A Comparative Study Of Dwelling Narrowness And The House Of Mirth From The Perspective Of Consumption Ethics

Dwelling Narrowness is a bestseller of Liu Liu who is a contemporary Chinese writer. Her novels mainly concern on the urban life. Dwelling Narrowness is about two sisters’ experience of buying a house in Shanghai, China. It is a true reflection of the living conditions of Chinese young generation. The House of Mirth, masterpiece of the celebrated American writer Edith Wharton who is honoured as the “feminist prophet”, tells a story of Lily Bart in New York. She aspires to marry the wealthy from upper-class, but finally is expelled from there. The Novel reveals the evil sides of the bustling city New York to readers. Dwelling Narrowness and The House of Mirth are both related to the problem of consumption in social transition period,as well as the development and change of consumption ethics. The comparative study of the two works would have certain inspiration for individuals under the influence of consumption economy in a high-speed transitional period.Based on close reading, this thesis conducts a parallel study through analyzing and comparing the above-mentioned literary works from the perspective of human science combined with humanitarian consumption ethics theory of Erich Fromm. The research aims to highlight the interpretation and characterization of the literary works about human nature, broaden the text horizon of explanation and deepen our understanding of the text.This thesis is divided into six parts. The first part includes the significance of the study and the literature review. In Chapter One, the basic ideas of consumption, consumption ethics, as well as Fromm’s ethic theories are introduced. Chapter Two explores the consumption ethical environment of Dwelling Narrowness and The House of Mirth respectively. In Chapter Three, from the aspects of living space and "symbol" catering entertainment, the consumption ethical dilemma of the major characters in the novel is analyzed. Chapter Four focuses on the problems of interpersonal relationships from the perspective of alienated love and family affection caused by consumption. Chapter Five takes Hai Zao and lily, Song Siming and Selden as contrast groups to reveal consumption ethics problem— self-alienation.The last part is Conclusion: In the age of excessive consumption, consumption activities become an important content and purpose of life. Consumerism ideology is also very popular. Consumption alienation destroys humanity and hinders comprehensive development of human beings. The analysis and comparison of the two novels have valuable enlightenment for the healthy development of society and individuals. The construction of Humanitarian consumption ethics has played a positive role in eliminating the greedy material desires and building a reasonable consumption concept.