From Spilt To Integrity:Self-exploration In Patrick White's The Vivisector From The Perspective Of Dualism

Patrick White(1912-1990),the Nobel Prize Laureate of Literature in Australia,mainly delineates in his works the conflicts of divided selves,explores the inner spiritual world of individuals and seeks the harmony of body and soul,which make his works stand out among traditional literature that mainly focuses on the relationships between human beings and outside world.The Vivisector(1970)is the exact novel which fully depicts the process of self-discovery of the protagonist Hurtle Duffield,and through the depiction of Hurtle's self-progress,the novel explores the nature of God and artist,the realization of authentic self as well as the pilgrimage of spiritual self.The thesis is intended to analyze self-split and integrity of the protagonist in The Vivisector from the perspective of Rene Descartes' dualism so as to emphasize the importance of individual's spiritual exploration and the necessity for an individual to achieve self-wholeness by merging with God.In light of the dualism,it mainly argues that the nature of mind(soul)is completely different from that of the body,therefore,it is possible for one to exist without the other,as shown in the protagonist;but on the other hand,the final unity of any dualities betokens that the wholeness of body and soul of the self-split protagonist can be achieved by exploring his true self in his physical experience and his spiritual pilgrimage.Thus,the thesis firstly elucidates how body and mind(soul)can work separately through the experience of the protagonist Hurtle Duffield himself and the vivisection he impels himself to make on the people around him and then illuminates how body interacts with soul in order to achieve the self-wholeness at spiritual level by presenting the spiritual interactions between Hurtle and the religious figures he acquaints with and epiphanies he captures through interacting with God in his late life.The thesis finally comes to a conclusion that human beings explore their true selves both at physical and spiritual level,but the self-wholeness can only be achieved at spiritual level by seeking the harmony between body and soul through the intervention of God.The purpose of the thesis is not only to provide a new perspective for a better understanding of the novel,but also to reiterate the realistic significance which White himself and the novel wish to reveal,that is,the individual should reach the core of reality which opposes to the merely superficial or material,and for White,the core of reality is the inner world of man,the dwelling place of the soul.In other words,the meaning of existence is to explore the pure self,to seek the harmony of body and soul,to achieve the transcendence of spiritual self.