The English Gothic Novels And The Chinese Supernatural Tales In The Six Dynasties: A Comparative Study

This Dissertation attempts to do a comparative study of the English Gothic Novels and the Chinese Supernatural Tales in the Six Dynasties. This topic is full of challenges, for the research of the English Gothic Novels is inadequate in China and the study of the Chinese Supernatural Tales is far from sufficient; let alone to do comparative study of the two literary types and explore their cultural significances. The present dissertation will employ the methodology of Analogy Study of Comparative Literature, in addition to Hermeneutics, Reception Theory and Narratological Theory. Based on the cross-cultural communication principles, this dissertation intends to identify the English Gothic Novels and the Chinese Supernatural Tales in the Six Dynasties: their literary traditions, their peculiar literary characteristics, their special aesthetic values, and most important, their commonness as mysterious and ghost stories. The elements of novel will be the discussion focus throughout this dissertation, and the research will be carried out by centering on several issues.The dissertation is intended to draw some fresh ideas and innovations in the following aspects: 1) It systematically studies the thought value, artistic achievements and the influences of the English Gothic Novels in the Western literary history from a comparative point of view. Some of the most influential English Gothic Novels will be in detail analyzed, which will serve as a avant-garde academic work of English Gothic Novel study in China. 2) It identifies for the first time the textual achievement of the Chinese Supernatural Tales in the Six Dynasties and its literary glamour which has long been ignored. By taking English Gothic Novels as reference, this research of the Chinese Supernatural Tales brings forth a breakthrough comparing with the previous study in this field 3) It looks at the English Gothic Novels and the Chinese Supernatural Tales in the whole system of world literature, makes it possible for the two literary systems to have a "dialogue" and hence communication, and tries to merge the two systems which are formerly isolated. 4)It clarifies the literary expression forms of the horrors and grotesques of the Gothic Novels and Supernatural Tales, and probes into the theoretical connotation, unique aesthetic value and significance of the two literary types.The Preface explains the reason, comparability, purpose, methods and significance of this comparative study between the English Gothic Novels and the Chinese Supernatural Tales in the Six Dynasties.Chapter 1 expounds the cultural backgrounds. It examines the historical and culturalatmosphere against which English Gothic Novels and Chinese Supernatural Tales developed, providing some premises for recognizing the differences and similarities of the two literary types.Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 explore the plots of the two literary types. Starting from the literary expression forms of the horrors and grotesques, it analyzes the differences and similarities of the English Gothic Novels and the Chinese Supernatural Tales, clarifies the theoretical connotations and aesthetic significance of the two literary types in the cultural perspectives.Chapter 4 deals with the themes. It focuses on the differences and similarities, and their causes of the three dominant themes, retribution, love and revenge in the English Gothic Novels and Chinese Supernatural Tales.Chapter 5 centers on characters. It concentrates on the differences ,the similarities and cultural traditions of the character types and the art of character portrayal in the two literary types.Chapter 6 and 7 aim at narrative technology analysis. By applying the narratological theory, it makes a minute analysis of the differences and similarities of the two literary types in the aspects of the choice of narrative perspectives and the expression forms of the narrative time.The Conclusion Part summarizes the whole dissertation, reemphasizes the great significance of a comparative study of the English Gothic Novels and Chinese Supernatural Tales in the...