Power And Existence

Virginia Woolf,a British female writer,is praised as the pioneer of modernism and feminism in the 20th century.Her notable experimental novel,Mrs.Dalloway is regarded as one of the most important modern novels in the western world.For years,Mrs.Dalloway has been studied from different perspectives by literary critics.Most studies on Mrs.Dalloway focus on its experimental writing techniques and the profoundness of themes such as life and death,sense and insanity as well as feminist ideas.And the analysis of power relations among characters and aesthetics of existence in Mrs.Dalloway are the focus of this thesisBased on Michel Foucault's power theory and aesthetics of existence,this thesis attempts to analyze power mechanisms and aesthetics of existence in Mrs.Dalloway.The main body of this thesis includes four parts:chapter ? briefly introduces Michel Foucault's theory and emphasizes three concepts,namely "power and discipline","power and resistance" and“aesthetics of existence";chapter ?,from the point of power and discipline,points out that all the characters are disciplined by the ubiquity of power;chapter IV,from the point of power and resistance,explains how Septimus and Clarissa,the two main characters,resist the disciplinary power over them in their own ways;chapter V discusses different endings of Septimus and Clarissa,showing how aesthetics of existence is reflected in the novelIn light of Foucault's micro-power theory and aesthetics of existence,this thesis aims to demonstrate a new way of reading Mrs.Dalloway so that people can better understand Virginia Woolf's attitude toward society.In the meantime,this thesis excavates existence dilemma and identity confusion existing on the spiritual level of modern people.It correlates the visible life of modern people with the invisible power.In this respect,this thesis aims to attain practical value of human sociology beyond literary aesthetics.