A Study Of The Theme Of Alienation In Elizabeth Bowen's Novels

Famed as"Jane Austen in the 20th century", the English female writer Elizabeth Bowen (1899-1973) has a vital status in the English literature academia. Her novels are known for the prominent writing features, such as emotional subtleties, explicit expression of sentiments, unique psychological descriptions. Most of her works reflect the subtle relations and emotions of the English middle-upper class. The thematic concern includes man's loneliness, isolation, illusion and alienation in the society with indifference, which altogether impose a severe criticism against the developed English capitalist society in the 20th century. This dissertation adopts the theory of Marxism Alienation and analyzes the theme of alienation in her representative works including, The House in Paris (1935), The Death of the Heart (1938), and The Heat of the Day (1949). The thesis focuses on the expressions and writing techniques of alienation theme in the novels, analyzing the negative impacts that developed English capitalist society has brought upon men. At the same time, the alienation motif in Western literature is also briefly summarized.This dissertation falls into four chapters. The first chapter is the discussion of the historical period in which Bowen lived, her life experience as well as the formation of her alienation theme. The theory of Marxism alienation is employed in the second chapter, highlighting the representation of alienation in Bowen's representative works. An in-depth insight is given to alienation theme from many aspects such as, the alienation of one's subjectivity, the alienation of interpersonal relationship and the alienation of esthetic. In this way, the distortion of humanity and spiritual crisis in highly developed English capitalist society is revealed. The third chapter deals with the writing techniques of representing such a theme. The last chapter as conclusion briefly summarizes the significance of this dissertation, exploring the profound alienation theme in Bowen's works. Finally, the dissertation reveals the inevitability of alienation of humanity in developed capitalist society and searches for the way of anti-alienation.