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1、小妇人中的超验主义思想Analysis of Louisa Alcotts Transcendentalist Thoughts in Little WomenAnalysis of Louisa Alcotts Transcendentalist Thoughts in Little WomenAbstract: Little Women, written by the American novelist Louisa May Alcott in the 19th century, is based on the authors experience with her three siste
2、rs. While this novel has been analyzed from the perspective of Puritanism, Education, and Feminism and so on, this paper tends to explore the meaning of this novel from the perspective of Transcendentalism. Through a detailed analysis of the novel, this paper points out that Alcott is under the grea
3、t effect of transcendentalist thoughts, and the causes of her transcendentalist thoughts formation are also explored. Meanwhile, explains her transcendentalist thoughts in her novel from the two main ideas of the transcendentalist thoughts, which are called views of nature and life. Key words: trans
4、cendentalist thoughts; views of nature; views of life; Little Women小妇人中的超验主义思想摘要：小妇人是美国作家奥尔科特在十九世纪根据其自身和她的三姐妹的童年经历写的一部小说。学者大多是从清教主义，教育和女性主义方面等对该小说展开研究的。本文试从超验主义思想观来解读这部小说所蕴含的深层含义。本文通过对小妇人这部作品的详细分析，指出作者奥尔科特深受超验主义思想的影响和探究她的超验主义思想产生的原因。同时从超验主义的两大思想自然观和人生观着手分析她的作品中所出现的超验主义思想。关键词：超验主义思想；自然观；人生观；小妇人Conten
5、ts1. Introduction of Transcendentalism and Its Main Principles11.1 Transcendentalist Ideas about Nature11.2 Transcendentalist Views of Life22. Review on Louisa and Little Women32.1 Brief Account of Louisas Life32.2 Introduction of Little women42.2.1 The Plot of Little Women42.2.2 Comments on Little
6、women63. Transcendentalist Thoughts Revealed in Little Women73.1 Transcendentalist Views of Nature in Little Women73.1.1 Description of Natures Beauty in Little Women83.1.2 Nature as Symbol of Spirit or God in Little Women93.1.3 Nature as a Restorative Role on Human Mind in Little Women113.2 Transce
7、ndentalist Views of Life in Little Women133.2.1 Self-Reliance and Individualism Shown in Jos Pursuit and Marriage133.2.2 Spiritual Perfection Revealed in the March Sisters Grow-up154. Causes of Louisas Transcendentalist Thoughts174.1 Influence of Puritanism174.2 Influence of Louisas Father and Emers
8、on185. Conclusion19References211. Introduction of Transcendentalism and Its Main PrinciplesTranscendentalism was a movement which widely influenced the region of literary, religion and philosophy, started in 1820s at the United States and had lasted about 20 years. The movement was a reaction or pro
9、test fight for the general state of intellectualism and spirituality. It was a production which came from the English and German Romanticism, and was also influenced by Indian religions, especially by the Upanishads. And then it became a continuous movement and sacred organization with the founding
10、of the Transcendental Club in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on September 8th, 1836, by famous New England intellectuals including George Putnam, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Frederic Henry Hedge. The core value of Transcendentalism is the intrinsic goodness of both people and nature. Transcendentalists beli
11、eve that the society ultimately destroys the purity of the individual, and have a faith that people are at their best when truly “self-reliant” and independent. They believe that individuals are able to generate completely original insights with a little attention and obey to past masters as they ca
12、n.1.1 Transcendentalist Ideas about Nature When it came quickly about the growth of American capitalism, people started to use a great amount of natural resources which in order to develop the science and technology of country and therefore improved the social productive forces. Meanwhile, the advan
13、ce of the industrial revolution, the living standards of American had been largely upgraded. And the consumption can not meet the needs of people who wanted to get more. With the great consuming of natural resources for more profits, the capitalists held the idea that the natural resources in Americ
14、an were inexhaustible. In the turning of the 19th century that owned the background of the great success of American economic, the concept of nature was correlated with exploiting resources, earning money and doing trade, while the transcendentalists held a different idea of nature that was shown in
15、 Emersons Nature(1836).Transcendentalists own view of nature in a unique style. In the eyes of transcendentalist, nature is not only the star, flower, tree, bird and animal, or river, Sea, lake, and all that means beauty, but also a reverence and respect for nature. They can see the existence of Spi
16、rit or God from nature and gain the power of nature. Therefore, nature plays a healthy and restorative role on the human mind.In Emersons essay Nature, he divides the usage of nature for human beings into four kinds: commodity, beauty, language and discipline, which are shown in life and respectivel
17、y the topic of four parts. Nature provides fundamental needs for man; nature satisfies mans wish for happy; man communicates with others through nature and gets his own comprehension about world via nature.Emerson is immersed in the simple natural scenes of life; he has an intensive consciousness of
