| George Eliot was an outstanding British novelist and poet in the nineteenth century.She is hailed as a pioneer of modern psychological novels and shares the reputation with Charles Dickens and William Thackeray.Her works have always been the focus of research by experts and scholars at home and abroad.The Mill on the Floss is Eliot’s second novel and is also widely considered to be her semi-autobiographical novel.Through vivid character portrayal,delicate writing skills and complex psychological descriptions,the novel presents the daily life of the Tullivers in the Victorian backdrop and focuses on the protagonist’s family affection,love,friendship and her tragic ending.Up to now,research scholars both at home and abroad have approached The Mill on the Floss from diverse perspectives such as theme,character,genre,and writing style.Besides,different critical schools and interdisciplinary approaches are also used to explore the profound implication of the novel,among which feminist criticism and eco-criticism are overwhelmingly applied.It is notable that only a minority of existing studies have paid attention to the protagonist’s mental state in the novel,but most of them apply Freudian psychoanalysis.No research has conducted a systematic study by means of Horneyan psychoanalysis.As one of the representatives of the social-cultural school in the field of psychoanalysis,Karen Horney has formed a set of psychoanalytic theories about anxiety which emphasize the influence of social environmental factors on individual’s psychology.Combined with the novel,Horneyan psychoanalysis is more reasonable and more practical to analyze the protagonist’s anxiety in contrast with Freudian psychoanalysis.Therefore,this thesis will use the method of Horneyan psychoanalysis to analyze Maggie’s anxiety and further explore the rich connotation of the novel and the author’s intention of creation.The thesis consists of four parts including: the introduction,three chapters as the main body of the thesis,and the conclusion.The introduction briefly introduces the life experience and literary creation of George Eliot,together with the characteristics of the novel The Mill on the Floss.Then a detailed and comprehensive literature review of the novel both at home and abroad as well as an elucidation of Horneyan theory of anxiety as the theoretical base are provided.Finally,the introduction ends by the central argument,research methods and research significance of the thesis.Chapter One systematically and meticulously analyzes the specific manifestations ofMaggie’s anxiety based on Horney’s related theories.It is found that Maggie’s anxiety is mainly manifested in three types of character,namely,compliant character,aggressive character and detached character.From the perspective of family environment and social-cultural environment,Chapter Two emphasizes that the love-absent family and unhappy childhood memories give rise to Maggie’s anxiety.Moreover,great changes in society under the background of the Industrial Revolution,and the Victorian patriarchal society generate more contradictions in Maggie’s mind and eventually aggravate her anxiety.Chapter Three explores the consequences of Maggie’s failure to solve anxiety,which are mainly reflected in her fear of losing equilibrium and the hopelessness toward the future life.Finally,the conclusion generalizes main ideas and summarizes the whole thesis.The analysis of Maggie’s anxiety from the perspective of Horneyan psychoanalysis is a new attempt to combine psychological theory with literary texts,which not only allows people to understand the externalization of anxiety,but also manifests the conflicts between individuals and families,and between individuals and society.The thesis also contributes to arousing people’s attention to anxiety and to giving inspiration to modern people trapped in anxiety.Therefore,the interpretation of anxiety in this thesis possesses both theoretical value and practical significance. |
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