From Spiritual Paralysis To Spiritual Liberation:an Interpretation Of The Urban Space In James Joyce's Dubliners

James Joyce?1882-1941?is one of the most famous Irish novelists in the early twentieth century.Dubliners is a collection of fifteen short stories written by James Joyce,which forms a depiction of Irish middle class life in and around Dublin.Modern city emerges from the transformation from conventional agricultural civilization to contemporary industrial civilization.In nearly all European countries,the development of urbanization had reached its climax by the end of the 19^th century.The city has witnessed the change,cultural phenomena and problems in society in different phases of modernization.This thesis argues that the city spaces described in literature are faithful representations of the real images of cities to some degree and that the literary city remodels and reconstructs the city in reality as well.All the fifteen short stories have its background set in Dublin which is a city worth interpreting.In Dubliners,city spaces play an important role in presenting the city's image and the true psychological state of Dubliners.Spatial criticism is a literary criticism developed in the 1980s on the basis of postmodern theories such as cultural geography and cultural studies.It is an interdisciplinary theory of criticism that spans a number of disciplines including humanities,geography,history,politics,society and architecture etc.The early founders of spatial criticism include Henri Lefebvre,Michel Foucault and Mike Crang.With the help of spatial theories,this thesis focuses on the analysis of typical urban spatial images and the mental state of Dubliners in this work.Spiritual paralysis is considered as the widely acknowledged theme of Dubliners.By presenting Dubliners'miserable and depressed life in Dublin,Joyce showed the spiritual paralysis in his times.He exiles himself out of his homeland for many years,and has a complex relationship with his hometown,Dublin.On the one hand,he is sick of Dublin for its being a city of failure and of unhappiness.On the other hand,he makes efforts to find ways out of the social situations in his times.In his eyes,Dublin was a disaster-ridden city under the dual pressures of the British Empire and Catholicism.Through the combination of history,politics and religion,this paper tries to reconsider the themes of Dubliners.This thesis is arranged into six parts.The introduction part briefly introduces James Joyce's literary status and the general content of his Dubliners.The fifteen stories in Dubliners has been discussed and interpreted by readers and academics from many perspectives since its publication.The brief summary of the previous study of Dubliners both at home and abroad is presented.Chapter one analyzes the close relationship between city and literature,and the social background of Dublin in Joyce's times which provides Joyce with abundant writing materials.Meanwhile,Joyce's personal city experience in Dublin and other cities in Europe profoundly affected his presentation of Dublin.Chapter two discusses three categories of spatial forms in Dubliners in which people are paralyzed both mentally and physically.The spatial forms include individual spaces,outer spaces and social spaces.Individual spaces mainly refer to personal houses.Outer space such as street,wharf and the description of natural environment are discussed.Social Spaces consists of the boarding house,the pub,church and dancing party etc.Chapter three diagnoses the causes that lead to the spiritual paralysis in Dublin mainly from three aspects.Firstly,it discussed the hostility of British colonial domination which threatened the traditional Irish culture.Secondly,the side-effect of development of modern urbanization is revealed.Thirdly,the decadence of conventional social belief aggravates spiritual paralysis.Chapter four urges readers of Dubliners to reconsider the traditional tropes of paralysis and stagnation with the illustration of Joyce's pursuit for spiritual liberation.Joyce emphasizes Dubliners'love for their compatriots and their countries,which serves as spiritual strength for the unities of Dubliners.Many protagonists in Dubliners get their spiritual rebirth which indicates the possibility for social change.Finally,it analyzes Joyce's pursuit for self-definition under the influence of Irish culture.Through the analysis of the Dubliners'living conditions and mental states reflected in different spatial forms in modern city,this paper concludes that Joyce has taken a step towards the spiritual liberation.Joyce hopes to awaken people's national consciousness and to introspect Irish history and culture.Dublin is not paralyzed,but one that,like Gabriel Conroy at the end of“The Dead”,recognizes that“the time had come”to begin a new journey of self-definition.