A Psychoanalytical Approach To "Loneliness"

Loneliness,a psychological disease,an everlasting literature theme,cannot be studied enough.Being a psychological disease,normally kept under control within the balance of mental health,loneliness has its origin in the inherent conflicts since the beginning of human,dramatically complicated and aggravated by some outburst of historical and social event.Being a literature theme never out-of-date in literary history,loneliness has its dichotomous focuses: one end in the criticizing and reflection on riotous age and society,the other end in the poetic and aesthetic depiction of the lonely sentiment with humanistic care.After Two Industrial Revolutions and around the time of the Second World War,the turmoil of 1940 s has seen the birth of two great novels on loneliness: The Tunnel and The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.It is not a coincidence that,around this time of change,two novels from different countries should be published centered on the same theme: the whole world has undergone huge historical changes and metaphysical upheavals,which make people feel suppressed,displaced,and desperate.Apart from common reasons,literature,as a product drawn from specific society,bears the marks of typical nationality.The two novels are comparable in that,they both depict “loneliness” as a psychological disease under the influences of global changes and local changes;they both give an aesthetic depiction of “loneliness” with metaphors,symbols,expressionism,escapism and grotesques;they both present futile struggles of their characters' to get rid of loneliness.Under the framework of Fromm's Psychoanalytic Theory,this thesis will make a comparison between the two in three steps: the causes of loneliness,the symptoms of loneliness,and the futile struggle against loneliness.In this comparison,this thesis aims,firstly,to get a systematic understanding of “loneliness” as a psychological disease;secondly,to know better about social and metaphysical trends of both countries;lastly,to get better understanding of both novels in their literary expression.