| Saul Bellow,a prominent American writer in the 20th century,has touched upon the middle-aged life of a man called Tommy Wilhelm in his excellent novella Seize the Day.The novella depicts a day in the life of the protagonist Wilhelm who is on the verge of collapse.As he lacks the help of his father,the support of his wife and the accurate guidance of his friend,Wilhelm falls into his midlife crisis.To some extent,Wilhelm’s midlife crisis is caused by the social environment and the relationships between him and the people around him.The aim of this paper is to interpret Wilhelm’s midlife crisis in Seize the Day through Henri Lefebvre’s space theory.The discussion of the relationships between Wilhelm and the people around him,and the influence of Hotel Gloriana,the home,the stock market and the chapel helps us find out the possibility that Wilhelm would get out of the midlife crisis as well as reveal the causes of Wilhelm’s midlife crisis.The introduction section of the thesis gives an overview of Saul Bellow and his related works,the literature review of Seize the Day at home and abroad and an introduction to Henri Lefebvre’s space theory.The body parts of the thesis analyze Wilhelm’s midlife crisis in different social space,which is aimed at showing the causes of his midlife crisis and the hope for him to get out of it.The first chapter discusses the rejected relationship between Wilhelm and his father at Hotel Gloriana.His father has turned him down indifferently though he only needs the spiritual comfort,which leads to his midlife crisis.The second chapter examines entangled relationship between him and his wife at the unseen home.His wife makes him feel extremely stressful,which also leads to his midlife crisis.The third chapter states the disloyal relationship between him and his friend in the stock market.Dr.Tamkin cheats him and gives wrong advice on the investment of lard and rye,which makes him fall into the midlife crisis badly.The fourth chapter focuses on the unexpected relationship between him and the dead stranger in the chapel.He attends the stranger’s funeral and discovers the meaning of death.There is also the possibility that Wilhelm would get out of the midlife crisis after the cry in the chapel.The conclusion section summaries the theme of midlife crisis in Seize the Day from the perspective of space theory.Wilhelm’s midlife crisis is caused by the social space.However,there is the possibility that Wilhelm would get out of the midlife crisis after his cry in the chapel,and he would soon have the confidence to start a new life. |
