The Balance Between Freedom And Responsibility In The Razor’s Edge

Maugham is a famous novelist of the transition from realism to modernism in Britain.On the one hand,he always adheres to the characteristics of realistic writing,on the other hand,most of his works revolve around modern topics such as human nature and freedom,and is permeated with a strong sense of modernism.Maugham’s last masterpiece,The Razor’s Edge,expounds his concept of freedom and responsibility by telling the stories of different life choices made by Larry,Isabel,Gray and Elliott.He condenses his thoughts on the world and life in this carefully conceived masterpiece.This thesis takes Maugham’s The Razor’s Edge as the research object on the basis of the concepts of freedom,choice,responsibility in Sartre’s theory of existential freedom,adopting the methods of text closing reading and literature research.It makes a deep exploration on the concept of freedom in The Razor’s Edge from three aspects: the free world,free choice,and the balance between freedom and responsibility.Sartre proposes that existence is freedom.He divides existence into two parts: being-in-itself and beingfor-itself.Human has the feelings of abandonment,anguish and despair,but they actively make choices and constantly defines themselves by acting.At the same time,they shoulder the responsibility for themselves and the others.The different pursuits of characters in The Razor’s Edge and their happy endings show the writer’s strong humanistic concern.In a free postwar world,the absence of traditional concepts and multiple values coexist,everyone has the right to choose freely.Respecting the free choice of the individuals is not only a manifestation of the writer’s care for mankind,but also reflects his broad mind and great inclusiveness.But Maugham does not exaggerate freedom indefinitely and preach doing whatever they want,on the contrary,he emphasizes the balance between freedom and responsibility.Everyone should actively choose in their own position and take responsibility for themselves and for the others.In this way,Maugham does not only avoid plunging himself into nihilism of freedom,but also demonstrate his humanistic spirit.