An Existential Reading Of A. S. Byatt’s Possession

A.S.Byatt, one of the most imaginative and intelligent writers in Britain today,depicts the existence of human beings in modern society and conveys her anxiety forthe existence of modern men in her most popular and successful work Possession: ARomance. As an aesthetic experiment in modernist techniques and extensive culturalallusions to myths and fairy tales, the publication of Possession in1990aroused theinterests of literary critics both at home and abroad, and critics interpret this novelfrom various perspectives such as feminism, postmodernism, and new historicism.Taking into account of the prevalent impact of existentialism on British intellectualsand the social background of Britain in1980s, the thesis intends to study Possessionfrom the existential perspective.Existentialism is a literary approach which applies the existential ideology tothe literature study and explores the meaning of life and the value of humanexistence. The thesis discusses the existence of modern men from existentialdoctrine of “existence precedes essence”,“the life is agony”, and “free choice”,exposing the implied existential thinking in Byatt’s Possession, indicating that manmakes himself and obtains happiness by means of free choice. It tends to provide notonly an approach to the understanding of Possession: A Romance, but also a newperspective to the study of Byatt.