From Antinomy To Syncretism-the Religious Passage In John Updike's Novels

Studies upon John Updike (1932- ) conducted by Chinese critics are mostly centered on the social connotation or structural features about Updike's works, or simply general introduction to his novels. This thesis is the first attempt so far in China to explore the changes of the religious thought of John Updike as is reflected in his works.Upon examining his life experience and literary works, the author of the present thesis has found that Updike is deeply concerned with matters of religion, which distinguishes him from his contemporary writers. Further research shows that Updike's religious thought has actually undergone three stages of development. Based on careful analyses of his literary works from the perspective of the relationship between the sacred and the secular, the author has discovered that these three stages coincide with three of his Christian novels, namely, The Poorhouse Fair, Rabbit, Run, and A Month of Sundays. In these works, the relations between the sacred and the secular have developed from antinomy to syncretism, in the same way as the development of the relationship between religion and the mundane world. Moreover, these changes in his books expose substantial variations in the religious thought of Updike himself: from bitterness and resistance in The Poorhouse Fair, to re-meditation and interest in Rabbit, Run, and finally to fascination and acceptance in A Month of Sundays.In addition, the thesis gives a critical comment on Updike's attitudes towards religious crisis and the indications that he has vaguely proposed in his works. It seems that Updike is not only interested in showing the changes of religion in modern society, but also intends to seek out possible solutions for the religious crisis. Although he has set out to explore the ways on how to rebalance the relationship between the sacred and the secular, no unequivocal answers can be found in any of his books. Two reasons may account for his circumspection: first, he is addicted to the principle of ambiguity in literary creation; second, he is still on his journey of religious quest. Therefore, the readers can only make their own explorations, like Updike himself has been doing, for the indications of the possible solutions that areimplied in his works.One thing that needs to be pointed out here is that the three stages divided in this thesis are by no means applicable to Updike's literary career in a strict chronological order. Instead, the theme that appears in his book once can re-occur again in his later works. The differentiation that is made in this thesis is both for the convenience of the study of Updike's religious thought and for the benefit of examining his religious themes that are mirrored in his works.