18、 nature as a constant revelation of spirit instead of ordinary events. As he says in his Nature:Standing on the bare ground, -my head bathed by the blithe air and uplifted into infinite space, -all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Un
19、iversal Being circulate through me; I am part of particle of Universal (Emerson, 1982: 39).The sentence that Emerson mentions showing that if people continue to open to nature, the revelation will go on as usual. In other words, man can communicate with God or spirit through nature and have a purifi
20、ed soul in nature. It emphasizes the combination of man, God and nature. 1.2 Transcendentalist Views of Life Throughout the early history of the United States, the views and attitudes of the “people” that continued to be discussed in variously religious ideas and philosophical standpoints. America h
21、ad been influenced by the doctrine of Puritanism and Calvinist thought over a long period of time from the start of colonization. From 17th to 18th century, the flourish of Bourgeois revolution in Europe brought Americans to an era that was full of rationality and gradually changed the ideas about “
22、people”. The United States suffered the hugest financial crisis in its development. Banks closed, people lost their jobs. Meanwhile, the beautifully material world toppled in a sudden. People cant pledge their own security. Since then, people had realized the importance of the individuals. In the sp
23、eech entitled “The American Scholar”(Emerson, 1837), Emerson stressed the value of people and proposed the task of scholars was to bring to light the truth, inspire, educate, and lead people to choose a right way. Emerson hoped that everyone needed to know the worth of them and possessed courage and
24、 nerve to fight all they didnt agree with. Emerson also wrote in his 1840 journal Self-Reliance: In all my lectures, I have taught one doctrine, namely, the infinitude of the private man (Emerson, 1840: 13). Emerson emphasizes the importance of the divinity in individual soul. To a great extent, the
25、 view which Emerson approves is opposite to materialism. He firmly believes that: people are all; and the potential of human is unlimited, as long as believe yourself, depend on yourself and respect yourself. Self-reliance would be able to achieve.2. Review on Louisa and Little WomenLouisa May Alcot
26、t was an American woman writer and poet in 19th century, best known as the author of the novel Little Women (1868) and its sequel Little Men (1871) and Jos Boys (1886).2.1 Brief Account of Louisas LifeLouisa was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania on November 29th, 1832. She was the second child in her
27、 family. Two years later after her birth, the Alcott family moved to a new place Boston. And the American Transcendentalism began with the establishment of the Transcendental Club in Boston in 1836, where Alcotts father set up an experimental school and joined the Transcendental Club which gathered
28、the famous philosopher such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. For Alcott, free childhood maybe a wish, because her father completely concentrated on Transcendentalism and educational reformation, thus paid much less attention to supporting family. Alcott worked at any jobs which were a
29、vailable to women in her time to earn money for helping her family, such as teaching, writing and so on.On account of her life experience, she became more independent and individual, which also provided the raw data for her in later writing career. And her fathers participation of the Transcendental
30、 Club gave her a chance to have a close contact with some of the well-known scholars and literary figures at that time. The most of her education had been gained from her father and these transcendentalists. Naturally, their views and thoughts took an active and impressive effect on her mind. Moreov
31、er, Louisa had a practice as a nurse which she volunteered to join the Union Army and owned an impressed memory with the war and soldiers. With the publication of little women, Alcott got a series of reader and her work became the bestseller than ever before. Louisa kept single throughout her whole
32、life and sacrificed her whole life to support family and continued writing. She was an advocator in women suffrage and became the first woman to cast a vote in Concord, Massachusetts. Alcott died at age 55 on March 6, 1888, just the two days after her fathers death and buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemete
33、ry near her father, Emerson, Hawthorne, and Thoreau, which on a hillside known as “Authors Ridge” nowadays.2.2 Introduction of Little women Little women is one of the most popular novels in the American literary history. The majority of novel bases on the author, Louisa and her three sisters life. T
34、his family novel describes the sweetness and sadness of life for the Marches in an episodic structure and uses a long section to portray the process from girls to women of the four sisters. 2.2.1 The Plot of Little WomenDuring the civil war, the March live in an old house in Concord, Massachusetts.
