The Becoming And Significance Of Monster Images In The Works Of Literature And Fine Arts

In the field of Comparative Literature, the study on the image of monster belongs to the Thematics and Imagology. Different from the monster that we are acquainted with in daily life, the monster has been a long history in the fields of aesthetics and culture. Even though the image of monster has been misunderstood in various forms of works, the monster still remained its nature, which shows the shining glamour in the work at different times. The study on the image of monster reflected in the literary work and its aesthetic connotation not only explains the weird phenomenon of the mass heavy taste, but also provides some new different idea or insight for modern art and literature as well as for the critics who make a study of history and culture. More important, it suits the theme of discussion on the relationship between technology and literature.The thesis will focus on three nodes and types in the development of major images of monsters—the Therianthropy Chimera, Frankenstein and Cyborgs respectively. It will discuss their generations and aesthetic connotations in different historical background through analysis and summary. Therefore, this thesis is divided into three parts to explain the detailing process.The first part illustrates the Therianthropy Chimera, one variation of the monster, in the ancient art works, Frankenstein in modern science fiction and Cyborgs in contemporary technological and humanistic society. The part discusses the origin of the three images of monster, analyzes the causes of transformation and the connotations in the modern contexts.The second part mainly analyzes how the image of monster is generated in different historical contexts, which involved in three dimensions:collective unconsciousness:the natural world and the supernatural imagination, cultural research:other imagination of domestication and foreignization, Humanism:contradictory imagination of humanity and beastliness.The third part discusses the legend of the monster Chimera and its aesthetic connotation. The image of monster reflects the Mythos. It presents the tragic spirit that formed in the confrontations among human beings, nature and society, shows the unique aesthetics for ugliness and promotes the introspection against the relationship between technology and literature, and the expectations for the future.As for the conclusion, the thesis indicates the development process of the image of monster from the ancient legends, modern science to the contemporary digital media. The monster featuring humanity and beastliness is not left out by the human beings, but to take on a new form. The formation of the monster image is multi-dimensional, which is affected by the collective unconsciousness on one hand, and the historical and cultural factors on the other hand. The image of monster has plentiful connotations of methology and aesthetics. The study of the monster image has a deep enlightenment on relationship between technology and literature.