Research On The Social And Cultural Criticism Of Edmund Wilson

The American critic,Edmund Wilson,attaches importance to the intrinsic value of literary and artistic works,which shows his social sensitivity and responsibility.His criticism starts from the social and cultural perspective,because he realizes social and cultural criticism will have a positive impact on the world view of people.His criticism reflects the historical view of Marxist philosophy.Specific social existence determines the changes of social consciousness,which includes the literary and artistic criticism thought has a counter-effect on social existence.Wilson's social and cultural criticism has certain historical significance and ideological value for exploring the development of Marxist criticism.Chapter 1 includes: Questions Raised,Significance of Topics,Summary of Previous Research Achievements,Research Methods and Innovations.The historical criticism in Wilson's literary criticism is the expression of Marxist criticism method,which has certain historical significance for exploring the history of Marxist literary criticism.Besides,it is valuable to strengthen the construction of Marxist literary criticism theory and to open up the scope of literary criticism.In the review of foreign and domestic research results,the research on Wilson has been found to have the following exploration spaces: a systematic analysis of the theoretical origin of social and cultural criticism,his identity of Marxist Critic,the systematic exploration of his three-stage representative works,as well as his cultural criticism and anthropological research.Chapter 2,based on the three stages of Wilson's literary criticism,it explains the social,historical and cultural backgrounds of the 1920 s,1930s,1940 s and 1950 s,as well as the expression of Wilson's literary criticism under such circumstances.With targeted narration of American history,the aim is to understand the close relationship between Wilson's criticism and the social and historical development more clearly through background introduction.Chapter 3 traces four origins of Wilson's social and cultural criticism.It discusses the relationship between his social and cultural criticism and Taine's historical criticism,Matthew Arnold's cultural criticism,Freud's psychoanalysis and Marxist historical criticism.They convey some suggestions to Wilson: Critics voluntarily devote themselves to society through literary criticism.Only firmly grasp the whole of human society,can criticism in the social and cultural level have a certain depth and comprehensiveness.Literary criticism bears the responsibility of rational social criticism from the cultural perspective.To achieve sublation in criticism,not only should the classical culture be cherished and protected,but also the excellent thoughts of the times should be accepted.Taine's "Three Elements" theory is the social and historical criticism which is Wilson's "eternal criticism".His social and cultural criticism has inherited and surpassed the idea of Arnold's "Hebraism and Hellenism" and the "touchstone" method.When he applies Freudian psychoanalysis to the writers and works in The Wound and the Bow,on one hand,psychoanalysis is used;on the other hand,works creation is combined with society.When Wilson uses Marxist criticism to carry out literary criticism,he shows Marxist critical principles in four aspects: his efforts in social and cultural criticism,focusing on the historical consciousness in the study of modern literature and literary history,resisting the established criticism,and being a Marxist critic with critical consciousness constantly sublimated.Chapter Four is a systematic review of Wilson's social and cultural criticism at three levels: political criticism,historical criticism and popular culture criticism from the Perspective of Marxist Anthropology.From the relationship between literary and political relations in his criticism,he focuses the paradox of self-discipline and heteronomy of literature,as well as enlightenment and aesthetics,which reveals the Aesthetic Practicality and social value of literary criticism.The value of literature does not conflict with the intervention of politics.As far as historical criticism is concerned,the method of historical criticism is the combination of Freud's psychological analysis,Marxism criticism and Taine's "Three Factors" Theory — Race,Milieu and Moment.Wilson's biographical criticism shows that the environment of the times always influences individuals.Biographical criticism is the expression of his historical criticism method and history conception.In addition,Wilson is positive about cultural pluralism because it allows different groups of people to have their own cultural standards and brings people democratic choice and freedom in culture.In Chapter Five,the representative works of three stages of Wilson's criticism are analyzed and interpreted.Each works is introduced and criticized from the origin of the title and the structure of the works.In "Axel Castle" Wilson's does not condemn the creative skills of symbolic writers,but criticizes the way they exist in the world.He has a dialectical understanding of symbolism: On one hand,he does not encourage writers to use artistic strokes to depict the fantasy world as the one of real life.On the other hand,he expounds the revolutionary nature of symbolism.In "To the Finland Station",the works written about the history of Marxism,Wilson starts from the beginning of the French Revolution written by the historians such as Michelet and Taine,then to Utopian socialism,the writing and dissemination of Marxism,ultimately to the victory of the Russian Revolution led by Lenin.In this part,the particularity of Wilson's criticism is illustrated from two aspects: "Understanding of Art and Self-Projection in Historical Writing" as well as "Dialectics in Wilson's Historical Writing".In "Patriotic Gore",Wilson's history concept is explained from three aspects: Criticism of historical figures in "historicity" and "humanity",the moral criticism and the nationalism criticism at the historical and political level as well as Wilson's America in "Patriotic Gore".In the section of "Moral Criticism of Wilson's History and Politics",it highlights human moral problems described in "Patriotic Gore" and the moral conflicts of various characters in the Civil War.This shows the unique role of literature as a medium: Literature is the production of culture and aesthetic ideology and related to ethics,morality,religion,etc.The purpose of this dissertation is to systematically explore Edmund Wilson's social and cultural criticism,and try to make further supplement in some fields the predecessors leave.Besides the research breakthroughs pointed out in the beginning of the Abstract,the defects of Wilson's social and cultural criticism are pointed out in the ending of the thesis as well as the research space in future.