daisy . 26 4.1.2 Confusion of the differences between himself and Tom . 30 4.2 Misrecognition of the mirror and the reality . 36 4.2.1 Misrecognition of the cruelty of the society
36、 . 36 4.2.2 Misrecognition of the Ideal I and the Real 1 . 38 Chapter Five Conclusion . 41 5.1 Conclusion of the research . 41 5.2 Limitations and suggestions for future research . 42 Bibliography ,43 Chapter One Introduction 1.1 F. Scott. Fitzgerald and his works F. Scott Fitzgerald, the spokesman
37、of a crucial and revealing period in the cultural history of his country, was born to a middle class on September 24, 1896 in Paul, Minnesota. He was sent to a New Jersey Boarding School in 1911. In 1913, he managed to enter Princeton University, where he became an outstanding literary figure and al
38、so a leader of an important Triangle Club, a dramatic society. However, he had troubles with his study at college and he felt obliged to leave the school and escaped the situation by joined the army in November 1917. One of the most important things during the period of his service was that he met Z
39、elda Sayre just in the same way as Gatsby met Daisy. At the sight of her, he fell in love with Zelda Sayre, a daughter of a judge in Montgomery, Alabama, a beautiful society girl, who told him that she liked him well enough but was expensive for him. After his discharge from the army in early 1918,
40、he went for New York to write numerous advertisements so that he could earn much money to win Zelda love but she broke their engagement. In March, 1920, after many days of rewriting of his novel This Side of Paradise, it is surprising that his triumph brought success and marriage to him overnight. 6
41、60n the strength of this one successful book, Fitzgerald won the expensive prize of Zelda, and began, in a sense, his onerous life of making money to support her. This affected his writing tremendously. The Fitzgeralds stormed into New York as the pattern of youth, wealth, and beauty and became the
42、admiration of all who met them”（ Chang Yaoxin， 1990： 284 ). The year 1925 brought him the greatest success and he published his next novel, The Great Gatsby, which captured the fashion, the wealth, the changing sexual habits, the charm, the deceit, and confusion in the social life of the 1920s， but this works didnt bring him great fortune， he had to write at rapid speed to meet the expensive lifestyle and their need for money which went as soon as it came. The Fit