The Image Of Wanderers In The Adventures Of David Simple

Sarah Fielding(1710-1768) is a famous female novelist in Britain in the eighteenth century and also the young sister of renowned writer Henry Fielding. The Adventures of David Simple is Sarah’s first novel as well as her most important work.Her masterpiece The Adventures of David Simple, mainly takes the hero David Simple’s long journey in London as the main clue to develop the whole story. David Simple, as the eldest son of a rich mercer, leads a comfortable life with her brother Daniel. However, because of desire for occupying the fortune of his father alone,Daniel forges the will and forces David away from home. Although the conspiracy of his brother is disclosed later, David decides to travel through the London to find a true friend. In his journey, David meets Cynthia, Camilla and Valentine, with whom finally forms a small harmonious community to rove together.Since the publication of The Adventures of David Simple, many scholars at home and abroad have studied it respectively from such perspectives as themes, narrative forms, gender and utopian characteristics of the novel and so on. But so far, very few people have made profound analysis of and researches on its image of wanderer. By the interpretation of Benjamin’s “flaneur” theory, analyzing the different kinds of wanderer image in this novel, we can find the dual characteristics of the wanderer which the one is forced to wander in society, and the other is choosing to rove in real life. These wanderers have certain education background, and they are not willing to be overwhelmed by the rotten ideas. Because of the loss of spiritual comfort and family prosecution, they have to wander in the city to seek their ideals. Therefore, this thesis aims to combine the two main characteristics of the wanderer to analyze the four protagonists’ dual wanderer image represented in the novel The Adventures of David Simple. The first chapter will mainly discuss their wanderer image as the vagabond of survival in the novel. In the text, four characters are all forced to rove in city for their survival. In the course of their roving, they also choose to form the harmonious roving community. In their journey, they never want to return their homeand show no attachment to the family. So in the beginning of their wander, to their former family, they are true vagabonds. In the deep part of their soul, wanderers have a rootless feeling. However, philanthropy and equality permeate in their small community, which cannot be found in their former family. The second chapter intends to analyze their wanderer image as the outsider of reality by interpreting their identity of marginalized youth in the society but drifting away from the mainstream society with cool detachment. Forced to leave home, they have to wanderer in the city but cannot have their own position in society. Wanderers do not want to be lost in the mainstream society. Just like what Benjamin says, they are among the crowd but keep distance with them, because wanderers do not want to lose themselves in the mass.What they really want to do is observe and experience the world and then gain their spiritual comfort. The third chapter mostly analyzes their wanderer image represented in the novel embodied by the libertine seeker of spirit. In the course of their rove, we can feel their escape and doubt about selfishness, coolness and hypocrisy in society,which cause their spirit suffer a lot. Despite the loss of spiritual comfort caused by the dark part of society, they hold ideal faith in the beauty of life.As a successful eighteenth century novel written by a female writer, its research is far from enough, especially for the research in China. This thesis aims to study the wanderers in this picaresque novel from Benjamin’s flaneur perspective in order to open a new door for related study. Social changes and modern cities brought by the eighteenth century industrial revolution provide a stage for wanderers, and these wanderers represented in The Adventures of David Simple is like a mirror that reflects the people’s life situations under the social background at that time. Wanderers are homeless or frustrated, and rove in the city aimlessly. More cruelty and coldness they go through, more sensitive their perception is to the society. After many sufferings and unfairness of life, they still hold faith in the beauty of life.