35、Mr. March joins the army to take care of the wounded soldier, while his wife and four young daughters Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy are at home. Though Mr. March is absent for family, Mrs. March and four daughters live in simple but joyful life. Four sisters are kind girls and they have their own character,
36、 lovely and virtuous Meg, the eldest; forthright, gifted and boyish Jo, who is dreaming of being a writer, the second; gentle and quiet Beth loves playing piano; beautiful but spoiled Amy likes painting, the youngest. Under the influence of their mother, Kindhearted four sisters often help the poor.
37、 Although the family is not rich; they sacrifices their Christmas breakfast to help the poor family, the Hummels. Their neighbor Mr. Laurence has heard of this matter, in order to praise the little girls, he prepares a big dinner as their Christmas gifts. They are always positive to face their hard
38、life, but they also have their shortcomings: Megs vanity, the temper of Jo, Beths shyness, Amys selfish and thoughtlessness. The girls determine to fight against their defects in result of the encouragement from their fathers letter. They suffer difficulties and get lessons from life. Jo visits the
39、kindhearted neighbor boy Laurie and then they become good friends. Jo is still working hard on her writing and the naughty Amy often cut off her nose to spite her sister Jos face. Jo feels strong indignation for Amy burnt her manuscripts just because she refuses to take her to cinema. However, she h
40、as been conscious of her rage to Amy since Amy nearly drowns in the river owing to her bad temper, she decides to learn to control her temper. Meg shows her passion in party. But after she goes through the setbacks in the Vanity Fair, she has a better comprehension about substance and the meaning of
41、 life. She ultimately falls in love with the poor but positive man John Brooke, who is the tutor of the Laurie. Amy is punished by school because of trading limes and then she decides to drop out of school. She wants to have more chance to cultivate her artistic talent and improves herself for spiri
42、tual part. With the help and support of the family, Beth is not bashful and even starts to learn the piano from Mr. Laurence. The four sisters gradually change with the time goes by. Nevertheless, it breaks the peace of the family after a letter which comes through the illness of the Mr. March. So M
43、rs.March needs to go to Washington where her husband lives and she should go to there to take care of him. After the leave of mother, Beth happens to get infected Scarlet fever. Marchs house is shrouded in a cloud of gloom, yet the mutual love, assistance, encouragement and great courage to pass thr
44、ough the barrier. Soon, mother and recovered father go home together. Meanwhile, Beth also begins to reinstate her health. The first part ends up with the return of Mr. March and an engagement is held for Meg and John.The second part takes place three years later. Meg marries with John and gave birt
45、h to twins for him. During the period of matrimony, she fights with the housework and resists the attraction of material at last. Jo finishes and then publishes her first novel. At the same time, she receives the confession of love from Laurie but refuses him. And then in order to escape the affecti
46、on from Laurie, she moves to New York where she meets Bhaer, a poor but gentle German teacher. With the help of Aunt Carol, Amy has an opportunity to go to Europe and starts her artistic pursuit for painting. On the road of her dream, she comes across Laurie and they are attracted by each other and
47、with the deep understanding they get married. Beth becomes weak day by day, and finally ceases to breathe. After the death of Beth, Jo takes the real life of her and three sisters as the raw data to create a novel. Jo accepts the suggestion of her mother that rebuilds the big house from Aunt Carol.
48、The big house has been changed into a school. At last, Jo has met Professor again and finds her true love. The novel finishes with the happy family and the transformation of four sisters in their spiritual pilgrimage.2.2.2 Comments on Little womenLittle Women has gained a great number of attention a
49、nd loves from readers since it was first published. During the time of the 19th century to the early 20th century, comments of the novel concentrated on its popularity and depicted the New England family life of 1860s through special and vivid description. Such as LiuLu, who stressed the charm of Little Women